I am soon to be picking up a 1979 Nova with the 4.1L Inline 6. Now the inline 6 is a great engine and all, but I would rather drop a 350 in it because parts are cheap, easy to find, and not to mention more power. Nice thing about that year of Nova was that it came standard with the 8.5" 10 bolt rear so it will be up to the task.

I was wondering if anybody on here knows if I will need to do anything special to drop a 350 in. Will I need the motor mounts from the 305 offered in that year of Nova? I know the transmission will be a direct bolt up but I need to know what I will need in addition to mount a 350 in it. Thanks.

For those of you that need to know; I am buying this car because it isn't in bad shape, it runs great, and I am getting it for a good deal. Maybe I will stick with the inline 6 and get a little better mileage than my 7 but still be able to fit the kids in it.

the 35o will bolt right in like it is supposed to with no mods to it. my nephew has a 1973 and the 350/350 turbo tranny fits right into it no problem.

I got it figured out... all I would need to drop one in would be the motor mounts from a v8 that was offered that year. Maybe I will stick with the inline 6 for a while for gas mileage sake.

I looked up the part numbers and the listing for the motor mount is the same for the straight 6 and the v8, so it looks like I just got to find a small block chevy v8 with a rear sump pan.

I told u that it would fit right in it.

only thing i know of is that when they put the i8 in there cars they usually put in a smaller radiator cause of the longer engine so you might want to think about a bigger radiator

The whole fuel dewlivery system on the l6 seems so inadequete. You got a 4.1L engine running off of a single barrel rochester carburetor. I got a tune up to do on it but other that that it does ok. Needs timing set and carb cleaned and possibly rebuilt, it doesn't like WOT or hard acceleration off idle. I have a source for a 305 including a 350 transmission which I will probably end up going with. By the time I spent the money to get more performace out of the l6 I could have already put a v8 in.

I'd stay away from the 305. It's not a very reliable engine, the horsepower is very low, and they eat cams rather quickly. You'd be way better off with a 350.

correct the 305 is very unreliable



as for the i6 is it the 250 or the 292 if it's the 292 i would concider keeping it as they have great power and torque potential and on top of it out of all the chevy 6 cylinder's they have the best power to weight ratio.

it is the 250 I am pretty sure. I timed it today and it does a little better when hammering the gas off idle or while cruising. It ain't the prettiest thing but oh well. I got some work to do to it and it will probably be a slow project if it even stays around long enough to become a project. Tommor I got to take off the steering wheel and tighten up a knuckle or something so that the steering column isn't traveling as much (had the same problem with a Jeep a few weeks ago and turned out to be a pretty simple fix). After a tune up and fresh fluids I will be taking it to the exhaust shop and getting it straight piped (maybe throw in a glasspack or something?). Then next will be removing emissions equipment and any "unnessesary" vaccum lines. Finally I plan on doing an electric fuel pump swap. I did an electric fuel pump swap on an old s15 a few days ago and the results were excellent. Who knows, maybe I will stick with the l6 and just get a good cam from Clifford and do a 2 barrel weber conversion. Only thing about the damn l6 is parts are not as easy to find, not as cheap, and wont yield as much performance as a v8. Actually, for how much it would cost just to do the weber conversion, and to purchase a cam, I could have a complete and good running 350.

I will keep my eyes open for a 350 (or maybe a 327?) but for now I will be enjoying the gas mileage of the l6.

as usual I will keep you guys posted.

Sorry I don't have any rotary related news. I guess as far as cars go (especially 7s) no news is good news.

i'd like to know were your getting your info i have worked on these motors sence i was 13 and can help you with it if you are having trouble finding parts.



i have a 250 in my camaro as well if you stick with it there is a 4 barrel intake you can get they were made for the 292 90% of the 292 parts are swapable.



but if you want to stick with an I go 292 it has a longer stroke alowing for far better torque numbers and gournd pounding proformance. A few of the old times i know run some 292 novas that put v8's to shame and as it stands they payed about the same in proformance mods.



all i'm saying is don't nock the motor it's cheeper to get and in the long run just as adaptable as a v8. if you are looking for good power and reliability my 250 has more than 250,000 miles on it no rebuilds and as for power just modest mods to the intake and exhaust will make over 300 to the wheels. the 292 with a bore and stroke job will make 400 hp with the right carb setup. i can put you in touch with a guy runing a roots super pushing over 600

First of all let me say that I am ALL about the inline 6. They are one of the sweetest sounding domestic engines. I have a 63 comet with a 170. It is a dog @ 100bhp. I have always wanted to throw a turbo on that bad boy and see what che can do. Engine would have to be rebuilt at that point though.



That being said the curb weight of that car is suppose to be just under 2500lbs. Power to weight ratio https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png

The prices I am going with are from Clifford which from what I was aware was the only company producing l6 performance parts. Based on what I can get a 350 complete for and how much it would be to get the l6 to perform equally It looks to me that the 350 would be a cheaper route.

Jack, if you can get me in touch with where I can get some good l6 parts I would be game for keeping it in there. PM me with what you know can swap and what you can help me locate. If I keep the l6 I will definately want to get some headers on it, and at least have a 2bbl on it.

I am really enjoying the 425 in my gm.

yeah i'll hook you up with some links it's been a bit sence i did the searches but i'll find it all again plus i'll call one of my old buddies and see if i can get you in touch with him

sorry i haven't been on to send that info i was in the middle of a move i'm back so i'll send you that info in the next day or so

It ain't a rotary. 350's hardly have heat issues!!!! UUUUuuuummmm incase you didn't know the 350 is the most modified engine in history and the workd. unargueably the best platforn to build from. **** punch it out to a 455 small block!!! SICK! Run 8's with it!!

I am actually kinda liking the l6 now. Only gripe I have with it is the fuel delivery is not enough in my opinion for it. the carb needs a rebuild and it could use a tune up, but I am not complaining especially with how much I got it for. So when I get around to doing a tune up on it I will be rebuilding the old single barrel and getting the exhaust straight piped with probably 2.5". The car aint very pretty but it is reliable and gets the best mileage out of any of my cars right now.

I don't blame you. I am not sure on what the Chevs can do but I know that over in the ford scene people turn great 1/4 mile times. It seems that with a small turbo they can propel themselves into the high 11's. Oh yeah and they run w/o intercoolers and there is one guy that has 1700+ initial purchase of the car running an 11.5 https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png That is less than my turbo setup lol...

yes i know alot about the chevy 350 but what i'm saying is that with the I6 (not I8 sorry miss type) that the radiator is much too small to feed the larger needs of even a 350 i have done all the reaserch on this as i own a car with the 250.



here is some parts that will help you with your 250 they are intakes that will alow you to use alot more carbs than that single berral



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevy-194-2...1QQcmdZViewItem



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-Chevy-2...1QQcmdZViewItem

both are great and will alow for better breathing and also are swapable to the 292 if you want a longer stroke I6. another plus is that it will alow the mounting of a supercharger or even a turbo very easily



pm me if you want more info sooner. i will post mre as i find my books and when my friend calls me back

they will over heat easier than you give them credit thing is you either never notise when they do or they don't damage themselves when they do. But i have seen plenty of modded 350's go to the yard cause of a bad run on a hot motor. as for punching to a 455 yes that would give great power but for the cost it is cheeper to buy a 454 and punch it to a 502.you would get the same times and a much better responding engine as well as the added reliability of a less modded motor





*edit* had to add this *edit*

http://www.themotorbookstore.com/chevy6cyl.html this is a great guid to building an i6 at any price range gave me all kinds of great ideas for mine