It’s time to set the record straight; six months ago was when I last posted a clue. It’s sad my posting them has fizzled out.
CC Clue
– Posted on June 28, 2016
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Curbside Classics Archives
It’s time to set the record straight; six months ago was when I last posted a clue. It’s sad my posting them has fizzled out.
That’s a GM 250 CID 6 cylinder. Looks just like the one in my ’74 Nova.
Yep, Chevy 250 / 6. Electronic ignition, so prob early 70’s. Can’t tell if manifold is cast with head, which would make it mid-late 70s. Although I think 77 was the year GM switched all engine paints to GM-corp blue,
First reaction here was its a Holden “Red” 6 cylinder. A second glance at the distributor position told me it was a Chev 6.
Agree with Dan about the blue paint coming online in 1977. Did these engines have an air pump when they were installed in passenger cars (maybe here in CA)? Maybe this engine is in a truck? I agree it’s probably a Chevy 250.
Chev six, I wonder if its in something really unusual like a South African assembled Holden?
Hard to tell from the photo, but it appears that the brake m/c is at the top right of the photo, so that would rule out all the RHD vehicles (ZA, NZ, etc). Need to see more of the under hood area.
My thoughts too. Plus probability would be against it!
2017 Dacia Sandero in right-hand drive.
Great news!
1975 or 1976 Chevy Nova
Hi,
My GM/1965 Chevrolet valve covers have the Chevrolet name embossed in the valve cover and the fill cap is a vent cap.
Is the electronic ignition set up in the 1979’s different?
Thanks, Gary
That is a Chevrolet Six, probably a 250 and probably in an X body of some sort.
And why do American cars always have leaky gaskets? My TL is still as tight as a drum coming on 17 years.
I can safely say this car is older than your TL!
It’s weird; my ’63 Ford has never had a leaky valve cover gasket, nor did my ’62 Galaxie. On the flip side, both my ’81 LeBaron and ’86 Gran Fury were dribblers.
Crawling all over my ’00 Ford van earlier checking radiator hoses, it had nary a leak to be found.
My last Beetle didn’t have leaky gaskets, the Ghia before would mark it’s spot if given the chance.
Its not the gasket, but the grommet under the PCV valve. Note that the oil is on top of the cover in that area.
Hey, I only see 5 plugs. Where are my reading glasses dagnabbit?
One hidden behind the heater hose at the bottom of the picture?
Re the leaks, I’d be looking to the fill cap and breather hose first.
I had a 5-cylinder Audi for 15 years, but the engine didn’t look at all like that! 🙂
Electronic ignition and Chevy red paint makes 1974-76 the most likely years. Nova/Camaro? What little I can see of the engine compartment makes it look smaller than a truck. Don’t think the full-size cars had the 250-6 available at that time…
My first thought was a Chevrolet 230 or 250 inline 6. But I don’t remember the oil filler cap that far forward on the valve cover. The ones I’ve seen, IIRC, are about in the middle.
When did the distributor go to the front. The 230 in my 68 Nova had it in the back so it was tough to work on. That’s placed more like a Ford but it isn’t any Ford I have had. I dunno.
Chevy 194/230/250/292 six always had distributor in the front. The old 216/235 had dist about the center, but 235 was done by 1962.
1998 Kia Sephia with an engine swap for sure
Best answer so far.
It sure looks like that GM 250–but perhaps something’s un-Chevy-like…could it be the (mid-70s) Pontiac (Ventura, Firebird, etc.) or Buick or Olds, or even a Checker?
A 1975-76 X body? The HEI was introduced as an option in 1974 and made standard in 1975.
Music to my eye ! =8-) .
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IMO , the reason these so often had leaky rocker boxes was : lazy / incompetent ‘ mechanics ‘ ~ once you bent the edges of the too thin sheet metal they’re tricky (bot bot impossible) to dress back to straightness and oil tight again .
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Mine sure don’t leak ! .
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One can always cheat and use Permatex ” The Right Stuff ” or similar to _glue_ the rockerbox to the cylinder head and avoid pesky oil weeps and seeps .
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Pretty sure this is a pre integral head 250 C.I.D. unit in a Passenger Car .
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The ’75 & ’76 used an oddball HEI unit with separate ignition coil . maybe the ’77’s too , I no longer remember .
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-Nate
“Which one of the N.O.V.A. X-bodies have we not covered in depth yet?” I ask myself and go sleuthing thru the archives. The only one I don’t see listed except for an outtake is the Buick Apollo. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen an Apollo in a long, long time.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-outtake-three-very-different-gm-cars/
The first car I bought with my own money was a 1974 Apollo with this six, 3-speed on the column, manual steering and brakes. I learned too late (i.e. after I’d paid my money and driven the thing home) that the former owner had probably done something wrong, run it without coolant or oil or something. Used about 1 qt/500 mi. I nursed it through two years of ownership without blowing up the engine.
Its amazing how much power we can get out of those in line Chevy engine.
It’s a Chevy straight 6. I’m not a Chevy guy so I really couldn’t guess the size or year,