As much as I love Chevy small and big block V8's, I'm getting to love my 1965 Chevy Chevelle's strait six more :D . Uses less gas and not everyone has one. I want to restore it because I know it's lost a lot of power over the last 37+ years. I am also thinking about making power improvements like having it bored out or putting on a turbocharger. Anyway, does anybody have experience in restoring or modifying a strait six? 'Cus I don't. And I am looking to fix up or replace the original 2 speed automatic tranny when I redo the engine, got any recomendations? Thanks.

www.cliffordperformance.com (http://www.cliffordperformance.com) These guys are the inline Six gurus, give the website a shot.

Sweet site, thanks.

I built a Turbocharged 250 engine for my son's Nova in the early '80s after he "cooked" the original engine.

I built a simple aluminum intake adapter and mounted the early Buick V6 turbo. The Buick turbo had a 3 bolt flange where the manifold has the two bolts for the carb. The early Buick turbo was a draw-through and came with a 2 or 4 barrel connected on the intake side of the compressor. In the Nova this could have created hood clearance problems so I mounted a side-draft Weber using a kit designed for the Corvair turbo. The exhaust was very simple using the stock exhaust manifold as is and a mandrel bent 180 to redirect to the turbine. Exhaust from the turbine need only a 90 to head it back where the stock system ran. Oil was tapped at the filter housing, run up the firewall to a remote filter, and from there to the turbo. Drain was simple with a fitting into the upper portion of the pan. The stock Buick system had a boost control factory set at 7.5 lbs. I'd installed forged pistons(TRW 307 forgings) but ran into some detonation. I first found a Corvair turbo distributor and install it's boost retard system and found that it worked fine. Later, I played around with a "bleed-off" valve on the line that led to the boost control diaphram. With a "T" in that line, I ran it through a needle valve and back to the carb side of the intake. This allowed me to increase the manifold pressure before the boost control exhaust bypass functioned. I could then get up to 17 lbs max and was back into detonation again at around 10 lbs. To counter that, I used a HOBS switch installed in the intake manifold set to 6 lbs that would switch power to a windshild washer pump for a water injection system. This allowed max boost.

When I installed the engine I used a th350 with a Vega convertor. The car may have been quicker with a glide as wheel spin was a serious problem, and can't be cured with more tire in the '64 Nova. He took it to the drags but failed to get into the 13s, however it ran 105mph.

Nutshell: Simple, has proven to be extremely reliable, got good mileage on trips but seemed to use a lot of fuel around town, and his X wife is still driving it after 20 years.

I know you have P/G tranny but a good setup is the old three on the tree six-banger, three speed overdrive and like 3.55's, 3.73's or maybe even 4.11's... pdq67

There is a new book out on performance modifying Chevy 6 cylinder engines, even has a section on turbocharging. I didn't buy it, but I did notice it on my last trip to Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Sorry, I don't know what the exact title is.

Oh yeah, I was amazed to find out that the first application of a turbo kit for the Chevy six was made in 1949! That is not a misprint!

Thomas

I modded a 250 6 once, clifford intake, holley 390 4bbl, two piece headers, mild cam. Honestly it was a waste, the engine now had v8 gas milage and lost the low end torque that sixes are known for. I would keep it stock or not bother with major mods. Plus the parts were triple the cost of small block stuff, but ebay wasnt around then and 6cyl parts werent around at swap meets. I bet a stock 307 could get the same milage and run circles around it.

Great info. I'l be sure to check Barnes & Noble and to not modify it too much. Thanks.

I considered building a striaght six for my '63. I was looking at running a 292, with a 194's head. I believe the head off a 194 will boost the compression of a 230-250 by almost a full point. Stock compression is around 8.5 to 1 if I remember correctly. 194 engines were common in the '63-64 Novas. I think a mild cam and some mild porting would really wake the engine up. I'd also strongly recommend switching to a later 3 or 4spd auto. HTH

I run a 194 with a th350 and a 4.11 :D It's not too bad, and it's nice and quiet. I like the fact that I can concentrate on the car and worry about the drivetrain when I get to it. I can't imagine how bad it would be with a glide and a high gear. I recommend a modern trans too.