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hi all!- I am retireing my 1947 216 in my 55 one ton. Will a 1968 250 bolt to the old tranny? It appears that it will, What do I need to know? I would like to keep the floor starter switch, it appears that I just need to do a little fudging to do this.

Clayton

Your transmission may bolt up to the bell housing but your bell housing want bolt up to the 250. Also, your foot starter want bolt on to the 250 bell housing.

If it's a 55 2nd. series, get a bellhousing for the V-8 engine. The 250 is a direct bolt-in for that bellhousing, but you'll have to fabricate side engine mounts for the front. You can make a fake stomp starter by fabricating a bracket and using the pedal to push a starter button that energizes the solenoid on the 250 starter. The exhaust pipe will probably have to be custom-bent also. Labor-intensive, and you'll have less torque than the 235 when you're done, but it's doable. I'd look for a 292 engine, which will require about the same amount of adapting, but it will give you a noticeable power increase.
Jerry

Jerry

hI - it is a second series, confused about the v8 bell housing - both engines are 6 cyl - did you misprint? Do you mean that I should get a bell houseing from a v8?
clayton

this should be
''but your bell housing [b]will not bolt up to the 250.''
yes a V8 bell housing will work w/ later model L6's and all V8's, so a modern tranny will bolt up. The 250 has different mounts than a 216.
and you'll like the 250
mY 292:::
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The 216/235/261 are completely different engines then the 230/250/292. They are not a bolt in swap! Any V8 Chevrolet will swap with a 230/250/292 so thats why the bell housings work. The old transmissions will bolt to the V8 bell housing along with just about any of the late model 3,4,or 5 speed stick shifts (with minor modification).

216/235/261s use the bell housing as the rear engine mount, and front water pump housing as the front engine mount. The 230/250/292 use side engine mount (same as the late V8) and a transmission tail shaft mount which requires a frame to frame cross member/trans mount.

The 230/250/292's are a bit longer and about 20% lighter in weight then the older 216/235/261. Hight is about the same.
The 292 is 2" taller then a 230/250 but about the same hight as a 261.

So after all that, it will work if you are ready to change out cross members and motor mounts, re due some wiring, and possible radiator relocation.

Did I miss anything?

Joe

Joe H,

Let me drop 2 small corrections to your information. The 230,250,292s are the same length to a small amount shorter than the 235 and 261. See Leo Santucci's book on the bottom of page 2. Also, most if not all TF up trucks with the 235 or 261 used side mounts that were almost to the front of the block.

During TF production, Chevrolet used 2 different bell housings, (with many different casting numbers,) in the 3 speed manual trucks.

One fit the 235/261, and the other fit all the V-8s. As long as the bell housing bolts to a V-8 and has provision for mounts, it
will work.

BTW, my Chevy book shows a 1970 250 L6 as having 155hp and 235 ft lbs of torque @ 1600rpm. Not to bad. A 1968 is probably about the same.

This is new stuff for me. I am mechanical, re: welding and the like, but not a mechanic as such. Will have to study all of this wonderful feedback, get prepared and get at it. I appreciate everyone's invaluable info.
Clayton

"experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted"

Just another add-on, I looked up the hp and torque of 235s from '55 to '62. I'll use 1959 as an example. The 235 of that year produced 135 hp @ 4000! rpm and 217 ft lbs of torque at 2000 rpm, so I'd say that even a box stock 1968 (pre smog) 250 L6 would be a nice upgrade. You will also gain high pressure oiling, spin on oil filters, easy access to parts, and modern engine electrics! Thanks for getting me to look these things up. I plan on doing the same swap in my '56 TF panel.

Roadmarks, I new I would miss something! I put a 250 in my '37 and it sure seemed longer then the 216. Although it didn't have a engine when I bought it, I did have to move the radiator forward and the firewall back for some clearance. I'm sure I went more then I had to on the firewall, but it did help cool the interior.

