1980 Chevy stepside with 250 inline 6

[victimofGM]

Brother-in-Law is rebuilding one that is already in good condition for its age. He can’t afford to buy and drop in the V8 engine he wants. What are some options he can do to modify the inline 6 for more power without hurting its reliability and smooth running?

[Hemlock140]

Places like Summit Racing have performance items for the 250 such as headers for dual exhaust, intake for 4 barrel. They will only work if your 250 does not have the integrated intake/exhaust manifold engine. Adding a lot more power to an old, tired engine is risky, but as long as it's being rebuilt with hardened valves and new bearings/rings it should be able to handle it.

[Qwh]

A turbo or supercharger is a good option for power however it effects gas milage

[M3 Mitch]

Check out Clifford Performance. They have a lot of 6-cylinder headers, intakes, cams, etc.

Probably a set of headers will be your best bang for the buck. On a 6 in a truck, the install should not be much of a PITA.