Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Nice find on a "new" 250

I was asking about inline 6 parts at a junkyard the other day and they didn't have anything, but a guy who was sitting around the place followed me out the door and said he had a 250 sitting in his shop if I wanted to take a look. He lived just around the corner so I followed hm over there and he had a complete 250 inline 6 on an engine stand next to some other really sweet engines (Chevy 454's, Buick 455's, a Mopar 440 etc). He had alot of junk and alot of cool vintage stuff out in his shop, and his personal mini junk yard. He has a 1953 Chevy and a 1935 Chevy Truck, and another older truck too.

The engine is complete from starter to alternator to Air cleaner, and he said some guys drove it in from Colorado in a 1950 model truck then pulled it out to put a 350 in the truck, but the engine was running just fine when pulled. He took it and put it in his garage where it has been sitting for 3 years, (he is a gonna-do-it kind of guy). We drained the oil which was good, we put a couple of bolts in the balancer and used a cheater bar and spun the engine freely so it has not locked or seized, and he said he would take $150 for it complete. That's an awesome deal for a running engine and a decent deal for a roll of the dice engine. Now, let me get to the sweet spot in this deal...

Sitting on top of this 6 cylinder is an Offenhauser 4 barrel intake manifold, and a Holly 390 carb! The carb will surely need a rebuild but it comes with it at any rate and the intake is worth what I will be paying for the whole engine, so I figure if it runs, that will be a bonus. It is a mid 70's model block with HEI ignition, and I made sure to check that it DOES have the AC mount on the bottom front and the correct offset starter bolt holes that I need for my 400 tranny.

I told him I would take it for $150 no problem and I would be back Wednesday!

Great deal
But here could be one small draw back ,Now depending on how long it was run(miles) and after sitting for 3 yrs with teh rockers still having load on the valve springs They Could be??? weak.
Mainly the ones that have been Holding the valves open.But that
is a fairly cheap fix. But None the less Great Deal.

That's a very good point, thank you for the input. It is definitely not a new rebuild, but no telling how many miles are on it, I plan on running the engine on a stand before thinking about installing it into anything, would there be any definitive indicators of weak springs when I do this? I can imagine that the engine could run rough and adjusting the valves could resolve it some, but it would not be balanced if some springs were weaker than others and affect performance.

Anything else to look for in this kind of situation? After a tune up, and a rebuilt carb or strapping my 1bbl intake and carb on it, I plan on oiling the cylinders through the spark plug holes, turning it over by hand a few times, then oiling it using the oil pump to build pressure, then crank it up.

Hell, the intake in chitty used condition goes for alot more on ebay...lucky sucker.

The springs may not show being weak untill the motor is under a load. But if this is a bone stock motor,Other intake and exhaust mods It maynot ???? even be a issue. But i would agree a little
oil down the bores and Prime the block. Fresh plugs Or at the very least clean them up.Same for the cap & rotor Wires should be fine. An clean up the carb or replace it with one you know that works. Also Replace the Thermostat.For testing. Hoses and what nots Once installed.

Yeah, I actually made a wrong turn and was enjoying the drive and I just happeend on this place, and the guy just happend to be sitting there talking to the guys that ran the place. Very good luck indeed. Good call on the thermostat too, I'll sawp it out with the tune up.

That is such a good price I would drive there from California to pick it up if you don't want it.

I picked up the 250 today, everything went fine. Next step is to build the run stand and see if will run.

I have a second one that is an unknown as well, I got it from a friend who said it ran perfect when they pulled it to put a 350 in it but they let it sit outside for three months this summer before it was given to me... (*sigh*) The next one in line is the one that had all the lifters tapping but the mechanic couldn't find anything wrong with it. I will put it back together and see what I can come up with there. The first one is a really fresh rebuild but has a bad bearing and burned valve, and possibly a cracked head.

New engine on the truck:

The 4bbl Intake

I am looking forward to cleaning these out one at a time! I would *like* to have one good, tested running engine sitting there for me to use for whenever I build my next project and that is it.

