Posted by Russ/Wyo on Wednesday, October 09, 2002 at 12:28PM :
In Reply to: 230 vs 251 posted by Ryan McNabb on Wednesday, October 09, 2002 at 9:22AM :
My first '49 B1PW had a tired 230 in it, so I swapped in a freshly rebuilt 218. The 218 actually had more power than the 230 and ran very smoothly. I traded the original '49 for one of Steve Wataha's restored '49 Power Wagons, which has a 265 industrial motor. The PW with the 265 has to carry about 800 lbs. more weight than the PW with the 218, and they performed about the same. The 265 would pull steep hills a bit farther in high gear than the 218, but that is the only noticeable difference. I would recommend staying with the 230, the difference probably would be very slight and the work to make the change would be considerable. These trucks were designed so that the gearing does all of the work and you don't need a large engine. In the end, it's your truck, so install any engine you want.