Hi, Schub.............
The basic difference between these 3 engines is fairly simple. The 194 is the basic engine that GM started with. The 230 is a bored out 194, and the 250 is a bored and stroked 194. That's a bit of oversimplification, because you can't do that at home. The factory increased the bore in the casting process. However, you CAN make a 250 out of a 230 by changing the crank, rods, and pistons, and you can theoretically stroke a 194 using a 250 crank, but the cost, time, and effort isn't really worth it, and you only get 215 cubes that way anyhow. It's usually less expensive and a lot faster to just find a larger displacement block and go from there. The cylinder head is the same for all 3 engines, but the combustion chambers on the 194's are smaller than the 230/250, but the bolt patterns are identical, and any head from that family will fit any block, even the 292. And not ALL the parts are interchangeable, but most of them are, especially the external bolt on parts. And with a blower and nitrous, you could possibly get around 300 horses out of a 194. For a few seconds, just before it exploded. 200 horses from a 250 is a much more reasonable goal, and that will still give you very decent performance on the street.