At least they are taken care of

Among all your engines there is plenty to build a good one. Good haul!

Thomas,

I needed a six for a Nova I was selling awhile back. Found a 250 on Craigslist that had been sitting under a tarp next to someone's house for 3-4 years or so. Supposedly ran great when pulled, yeah right!! but for $100, figured it was a risk worth taking.

Anyway, I put a new carb on it, new plugs and wires and it fired right up, didn't even have to adjust the timing. Did an oil change and drove it like I stole it. Didn't burn oil, no blow-by, a great running engine. I guess my point is, don't count out the engine that was sitting in your buddies yard for three months. If the plugs were in it, the worst you might have to do is take the intake off and clean the ports for dirt/leaves if the carb was off. Might be worth a try and may be a great engine to run and modify until you can build one the other engines just the way you want.

Thank you for the real life experience there, that gives me hope! I grabbed that engine as soon as it was offered to me. I figure I will build the run stand, get both of these two engines running and use whichever one is better. If they both run great, I will be really pleased! The engine that was sitting outside, still had the carb AND the air cleaner on it, and although there was a couple of rainstorms, it might not be any more than you would get by hosing your engine down at a car wash (hoping). I've just been waiting on getting the run stand built to find out. I am going to try the wooden stovebolt engine stand, slightly modified to be used as a run stand, I'll post my luck with it, hoping to build it Sunday evening.

Well good news and bad news... The 250 my friend gave me that was running fine when he pulled it and left sitting behind the shop for three months is locked up tighter than a G string on a sumo wrestler. The air cleaner was on it so if anyone has any ideas on what might be tried to unstick I will try it.

Good news is that the new engine that came with the intake that was sitting for three years in a garage (and still turns by hand)... I ran the block #'s on it and it is a Mercruiser 160hp 250! Nice... Yeah, I am going to focus my time on getting this one to run first!

i had a 250 that was stuck after soaking the cylinder by putting oil in the plug holes i took the head off and hit the top of each piston with a piece of wood and a slug hammer 2 x each it loosed them up. then i clean the cylinder walls as i turned the crank and got each piston it btc

I'd invest enough time to break it loose. At three months the rings haven't 'grown' into the cylinder walls yet. If you leave it sitting stuck, you're liable to get pitting.

Soak it in your favorite penetrant. If it truly was only 3 months, is shouldn't be stuck that bad. I'd probably go ahead and pull the head just to make sure I got any water out that was in the cylinder..

If you are going to use the other engine I wouldn't pull the head, but I would break it loose and make sure the cylinders were lubed well. I'd make sore all the openings were covered. If you open it up and then don't seal it again it just adds to the problem. Which reminds me I have a 302 laying on it's side with fresh snow on it.

Ouch....your making us cry!

Don't cry it's just an old six.

I definitely will take the time to get it running, I got the engine from a friend of mine so it wasn't someone try to lay something off on me so I believe him about the three months. I was wondering about using penetrant like PB Blaster, or WD 40. I prefer PB but wasn't sure about using it in that situation. I'll be putting this stuck 250 on the engine stand and working on it as soon as I get the first engine in the truck. I will try to get it running withouth pulling the head first too.

... and about that engine I just got running... Whoa daddy it runs strong... I left the 4bbl intake on it since everything was already on there, and I got a 2bbl adapter and bolted a good 2bbl I had laying around to it. I got everything all rigged up, I even have a full exhaust setup with glasspacks on it sticking out the garage door.

