1ME Carb/ 77 Inline 250

[bob77]

Long story short, I need a replacement carb.
My 77 Inline 250 has been getting horrible fuel mileage and in an attempt to rebuild the carb yesterday, I found that the Power Piston Rod Link was mising causeing the Power Piston and Meter Rod assembly to kind of float free and jam itself between the float and the roof of the air horn. I could probably find some pieces and parts and try to rebuild my carb, but I am just going to buy a new/remanufactured one. I'm trying my best to make a good purchase but I would like a little advice.
The number on the mojonet is 17057001. This carb has a holley remaufactured sticker on it, so obviously it had been replaced sometime in the past. Obviuosly there are mulitiple carb 3's available for the 77 250, I was just wondering if someone could give me some advice on choosing one if a suitable 17057001 is not available. I know that some of the numbers seem to correspond with elevation and such. (perhaps depending on where the vehicle was sold new, determined what kind of carb setup.) I am within an hour of the oregon coast, so I barely live a few hundred feet above sea level. I want to purchase the right carb, but I kind of need it soon as this truck is my daily driver.
Any ideas?

Thanks

[bob77]

I'm kind of shocked. I have called every salvage yard within 20 miles of me and NOBODY has a monojet for a late 70's chevy.

[VileZambonie]

You can get one from autozone

http://www.autozone.com/N,14900169//shopping/partTypeResultSet.htm

[bob77]

That's not as bad of a price as NAPA. I'm at the point where it is probably my only option. I have what may be a silly question. Obviously I know that I have a manual transmission. That part I have down. But other options include California/ Non-California. Of course I imagine this is an emissions thing. The california carbs cost significantly less. I certainly do not need a carb rated for higher altitudes either.
I'm sure the California carbs are cheaper because they are far less desireable due to the emissions controls and such.

[VileZambonie]

You should put the money into a V8 upgrade and not put $ into that 250.

[Lt.Del]

You should put the money into a V8 upgrade and not put $ into that 250.

Amen.  It seems a six works awfully hard to push around 4800 lbs of metal.  Whereas a V8 may n ot require such pressure from your right foot.

[cb7501]

Yeah Bob, solve your gas mileage issue by installing a 350  !

Don't listen to 'em Bob! The 250 inline is a classic, man!  They came in 3/4 tons for years, not exactly an anemic engine.  They've got torque out the ying-yang and get good mileage to boot (yours will soon!). Enough room in the engine bay to take a nap or hide from the old lady! Check out Leo Santucci's book "Chevrolet six cylinder power manual", a good read even if you're not planning on modifying your engine.

350's are great, but if you want to save gas and still have a real stump puller stick w/ the 250!

If the truck is your daily driver buy the monojet from Autozone, thats the quickest, easiest solution. It's a little pricey, but less than a car payment and should pay for itself in better gas mileage in no time.

A few other ideas if you feel like doing a project.....you could swap out your itegral head for a non-integral setup & carb from a pre '77 truck. I'd be really surprised if you're not able to do that dirt cheap at a junkyard, it would be a pretty simple job. They should have several to chose from, and you wouldn't have to worry about future trouble w/ the integral head.  If you do the head switch you could get an adapter ($15) to run a Holley-Weber progressive 2bbl carb ($65!) from Langdons (http://stoveboltengineco.com/catalog.htm) that should get you better mileage than the monojet.  Just a few ideas...

Try posting your question over at Stovebolt.com there are some amazingly knowledgeable inline guys over there...

Jason

[bob77]

Jason,

I appreciate all the good advice. The new (reman.) monojet from Auto Zone will be in on Tuesday. I have to say that I am quite excited about it. And let me assure you, if the engine blew up tomorrow, I would be out looking for another 250. Nothing against the 350's. They have their place. That place just isn't in my truck. After checking my compression last tuesday and finding that I am between 155 and 170 in all cylinders, I am going to trickle some money into the rest of the motor when I can. I have already been looking for a pre-75 head and intake. My plan is to locate one as inexpensively as possibly and rebuild it in my spare time and with some spare money (anyone have any spare money?). After the carb is installed and tuned well, my next aim will be at some smaller things such as new hoses and probably a new water pump. I think the water pump that is on it now was pressed together too far when it was built because the water pump pulley seems to sit too far back and the belt is misaligned. I am going to try over the next few weeks to locate me an electric fan setup based on your recommendations.

Thanks again as always to everyone.

[bigkountry]

http://www.cliffordperformance.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=CP&Category_Code=C250

[cb7501]

Bob, just a thought. If your belts are mis-aligned check your harmonic balancer (on crankshaft). When I got my truck the two pieces of the balancer were coming apart and causing my belts to be very crooked. That balancer isn't something you want flying off on the highway!

Jason

[VileZambonie]

Don't knock th V8 potential with power vs economy. Just a mild TBI V8 will kill the 250 all around which is why I suggested the V8. You can replace the carb with a reman unit but don't expect phenomenal results in fuel efficiency. If you wanna keep the 250 for Nostalgia I totally understand but if you're going to pump a lot of $ into it expecting good results you'll be quite disappointed.

[bob77]

i don't forsee needing to pump ALOT of money into it at all. The carb at $230 will by far be the single most expensive item I drop onto the engine for quite a while. I'm not expexting miraculous results. I just know that 10 mpg is just not right for a 250. Especially for one that has practicially "Like New" compression. Between the new carb, possibly a new distributor and an electric fan setup, I expect I can see 15 mpg. I am hoping anyway. I am certainly going to be keeping an eye out for a seperate head and intake setup on which I can mount a 2-barrel. This may be 6 months or a year down the road, but it is my plan.
I will double check the harmonic balancer, but I can tell for certain that the water pump is pressed together too far. The pulley actually rubs the water pump itself just slightly. And, the balancer and the alternator line up just fine.
And believe me, I understand that a proper setup on a small block can yield very respectable fuel efficiency results. But that also requires not driving a small block in the manner in which it was intended to be driven. (I wouldn't stay out of the pedal, it just wouldn't seem right).
I have a thing for those 250's. This is the 4th one I've owned. My very first truck when I was 19 was an 84 short box with the 250 and a 3 on the tree. If I hit the lottery tomorrow, I would build myself a huge shop/garage and start a collection of Chevy short boxes with inline 6's. I've already explained this to my wife. She doesn't seem as excited about the idea as I am. I already located hers. Craigs list here in Salem the other day had one listed. A 77 or 78 short box with the 250, power steering, power brakes and air conditioning. Again.... she didn't show much enthusiasm. But, she puts up with me and treats me like a king. So, I suppose I will have to carry the chevy short box excitement for the both of us.

[Lt.Del]

The pulley actually rubs the water pump itself just slightly.

That may account for a couple of mpg's

[bob77]

How difficult is it to change the harmonic balancer? I'm going to do the water pump, hoses, and probably the electric fan sometime in the next month and I would like to change out that harmonic balancer. Mine does look like it is kind of coming apart.

[VileZambonie]

Just use a puller like this.

Click Here

Remove the crank pulley and the bolts. Just don't press against the crankshaft threads. insert a smaller bolt to push off of.