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| | | Forums66 Topics128,209 Posts1,057,462 Members48,471 | | Most Online14,466 Apr 26th, 2026 | | AD Chevy Trucks Over 6,000 pictures Brad Allen has an awesome collection of Chevrolet factory pictures that he has set up from film strips. Check them out!
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on the Internet for over 30 years! and not clogged down with Ads! Again, thanks! | | | | Joined: Sep 2011 Posts: 2,951 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Sep 2011 Posts: 2,951 | I know the 1965 230 head has a different spark plug thread diameter size. That's the only difference in the heads that I know of. Then again I am always surprised at what I don't know. It's the old saying, "I don't know what I don't know". I'd rather get a 250 crank for the 230 than steal the one from my 250. | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,889 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,889 | Heads from all the recent generation of inline sixes will interchange. The 194 has smaller valves, I believe, but the 230/250/292 heads are pretty much clones of each other. Just stay away from the latest-production ones with the integral intake manifold. Those things suck line a Hoover upright vacuum cleaner, and they're prone to cracking, IIRC. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
| | | | | Joined: Feb 2000 Posts: 5,243 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Feb 2000 Posts: 5,243 | For the 230, I believe you use 283 flat top pistons.
Joe | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,889 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,889 | Hmmmm- - - -good idea! the compression height on a 283 piston is 1/8" taller which should work out about right with the shorter 230 stroke. I've got a 230 in the stockpile of engines I plan to build eventually- - -I'll have to remember that trick! That would make for a tight-winding little engine with the right gear ratio and carburetion.
I'm planning to put an inline 6 in an Excalibur roadster somebody gave me, with 3 Weber DCOE 40 carbs and a set of dual exhausts off a split manifold or a set of Clifford cast iron headers. I think the 230 just found a home! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
| | | | | Joined: Sep 2011 Posts: 2,951 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Sep 2011 Posts: 2,951 | Sooooo . . . . I can build the 230ci with the original 230 crank and use 283 pistons? Great! That saves me from hunting down a used 250 crank. Will it perform about the same as a 250ci? | | | | | Joined: Dec 2008 Posts: 319 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Dec 2008 Posts: 319 | Ummm, no. The longer stroke of the 250 gives it enhanced torque characteristics compared to the 230, all other things being equal. If you can't fix it with a hammer and screwdriver, you need a bigger hammer.1965 Chevy C10 | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,889 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,889 | The 250 will have better low-end torque. The 230 will have a higher RPM capability, so the weight of the vehicle you're running and the final drive gear ratio will determine which engine will serve you best. I can probably get the same horsepower from a modified 230 as a basically stock 250, but it will be turning noticeably faster RPM. A short stroke V8 like a 302 or a 327 can outperform a 350, but it has to be modified, balanced, and wound up like a bumblebee on steroids to do it! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
| | | | | Joined: Sep 2011 Posts: 2,951 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Sep 2011 Posts: 2,951 | The 250 will have better low-end torque. The 230 will have a higher RPM capability, so the weight of the vehicle you're running and the final drive gear ratio will determine which engine will serve you best. I can probably get the same horsepower from a modified 230 as a basically stock 250, but it will be turning noticeably faster RPM. A short stroke V8 like a 302 or a 327 can outperform a 350, but it has to be modified, balanced, and wound up like a bumblebee on steroids to do it! Jerry I've driven my smoking, low oil pressure 250ci enough to know I have plenty of power and rarely go over 2400 RPMs. With the OD gear I cruise comfortably on the highway at 2100-2200 RPMs. Sounds like a 250ci will serve me best. | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,889 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,889 | There would be no problem building your spare engine as a 250- - - -just do a crankshaft swap. If the 230 crank needs top be reground, the cost would be virtually the same, since a reground 230 or 250 shaft would be almost the same price, and they will use exactly the same bearings. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 10,310 Renaissance Man | | Renaissance Man Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 10,310 | I had a 230 with 1000,000 miles in a '70 Nova with a 3 speed. I could chirp a skinny bias ply tire (no posi) in all three gears. It was impossible to tell that the engine was still running at a traffic light too. I am a fan of the 230. Carl
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
| | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,889 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,889 | I've never seen a million-mile 230. That must be quite an accomplishment (or a typo).
Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 10,310 Renaissance Man | | Renaissance Man Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 10,310 | Bad eyes, feeble fingers, weak mind... You choose.
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
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