I've been piecing together a 250 I got out of a 71 nova, the engine was free so the price was right!
Supposedly had less then 50K on it and I am inclined to believe it, the cylinders still had some cross hatching left on them!
So far I've done a new head gasket set to make sure it's running after I tore the head off to inspect the cylinders. I plan on doing front and rear main seals as well as the timing and oil pan gaskets. Once I have it cleaned and re-gasketed I'll do the spray can engine paint just to get a uniform color on this thing.
This engine is totally stock with all original parts but I am missing several odds and ends and am looking for tips on a few things. Eventually I'll be dropping this motor in my 81 Monte Carlo which should be interesting considering the only G body cars to get an inline 6 were in Mexico and Brazil. My first question is what is the best way to setup the throttle cable? the engine didn't come with any kind of throttle linkage for the carb and I need to find the most efficient way of setting up a throttle cable. Secondly I plan on putting a T-5 transmission in out of a 85 Camaro, I know the bellhousing will physically bolt up but what should I use for a flywheel, clutch, pressure plate? I plan on using a hydraulic throw-out bearing along with a master cylinder so I will have more freedom in routing linkages and a better pedal feel.
And also I won't have the cash to upgrade the intake or exhaust manifolds for quite sometime so what are some decent upgrades? Is a carb from a 80's 292 a good upgrade? I like that these carbs have electric chokes and such but will there be any performance or mileage difference over the original 71 Mono-jet? Would I gain any benefit by trying to port out the exhaust manifold or using a flat flange and gasket instead of the donut gasket in the manifold? Seems to me I could use a slightly larger downpipe and not have the restriction of the donut gasket and flange on the inside of the manifold.
Eventually when money permits I want to rebuild this engine a little hotter, I saved aside a set of 8 .030 over 307 pistons so those will go in to boost compression. I will have 1.84" intake valves installed and 1.6" exhaust valves when I get the valve job done. I will also replace the cam, what would be a good lift and duration for my setup here? I want something that is torquey from idle to no more then 4500 RPM. Should I deck the head or block at all or just enough to true up the mating surfaces?
I've built up a few SBC's, V6 and small block Buicks before so I am not a stranger to any of this other then the fact I have never done any kind of performance mods to a 250-6
Thanks any help would be really appreciated!
Jason
