Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Intro/Questions

Hey guys. I just bought this 50ish willys that at some point has been converted to GM Inline 6 and the previous owner said he thought it was a 250. Drivetrain is 250, T-90, T-18tcase


Here it is when I got it home. ~24 hours after this picture the engine was out and on a stand. I tend to get ahead of myself. The PO and I discussed a water leak from the back of the engine and figured it was a freeze plug but basically got this as "needed a new engine". After pulling the engine, bell housing, all the clutch crap and the flywheel, I found the guilty party.
engine:

The culprit!


This engine runs well and has good even compression on all cylinders. I didn't plan on rebuilding it, but certainly don't want to waste the effort to pull it. I'd planned on doing new freeze plugs and putting new gaskets on it. While I had the head off and the oil pan off I could check things out a bit more, but generally I'd be ok if I didn't have to do anything.

Sorry for my ignorance, but here are some totaly noob questions. I've found a few places selling the gasket kits and freeze plug kits online, but is there any prefered vendor for these things, perhaps better shipping or customer service? I imagine with how common these engines are I could pick up lots of parts at the local auto parts store. Also, due to the corrosion in the freeze plug shown, should I be that worried about the rest of the engine or do you all thing a good flushing and some vigilance with proper coolants would be enough? I also plan on rewiring the whole car, but that's a different forum, and I'm sure I'll be in the tranny section at some point since I'd like to get an overdrive tranny. Thanks.
-Nate

I rode in one of those many years ago. It rode rough makes my 63 C20 seem like a Caddy. Anything over 45 and the little 4 banger was revved up. Go any where your tires are good for. Fun ride!!

I get most my parts at the local auto parts. I've seen brass freeze plugs on ebay, probably can get them local too. Get the engine ID of the distributor pad, and the casting number. Then we can find out where the engine came from. Any idea of how many miles are on the motor?

The carb is a Rochester monojet which GM started using in 68.

Here's a start on transmissions;

http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/transmission_gateway.htm

If you have 2" or more above the carb to the hood you could squeeze a 292 in there to replace the 250 :^)

Welcome aboard!

Larry

Nate-

I've had pretty good luck just going to NAPA for generic and everyday parts. I assume you plan to keep it "inline"

Will Willis

That's good, I live near one and I'll be excited to be able to swing by and pick up stuff I need. Definitely keeping it inline, no need for a v-8. I've been kicking around a new slightly upgraded cam while the engine is out.
-Nate

Sweeet ride. Ditto on the 292, although the 250 is about as rock solid as you can get. My favorite part is the "racing" wheels, though...

That is a too cool ride!

Not sure the mileage on the engine numbers are
3994257
GM
68

I did have a question about a rebuild kit for this carb, there's tons out there it seems the carb is a monojet numbers on that are:
I7042984
278 6 BC

http://www.carburetor.ca/carbs/kits/CK081.htm this it the only one on the site that matches up, can't tell if the first is an I or a 1 but this is for 7042984, I don't have that vac crap, I have a manual choke but I don't imagine that's a big deal.

The casting number is a 67-72, 250.

On the carb number the digit in front of the 7 could be a 1, but that is usually an indication of a later carb with the "vac crap". I'd go with the kit you found.

Any work on the engine?

I bought a 63 Chev C20 that the po had dropped a used 350 Olds in. Before installing the Olds he torn it down and mic'ed all clearances.

Larry

not too much. I got all the plugs out and flushed out the cooling system. There was a LOT of crap in there. I'm sort of holding off on totally taking it apart till I have the stuff to put it back together. If I get too far ahead of myself I might start forgetting where i put bolts and crap and it could be bad.

I picked up a T5 at the junk yard yesterday, like most things, I totally blew it. I got probably the crappiest ratio and NWC, but I'm still excited to get it in there. I'm having a hard time finding a good front axle/rear axle/t-case combo that will work without some expensive adapter. I've been in 4 wheeling since i could drive and on some forums where i'll look for tips on that stuff. i know CJ 7's had the d300 behind them and the front axle width is alright. A problem is that this willys is 10" wider in the back than the front, just more weird than anything. I've considered going 2wd but that just seems a little lame to me, even though I never really plan on wheeling this. Ok, that was a brain dump.
-nate

Nate, not sure if the CJ7 is the one with the shifter in the top cover of the trans or not (as opposed to on the extension housing like everything else but the Astros) but that might not be a bad idea if you can find one with the apropriate case.

As IIRC the Jeep 4X T5 case is the shortest T5 case there is (measuring from where the belhousing would bolt on to the back of the trans where the T case would bolt).

Still NWC but at least it would accept the D300 without an adapter.

Is the D300 the correct side drop for your front axle?

If not a 231 might be better (IIRC Chevy had the left drop and Mopar / Jeep had the right drop).

Good luck, and cool ride.

Nate, it sounds to me like pulling the engine down would be a total waste of time...

It's probably got a stack of life left in it, so leave well enough alone. The fact that it had some corrosion in the water jacket just means you've been warned to put inhibitor into the cooling system! No big deal.

I wouldn't play with the cam, either. Getting the right cam to do the right job without affecting something else is just too hard, then you have to run in the cam and followers and risk oil leaks from the installation... no, leave it be and play with the other stuff for a while.