One other thing, I ran my truck at the dragstrip and with a stock 250, it put out about 110 HP at the wheels which is about 140 at the flywheel. So the 155 is a pretty good number. My carbs and intake slowed my down.

Was the 235's different from the 216's?

Just knowing you can stop at any part store and get a replacement is worth a lot. Joe

Howdy,

In terms of how the 235 vs 216 is mounted in the front, some earlier 235s, I think '55 1st edition back, mounted like the 216 with the single center 2 bolt mount. Things changed with the '55 second edition, though. I can't say for sure, but I believe that the V-8s and the 235/261s both used the same holes in the cross member for their mounts which were dual. The V-8 mounts were on the front of the block and the 235/261 mounts were on the side. The L6 mounts were kind a "stalk" affair with 2 rubber biscuits top and bottom and a rod in between.

The 250s side mounts sit farther back on the block than the 235, so custom mounts will have be built or bought and welded in place on the frame. My plan for my '56 is to measure the angle of the top of the original 235 head mounting surface relative to the frame then set up the 250 to exactly the same angle. That will keep all my drive line angles stock.

The 250 L6 also has a stronger bottom end due to it having eight main bearings. This should allow for a few more RPMs for the highway.

Also, in 1971 HP and torque ratings dropped almost 1/3 due to smog restrictions.

Les

I can't comment on mounting later I6s in these trucks, but I can tell you my experience with them.

While in college I had a 1964 Chevy II wagon with a 194 that I replaced with a healthy 250. They are externally the same, like a 283 to a 350 or 400 sbc. I built it with a 194 head for higher compression and upgraded the valves to 1.94 intake and 1.50 exhaust, and shaved the head and block to 0 deck. Compression was about 12.5:1. I had a cam from Clifford and a set of dual headers and glasspacks, with a homebuilt intake system that used 3 stock 1 bbl carbs. They were not connected to each other, but simply 1 per intake port. It was a bear to get it all tuned. It ran great and surprised quite a few local V8 guys, but eventually broke a timing gear and was relegated to the back yard by the (now) ex-wife.

Devin

hey thanks - living in the mountains as we do, makes "Zeek" work hard going up the hills. Everyone passes me, but I dont care, gives extra attention to it I think. Thanks for the info! I am looking forward to the upgrade. I would not do it if there was a 235 in it...
clayton

Ok I have had to d a lot of research on the subject at hand not to replace a 216 with a 250 but a 261 with a V8.
The bell housing that is most common and will be easiest to find would be any truck from 55 second to 67 with a V8 or any truck from 64 to 67 with an l6 in it. This will give you a bell housing with the side mounts for the cross member under it and the correct pilot hole for your transmission. The later 68 to 72 will also work but you will need an adapter ring that fits around the transmission pilot bearing support to take up the space left by the bigger hole in the later bell housing. These adapters can be had from Novak for $30 some; it is a simple ring that fills the gap.

That certainly clears some things up, and will help solve some riddles!
Thanks
Clayton

Hi - can one buy a pre-fab cross member to put in the 250 in place of the 216?
clayton

You should be able to find a universal V8 cross member. The 250 will bolt in where a small block fits, so start at the street rod sites. Speedway Motors is where I would look. Joe

Clayton,

Try www.sachserodshop.com for mounts for your 250. They are the mounts I'll use. Page 5 in their pdf catalog. Right below the mounts are cross members. Good prices. To the best of my knowledge, there is no cross member made specifically for your truck and all of the "universal" type will require some welding. Be sure to measure your frame so you will know what length cross member you will need.

best wishes

Hey this is great. Welding is no problem, it is the knowledge of how to do this that is really tough not to have, never mind knowing where to buy the stuff. Invaluable - thanks!
clayton

you guyes are good.i am putting a 250 from a 78 camaroin my 50 .i got a universel v8 mount from parts train.and 67 nova 194 mounts.as my engine had steel mounts.i made alum.blocks to mount nova mounts to then bolted them to the v8 crose member.iam using a turbo 350 trans.cut a late model crose member fore trans.hope this helps. 41 50 69