1966 Chevy Nova 230 inline 6 engine, Good engine?

I have been offered a running 230 straight 6 from a 66 Nova, is this a good little engine for a future possible project? What do you guys think?

Jon

 

It worked good in a 66 nova. Should work good in a hot rod project. Plus they look cool...GHOST

 

Anyone else with thoughts on the 230 inline 6? Ghost you right on both points.

Jon

 

I seem to remember the 230 cranks were forged, I could be wrong however. Only trouble with an early Nova/Chevy II (62-67) is the front sump oil pan. If you put a rear sump pan on ,you just lost a way to check the oil. Did this once with a friend, and we had to add a tube to the oil pan for the dipstick. All the GM 194,215,230,250,292 engines are good ones. 7 main bearings, a good valve train, but the siamesed intake ports can be a problem if you're trying to build for a lot of power. There are ways around that however. If you don't want it, ship it to me! Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

...I'd grab it, depending what you put it in, the front sump pan mite not be a problem at all; you can just bolt it in. Excellent little motors.

 

Reliable as a brick, run forever. They respond well to all hop-up procedures, and can stand RPM well. As stated, the intake ports leave something to be desired, but that won't matter much on a street engine.

 

I agree, Thats what I pulled out of my 63 nova . had a 65 230 in bored 40 with a cam offy intake holley carb and headers. Ran great but just wasnt what I wanted. Still have it planning on putting it and a 4 speed in the fleetline later on

 

Straight sixes are great for a touqey little mill. Lot of money to get them fast, but Id prefer driveable and good looking. (multi carbs etc.)

 

It shares the same bore as a 250, so if your is tired, you can swap the crank and pistons and pick up 20 cubes for the price of replacement parts. The forged crank 230's were a one or two year deal. The rest were cast.
They run forever and can be perked up if you are willing to spend the time and money on them. And as long as you aren't trying to move a Sherman tank down the road, with the right gears they do alright.

 

The 6 cyls starting in '75 came with HEI. It should bolt right in. They came on cars until the V6 started in '78. I think the trucks used them for a few years after that.

 

I have a 63 in a 33 Plymouth coupe with 3-2's.Runs&looks great.Has a rear sump.

 

Build it the way it is Or like others have said get a 250 crank and pistons for the extra 20 cubes. the 250s can use the 307 pistons Nice compression boost.

 

I had a little 250 6 and it was a strong little engine and really took a beating and looked cool too...drop it in and dress it up and drive the snot out of it

 

Good little engine, but not a hotrod engine by any stretch of the imagination. Don't let the latest straight-6 craze fool ya......in a straight line, nostalgic feelings will not compensate for a poor power to weight ratio.

good luck whatever you do

 

I put a 230 six from a 67 in my 54 and runs goods sounds good, but like Shifty Shifterton said...not good for hot rod especially on heavy cars

 

My 250 works just great in my 3000lb chevyII.and I seen one in a 57chevy and it would smoke the tires for better then 8ft.And the guy drove this car everywhere.But for the most part i think anything less then 3000lbs you'd be just fine.Depending on what your after.

 

Building a old school front engine dragster with the 230 so it should run ok.

Jon

 

Yes a very good friend of mine here has a altered that run's 9.16 @ 140 plus with a 250.There is also many other inline here in fla. who the 250s & 292's one guy has a twin 292 front engine draster.

 

Little? Well, okay, it has 20 cubic inches less than a 250, ....................
It's an excellent GM L6 motor. Can be hopped up to run like a bat out of hell. The 230 is same family as 250 and 292,

High lift/duration and Roller cams are available, etc, etc. The combustion chamber is smaller on the 230 making it premium (with porting and lump ports and bigger valves) because it's automatically higher compression than others.

(distributor wear?WTF??) Same generation motors in Checker Cab, Mercruiser Inboards, Chevy/GMC/GM Cars with L6s for zillions of miles from the mid 60s through 1983........

Take a look and read from people that know. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=242039&highlight=inline

Remember, that generation of block is a bullet proof block with SEVEN MAIN BEARINGS. Can be set up with blower, etc. I've seen a lot of 250/292 dradsters posting in the nines.


There are a lot of aftermarket stuff for speed and bling, OFFENHAUSER and CLIFFORD and (I DON'T KNOW WHATALL!) headers and intake manifolds to accomodate 4 bbl, or an array of multi-carbs including new generation Webers for drag racing.....

