Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines 68 nova 230?

once again, i need info and help. wanting to know what would it take to make atleats 250 hp out of that old 230 i have. 200 for sure tho. and still try to keep some half pass a monkeys butt gas milelage. any comments, and help would be great.. p.s. i know i need carb, intake, headers, cam,etc etc. other than that,, whats needed to do here? thanks.

The biggest thing you need to look at is the head and Make that motor breath. with good head work a cam change ( rv or little more) intake&carb along with some kinda dual exhaust,and a small bump in the compression. It will be easy to get that into the 200-250 range. depending on the yr some of the 230s had a 140-145 hp So trying to get the 200 is with in reasonable range. With out going Ape in the cam Or compression department.

68 nova dude,

i am in the same boat ... have the same motor which will be going into a 66 nova when done. Just started gathering parts for it got the offy 4bbl intake and stovebolts headers (planning on the holley 390) ... i guess my main concern is how this will work out on a head with no modification , also having a heck of a time trying to figure out which cam to use ... need some guidance in that area any help would be appreciated. sorry if i took away from your question 68 nova dude this just seemed to be the right thread to post in.
thanks
neil

The cam choice will depend on many things and how much you want to spend. Whether you are running an automatic or manual, converter stall with the a/t, rear gears, the rpm range you plan to run in, solid or hydraulic, rollers or flat tappet or even Rhoads (sp?) lifters. It might be best to speak to Tom Langdon or at least look at the cams on Cliffords site as they may still have the rpm ranges and usage info in their cam descriptions.

LOL sorry about the lack of info on that, its a manual 3 speed, 3.08 in the rear. i am planning on running hydraulic .... cliffords does have some info on the cams on their website, i was also checking out the isky cams, seem to offer quite a few for the 230.

To both 68nova , neil.

First off You really need to think about some head work. The head it self in stock trim will only flow in an about the 170s cfm. Mainly due to the Boss and ruff casting edges and Unsmooth Ports. How ever removing the Boss will bring you into the 180s. But removing the Boss and Installing a set of Lumps will then bring you into the 200 plus range. I'm only giving Ruff figures Reason being. (What valves are used How the head was ported and to what degree) also Numbers can varie from one location to another even some machines All things play apart in how the CFMs are read off a head If the head has a intake on it Or with out( or a small runner to act as a intake which helps direct the air into the head itself)
But The main point being is If you don't do something with the head Meaning even the very Least Clean Up the Ports to help improve the air flow. It won't really matter what cam , intake & carb you throw at it You may not be happy with what Your trying to do. So even if you leave the head stock and are just getting it freashened up At the very Least clean up the ports and get a Good valve job done (3 angle) Any gain over stock Is always Good, And always do the best you can To match everything To what you're wanting to do.
ex. tranny ,gearing , Intake & carb , cam and so on. Think it out twice Build it once and you'll find that You'll be much happier in the long run.

Ps what numbers i posted are somewhat higher But Was to just give a ball park Idea FYI and so that You have some clue as to why the Head realy needs the attention.

Not positive, but can't you put a 250 crank in a 230 to make it a 250ci. Might be something to think about also.

Yes you can. But it is also wise to have the line bore checked when swapping cranks.

novaconv, thanks for the tip dont know whay i havent considered that, seems i have read about that somewhere before though, and will look into to it further, yet another thing to wrap my brain around. twisted i agree 100% think about it twice build it once, problem is i cant stop thinking about it and am becomming obsessed LOL, on an upnote though i did decide on a cam from isky its a .488 lift 262 duration, think this is a wise choice or should i reconsider, also ordered my carb went with the holley 390, anyways thank you guys alot all your comments have been extremely helpfull

neil