The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Tons 'o Fun 1 ton with 250?

Hey guys, I am new here and would like to say thank you for allowing me to join.

I recently acquired a 86 3+3 c30 camper special with a flat bed. The truck originally had a 454 and th400 but the guy I bought it from bought it for the motor and transmission. I have a 250 6 and sm465 that i bought from a 70 c10 to replace the 235 3 speed in the 59 apache that my grandpa gave me, but after much thought and consideration I decided to leave it all original being my grandpa bought it new in 1960 and used it as his service truck at his service station and it all matching numbers. So now i get to the question. I dont have alot of experience with the inlines but I want the truck to be a daily driver and if I want to put a load behind it i want to know it has the torque to pull it through the hills. I am also planning on getting the ranger overdrive splitter as well. As of now i am not interested in a v8. If I were to go that route it would be a lsx motor. I have seen alot about turbos on these motors but everything i has seen seems to be race applications. Im looking more towards pulling down a brick house and keeping up with traffic on the highway. Does anyone have any ideas on what to do as far as building the motor? id rather not do the turbo as i know nothing about them but it is an option.

Is this discussion/question about the 1970 C10 or the 1986 C30?

59 apachie that he got grom grandpa

If I understand correctly, you dismissed the BBC V8 from the '86, but are wondering if you should swap the 250 from the '70 in for the original 235?

With the proper gears, the original equipment could pull down a house, but I don't think you'll keep up with current highway speeds without making changes to the drive train. That's about 25 mph faster than it's originally set up for. Is that why you're hoping to build up the straight six?

Guy,s
go back and reread the orig statement.
He recently acquired the 86 MISSING the BBC and AUTOtrans.
He has a 70 250 with sm 465 that He bought for possible upgrade on His Granddads 59 apache but has since reconsidered and is staying orig.
The 70 250 six will certainly fit the 86 with room to spare.
The problem arises in motor mounts and stands that are diff v8 to six,drive shaft length,hooking up a clutch pedal and linkage and so on.
Everyone of these can be solved with a little thought and effort.
regards,
steve sr.

Thank you steve sr. I am just wondering about the torque of the straight 6? The v8 guys say v8 is the only way. i like to be a little different and think outside the box. With all the goodies they make for these motors I would think it could be built to pull anything i could hook behind it. I would love to drop a diesel in but the budget doesnt allow and this motor is just sitting. The main question is will the 250 pull with a few aftermarket "torque based" parts or should i continue my search for a 292?

I owned a 69 1/2 chevy with a 250 sm465 and i pulled alot of stuff with it. The heavyest was a 84 C30 with a 12 foot refer bed.I used a tow bar and pulled it for about 150 miles. I now have a 67 GMC that was a 250 4 speed 1/2 ton. I pulled a gooseneck with 3 cars on it several times. This was before thay raised the speed limit. I liked the 6s alot and before i moved i had 20plus 250s and some 292s. My 67 now has 3/4 ton axles and a 350. The first 3 trips i thought the 350 was a joke. I was down shifting alot to make the hills. The next trip with the gooseneck i drove like i was mad keep the rpms up and it pulled like a freight train.I would go back to the 250 in a heart beat if they lower the speedlimit. I dont think the 250 will ever do what you want. I know you dont want to hear this but a 350 would be better.I would like to know more about runing a 292 with a overdrive because every one i have had was a gas hog so i dont plan on useing one agine.

If you need to pull at hwy speeds consider swapping in an LS. I recently put one in a IH Scout great engines.

I had a 250 and 4 speed in a 1966 C-30, and it handled loads very well.