Hi All,

I'm new to the board and old cars in general. I do have some mechanical ability just not much experience. I'm looking to change that by wrenching on my new 1951 Chevy with the aid of the factory shop manual and the internet.

My car has a stock Chevy 216 that was rebuilt 10K miles ago. Since my motor runs strong I'd like to keep it and hop it up a little. I've found all sorts of info on hot rodding the 235 I6, but little on hopping up a 216. Mostly, people just say to pull the 216 and drop in a 235/261.

I understand the limitations of this dipper motor and that speed/power gains will be low. However, I love the look of dual carbs and a split exhaust manifold. At this point, I'm just weighing my options.

This leads to my question. Are there any dual intakes that work best on the 216 and/or others that should be avoided? I love the look of the Edelbrock dual intake with the provision for the stock heat riser. I like the idea of them with a split manifold instead of headers, but perhaps hot water heat is a better way to go. Fenton's seem to be available everywhere so I'm less inclined to want them. I'd really just like to hear your thoughts even if its just to tell me to forget it. I've tried the search function here, but it doesn't seem to work all that well or I'm the only guy foolish enough to ask that question here.

Thanks

Wayne

Hi wbeaton, don't know much about 216s (or 235/261s either)but I do understand the desire to be different than the crowd. There is a LOT of knoledge here about these engines. Please hold for the next avaible operator LOL. Jay 6155

Nothing wrong with the 216's, just keep in mind that even all the early 235's were also "dipper" engines until 1953 or so, and the Wayne 12 Port head was conceived in 1939, a full 14 years before the insert bearing was even considered for these engines. Most of the dual intakes are made with the smaller 216 runner size, so most any of them should be as good as one would expect them to be for this engine.

So I take what you are saying is that the intake brand isn't the issue. I just have to make sure it fits. I suppose that means then that the carb size/type is really the important factor and not the intake.

So what is the preferred carb for the 216? Rochester B's? Carter WA1's or YF's?

There are intake port adapter rings that can allow you to interchange intakes if you find one made for the larger 235/216 ports, but I would try to stay to the small side for carb selection, its probably easy to overcarb a 216, even if built with many performance mods.

Hi Wayne . . . I have a warm spot in my heart for these engines. I personally like the idea of hopping up what's there. Bill Fisher's book demonstrates that there is a lot of potential in the dipper system - not to mention reliability even when souped - so long as it is setup right and not over revved.

There are several different intakes to choose from for the 216. If one is sticking to One Barrels - then the Nicson, McGurk and Edelbrock are high on my list - with the quirky art-deco Thickston a close second.

For my build I will be using the 2nd design two deuce from Eddie Edmunds


It was designed for use with Stromberg 97s - but those are too much carb for a 216. The smaller venturi Stromberg 81 would work much better (but they are uber rare). Instead I will run a pair of Carter WCDs.

The Edmunds manifolds allow one to run headers because the core of the manifold includes a water jacket (hence the plumbing in the picture above).

With a bone stock 216 I think the most important element for an Edelbrock dual will be the carbs. An identically matched set is a must (same carb number plate). As CNC-Dude has indicated, using carbs originally intended for a smaller OEM application is also a good idea. For example, the Carter W-O model 513s was used on the Nash 172 - the model 507s was fitted to the diminutive Willy's 134.

Keep us posted on your mods. Glad to hear you're keeping it inline.

regards,
stock49

That Edmund's intake is beautiful. I love that its a simple casting that's not too ornate.

I'm still in the knowledge building phase so my performance retrofit probably won't happen until next winter. I still have to decide what intake and carbs to use and then source the parts without it breaking the bank. It also looks like I'll have to build my own air filter covers. All I've found for dual carb air cleaners are these little chrome things. They are too showy for me. I think 50's GMC air cleaners might fit, but they sure are pricey.

Thanks for the advice so far. You guys have helped a lot.