ok ive got mixed thought about this so help me out with out to much laughter . im looking for a 4cyl to run in a modified ive seen that the ford 2.0 and 2.3 are the first in choice for alot of people thats done this but a buddy has found a 4cyl chevy marine engine the 3.0 the one that runs a 350 head and water pump and a lot of other small block parts it appears that bell house is the same also ive not seen it yet so i dont know but could it or has any one seen or heard this being used and if so does anything need to be changed???????
I have a marine 2.5 in my boat and I did a little bit of research on the 2.5 and the 3.0. The problem with a 2.5/3.0 is the crankshafts, they are not very strong. If you can find and pay for a aftermarket crank they can be built into descent engines. The 2.5 is best known as the Iron Duke.
bangers are nothing to second guess when rodding; that's where the real Old School was built. and with gas hovering the three dollar mark again.... maybe a good idea to evaluate some stingy 4 cyl power.
The cranks have a bad reputation of being weak...but you can build one hell of a stoup 2.5/3.0 and not have any troubles as long as you keep weights down and balance the ***y. I've done a few of the 2.5's for circle track racing, and not one of them has broke a stock crank. I've seen others break, but when you talk to them about the engine build...anything they build would have broke. I have not built a 3.0, but there are some marine ones around my area, and I have not heard and bad problems from them.
I used the 153 version in this, it had 327 pistons, I put a turbo 350 behind it but in retrospect I wish I would have put a 5 speed in it.
I am gathering bits and pieces to build a "25" T bucket. I decided that I wanted a banger and I have aquired a Pinto 2.0 with turbo kit. So I am happy to see others are interested in using engines like this too. I would like to make it look as old timey as is practical by changing the valve cover, of course, and eliminating the spin-on oil filter for starters. I'm also looking at the 4spd that came with it and thinking maybe I could refit the tail-housing to put the shifter far forward.
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