GM - Chevy 250 Engine Conversion

Starting a separate thread on the 230 & 250 inline 6-cylinder engine conversions.
This engine conversion will bolt in and out of a 90/119/130 without vehicle modifications, like the 292 making it an easy, inexpensive weekend conversion.
Since the 230 and 250 blocks are 2" shorter than the 292, and the ancillary mounts are different, this thread should eliminate any confusion with the 292.

Why convert?
The performance and ease of conversion are remarkable and well-suited to a Defender-style vehicle.
After driving small diesel for over 15 years and having to deal with high maintenance and poor performance coupled with reliability issues it was time for something better.
We built conversions for the Diahatsu 2.8 TD, the Iveco 2.8 and 3.1 TDI, and the OM617, and drove Land Rovers with 200 and 300 TDI engines.
These mechanical diesel are generally loud and smoky while the GM inline 6 is smooth and so quiet, you often don't hear it idling or driving.

The Chevy 250 was used in cars, trucks, and vans, and had many industrial uses being manufactured from 1962 to 1990.
A good used GM inline 6-cylinder engine typically sells for under $500 and is usually less than $250.
The cam is driven by metal timing gears eliminating the need to change a timing belt or timing chain.
The GM High Energy Ignition (HEI) systems are extremely reliable and were used on military vehicles without issue when submerged.
Parts are inexpensive with over-the-counter support from any local parts store.

There were several different versions of the 250 engine with different cylinder heads.
Some of the heads had a separate bolt-on manifold, while other versions had the inlet manifold integrated into the head casting.
Both versions will fit into a 90/110/130 using our conversion kit.

If you want Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI), the Holley Sniper is a good choice.
We will be working out the details for the Sniper as we did for the 292 conversions.

The other deciding factor was the accessibility to the engine and all the components.
Everything is within easy reach making for much shorter work intervals.
I timed changing a starter with hand tools which took 12 minutes.

With HEI and EFI, the only maintenance is changing the oil along with the rare wires, plugs, cap, rotor, and air filter renewals.

We will be offering kits as soon as they are manufactured.
As of the date of this post, we are waiting on the engine adapter castings to be machined, which hopefully won't take much longer.