Editing Building an inline 6 Chevy 250 engine

{{develop}}
==Introduction==
The Chevy inline 6 has been around in one version or another since 1929 until 1988 in domestic vehicles. The Gen 3 (1962-'88) straight 6 250 cid engine was brought out in 1966. It has a 0.280" longer stroke (3.53") and the same bore (3.875") as the 230 cid straight 6. It boasts a 7 main bearing bottom end- quite an improvement over the Gen 2 inline's 4 main bearings. 

== Some things to consider ==
Building a straight 6 250 is not any harder to do than any other inline 6, be it a Ford or Chevy, GMC, etc. Parts aren't as common for the inline 250 as they are for V8's, but as one will see, there are plenty of info and quite a few suppliers for parts, as well as places that cater to almost nothing but the Chevy inline 6 engines. 

The inline 6 Chevy 250 should not be compared to a SBC engine. They share practically no parts w/the V8 engines. Because of this fact, expect it to cost more per horsepower than a Chevy V8. The reward is this is not a "belly button" engine; instead it is considered "old school" and caries cred because of what it ''isn't'' as much as for what it '''is'''.

To the right person, building a 250 Chevy 6 can be just as rewarding as any other engine, and if parts are selected in a coordinated manner and the engine used in a way that accentuates its strong suits- like dependability and good lower RPM torque production for its size- a very satisfying result can be had.

It's a fool's mission to build a NA inline 6 like the Chevy 250 expecting to run amok on all the SBC and SBFs out there. Not only will the results be very humbling, but the amount of money that would need to be spent in order to go toe-to-toe with a SBC 350 will break most people's budget all to hell. So instead of trying to beat the world, it may be much more satisfying to build a Chevy 250 to make around 0.8-1 HP/cid (~200-250 HP), and revel in the uniqueness of it and enjoy as torquey, strong running engine that has a sound and look all of its own.

==Cylinder heads==
Beginning in the mid-'70s, the inline 6 Chevy got an integrated intake cylinder head. This was a step in the wrong direction for doing performance mods- the intake being cast as part of the head means it would take too much work to remove it to be able to use any kind of 4-barrel carb. 

===Exhaust ports===
The Chevy 250 head has a "4-port" exhaust. That means two ports are siamesed and two are single port. This design, while fine for a daily driver or truck, leaves a lot to be desired for high performance work.

So it comes as no surprise that improving the exhaust flow will help power. A big improvement to the Chevy inline 250 cylinder head is to install an exhaust port "lump". For years, these was a one-off, hand made piece that was quite a chore to fabricate and mount. Some were better than others, and some were worse than nothing. Nowadays, [http://t6racing.org/index.html T6 Racing] has designed a lump kit and can supply all the necessary tools and info to install it. It is cast and machined pieces of iron that fit into the exhaust port floors to vastly improve flow.

{|
|[[File:Milling boss for lump port mod.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Milling of boss just started]]
|[[File:Boss nearly gone lump port.jpg|thumb|360px|left|Boss nearly gone]]
|}
{|
|[[File:Top lump port w arrows.jpg|thumb|370px|left|Arrowed area has to be blended away]]
|[[File:Cutaway lump in port.jpg|thumb|290px|left|Cutaway showing lump in port]]
|}


<br style="clear:both"/>
|thumb|350px|left|
|thumb|350px|left|
|thumb|350px|left|
|thumb|350px|left|

==Resources==
;Wiki articles
:[[Chevrolet and GMC inline / straight 6 engines: Guides and resources]]
:[[Six cylinder inline engine parts and info sites]]


==Parts suppliers==
*[http://www.stoveboltengineco.com/ Langdon's Stovebolt Engine Co.]
*[http://www.cliffordperformance.net/index.html Clifford Performance]





{{youcanedit}} 

{{needspics}}

{{newarticle}}

 

[[Category:Engine]]
[[Category:Undeveloped articles]]