My daily driver has a 250 with 2 Rochester potbellys on offenhauser intake, my hot rod has 292 with 3 monojets, they are both a ball to drive.
From what I understand the 230 and 250 blocks are basically the same, Cranks be interchanged, ............somebody correct me if I'm mis-informed.

I'd jump at the chance (if offered one) to build a 230 with that in mind, just for shits and grins.

Here's a just one example of one manifold setup for sale right now on ebay. See different ones all the time. Search 292 chevy you'll get all the items for 230/250/292 in that search. Second pic is one I like found on hamb in that 250 thread built by bobw, ........I love the improvised manifold, etc. Just, bitchin' ..........

 

are we really in a straight six craze at the moment? if so, cool i'm finally in style. i'm glad there are still a lot of "only a v8 for power" guys. that way the sixes aren't too hard to get. i am wondering hpw much lift can you go on the cam if you put a 250 crank in a 230 if the combustion chamber is smaller? anyone know?? i have the clifford 264 cam in my 292. i wonder if there would be clearence issues with the 307 pistons. hr

 

Maybe somebody that does the radical builds will chime in. The size of the combustion chamber wouldn't have much to do with valve interference. It would be the piston choice that would accomodate higher lift valves if they interfered. I forget the difference in size but it's not a lot, somethining like ten CCs from the smallest/largest chambers of 194/230/250/292. Stock pistons are dead flat, no dome. What pistons the drag racers use, I don't know.

 

You, me and a lot of others have never been out of style. I always have liked the L6s. Next project with the 292 in my Nash will be a mild cam and valve work, short of competing on the strip, just fpr more smoke from the tires.

The question has been asked, why did I pick the 292? The answer is I didn't. It picked me. A guy had it and expressed a desire to sell it, I jumped at the price he asked. Had it been another 250 like in my daily, or a 230, that's what I would have ended up with.

 

The Chevy inline 6 post-235 family of engines are good ones, but stay away from the heads with integral intake manifolds, they are junk...the heads not the engines.

Well, hell, when you get right down to it Ford's inlines sixes are good too, especially the 240-300 truck sixes.

And there is the long line of Chrysler inline slanted sixes that are great performers too.

Heck those big old AMC sixes were pretty smooth too.

 

The 230 head is not any smaller in CCs then that of the 250's both carried the same CCs Even the 292 heads ranged from 72.38 up to 74CCs with a 75CC head being more or less the Odd one.EVEN some 194's had a 72.80CC 62-67 (3788415 casting). this 230 casting had a 75.5(3872708) this was a factory Uninstalled head. But most 194 heads were small CCs
60.32 -61 CCs

 

good to know twisted 6 i knew the 194 heads were suposed to be smaller and had heard the 230's were but you hear a lot of stuff. and 29nash as i'm sure you know the stock ones for 292/250 have a recesed piston so i didn't know what the flat 307 piston with the high lift cam would do with a smaller head. on my 292 i used flat top pistons and a higher lift, but still a street cam. i still had quite a bit of room left- i checked it with clay. didn't know if the smaller head would run into clearence issues. so sounds like even the 194 head wouldn't have a clearence difference than a 250 head.

 

Thanks for the heads up. Goes to show how rumors get started without basis. I'll go back and delete, and hope the dis-information didn't lead to any heartburn for anybody. So I guess the heads with smaller chambers are from 194s?

 

I like them

 

Actually, I was referring to this comment, and will challenge it openly.

Your statement that; "all the Chev 6's (194/230//50 etc) suffered from distributor wear.
is misleading................. I will concede that "all parts on all engines are subject to wear over time", however, the distributors on both my motors, 250 and 292 have original points distributors with a LOT of miles on them and work just fine. The 250 is on it's second overhaul, the292 is out of a school bus removed for excessive oil consumption and smokes, I've rebuilt both distributors with new points etc, and the shaft bushings have virtually no play, the advance mechanisms work as they should............I did have the diaphagrm in one of the advance develop a hole, wouldn't advance and replaced that...

 

I have Never had dist gear issues in any of my L6s.But one of the big issue with gear wear is to heavy of a oil and Useing a High vol. pump. I have seen people with those issue But ! i have never had that problem myself. not even at 8000 rpm.But it does and can happen.So on a rebuild a stock oil pump will Be just fine even if racing.

 

Hi guys I'm one of the dream team members as Vectorsolid likes to call us we fust fininished the Herminator which is powered buy a 292. My buddy down at the local machine shop and I are building abit of a weird engine for the car for next season and it will be pieces from a 250,292,350 and 318 dodge all out of the junk yard I'll let you know how it's going should be an interesting build.