After replacing a leaky radiator (why do I keep those things around???) and a bad starter solenoid, I didn't get a distributor prime tool, so I dropped a little bit of oil in each cylinder and immidiately filled the engine with 5 qts of oil, spun the fan a good number of times, and it felt really smooth. Next I installed the spark plugs and started cranking the starter. I tried starting it off and on for about 20 min fiddling with wiring and letting the carb clear out in case it was flooding and making sure the starter didn't get too hot. More and more it tried to start. Finally right when I expected it to, whamo it started up and idled perfectly. No smoke at all after burning off the little bit of oil I put in the cylinders. I lightly revved it and it wrapped up quickly. Good oil pressure. No stumbling or sputtering at all, just felt super powerful. Yeah, this engine is going in my truck, and I will be selling the engine in the truck now. I was worried how the engine stand would be when it was started but it didn't move an inch...

I have my valve cover that is cut on top so I can see the rockers and adjust the valves and it appears they all need adjusting as they are all tapping. I am assuming just because it was sitting so long it may need some readjustment due to spring wear as Larry suggested. Otherwise it sounds like a real winner. Also maybe it's a marine thing, but the head has the deep spark plug holes too, I put R44LTSM in it and I ran the casting # and it says it is a 230, 250 or 292 haha !

Here's a video so you can hear it running.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sVrPWN8ePw

Sounds like a keeper! Remember what ever you put in your cylinders has a chance to end up in the pan and your oil. If you put a lot of penetrant in the cylinders you may want to change the oil before you start it .

CNC, Dry your tears the 302 is upright, dry, and covered lording it over it's lowly 270 neighbors. The 292s are even being respectful. The 413 Mopar ignores them all!

Ok, thanks(LOL)!

Take a chance.....Columbus did!

And to the day he died he never really knew where he went or where he was, but what the hey, he wasn't a couch potato.

I borrowed that catch phrase from one of my racing buddies! I kinda' picture many of our Hot Rodding pioneers having that same philosophy in their approach to some of their ground breaking discoveries back in the day. Many times, the paths they chose was uncharted territory for sure, and they just took that chance and did it. That phrase still seems to make sense today....to be more politically correct its now called "thinking outside the box", but it means the same thing.

Got the engine stripped down and cleaned and painted today. I left the cutout rocker cover on it for now, in case I want to mess with it some more once it is in, plus the chain always drags on the valve cover when installing the engine anyway. I am going to clean up the classic valve cover I have with the Chevrolet script on it and put that one on. If I don't get any more nibbles on the engine in the truck I may just go ahead and swap them, I am getting impatient! I can't wait to get that Holley 390 rebuilt too, I think the 2bbl carbs were around 500 cfm if I remember correctly. Here's some pics.

Hi Thomas..looks good...is there any benefit to running a 4bbl and intake manifold without headers or a cam swap ??....not trying to be clever....I have a Holley 390 on a Clifford manifold, but I have yet to purchase any Headers or a different cam.

Anyone care to reccomend exhaust/cam for my stock 250ci/auto trans ??

Hi Steve, well in my opinion I believe there is just due to the restrictions involved with the stock setup. For power I would say headers would be the first thing I would add (if money were no issue) Heddman makes regular headers as well as Tom Langdon with some cast iron headers. With a stock setup the offenhauser would be a better choice than the clifford as the Clifford is more for the high band and the Offenhauser would be more wide range intake that would include better streetability. I am saying this from my own deductions and the knowledge I have received here.

My engine is a boat engine so it has the marine cam in it which produces more low end torque which is more of what I am looking for. The standard shade tree level, (money and ease) upgrade path for a stock 250 in my personal opinion, would be Heddman Headers, Offenhauser intake, and an RV cam. Headers are next on my list.

As a side note, a buddy of mine and I started at 11am this morning and it is now 4:30 and I am fresh out of the shower and the new engine is IN! we had a storm front come through and the temp dropped 20 degrees and just as we bolted in the last motor mount bolt, it started to sprinkle. We bolted the hood on and walked in the garage just as it started to rain. Perfect timing!

I'll be doing little stuff in the garage for the rest of the evening watching to see when the rain lets up. I did hit a snag too, as we were pounding the harmonic balancer on, the outer ring separated from the inner *argh* we were no where near it too, only hammering onto a wooden block centered in the balancer. It was a new one too! that's another $75