Yes -- get rid of that integral head. As far as a mild performance build goes there are lots of ways to do it without breaking the bank. For example you can score a small quadrajet, or a Rochester 4GC, off ebay and avoid spending a ton of money on an Edlebrock. Get the older -nonintegral- head, and anybody with minimal fabrication skills and some welding ability can split your exaust manifold and modify your intake to take a four barrel, saving you around $500 bucks. The list goes on and on, but basically with a mild cam, bumped up compression ratio, mild port work, bigger exhaust valves, a good working 4 barrel, and dual exhaust, running into a T5 tranny and a set of 4.11 gears with powertrax differential locker you can make your pony car buddies look like idiots in any 1/8 or 1/4 mile runs. The down side is 4.11 gears do not make for good gas milage; I get around 14 with my LWB 70 Chev pickup.
Now, about this business of sounding like a V8, you have evidently never heard a hot inline 6. They sound way cooler than a V8. A hot 250 running through a set of glass packs at 4500 rpm sounds like something is coming to kill you and eat your family!
It's great to see a guy your age taking an interest in old school motors. Remember 3 things:
1) God hates a coward
2) Wrecking yards are full of 250 chevies so parts are plentiful and cheap.
3) If you have a cutting torch, a welder, and a sufficient supply of coffee, nothing is impossible!
Above all have Fun, and keep your rod between the ditches with the shiny side up!
Boo
