Just wanted to give you all an update on the engine swap (sorry...no V8...just another crappy 6-banger :'( ). "Charlotte" has been undriven and in storage for most of the past year due to her increasingly poor-running original 250. Although she has extremely low miles, an unfortunate attempt at getting her to run after 35 years of storage caused internal damage and sidelined her until now.
An ad on Craigslist 3 months ago for an original 230 engine from a Frost Green 1970 Nova caught my eye, and my son Alex and I headed for Austin, MN to pick it up. The engine is 100% original and untouched, and still has its anti-dieseling solenoid, CCS solenoid, and original 1970 date-coded plug wires.
A few hours spent with 2 cans of carb cleaner, Simple Green, an ultra-soft toothbrush, an old t-shirt, and Q-tips really cleaned things up nicely. The engine is now ready to install.