1950 Chevy Pickup Resurection

[85lebaront2]

Welcome to old French vehicles. I thought I explained the torque tube to you, apparently not in enough depth though.

On the wipers, when I had my 1958 F100, I found an electric wiper motor that was a replacement for the vacuum one, used the same cable and drive and it oscilated exactly like the vacuum motor did.

[BigBrother-84]

85lebaront2 wrote

Welcome to old French vehicles.

Guys, I’m lost.
Why a '50 Chevy is considered as a «French» truck?
Citroën, ok. But Chevrolet?

[ArdWrknTrk]

Chevrolet is a French name..  

[BigBrother-84]

Ah, ok, just 'cause of the name.

Nothings to see with the bow tie origin…


Pretty sure there was never any Chevy manufactured in France, nor in Europe.
But ok, let’s say it’s a French truck.

[85lebaront2]

Louis Chevrolet and his brothers were Swiss from the French speaking part of Switzerland. They started by making speed parts for Fords.
https://www.chevroletbrothers.com/

[Gary Lewis]

Louis was born a very few miles into Switzerland from France. I looked it up before we went to Alsace last year and found that the village is actually Swiss not French.

[Gary Lewis]

Time for an update, and a bit of advice from my grandbuddy, Ian.

The question to Ian is if we should look for an automatic transmission rather than going back with this 3-speed manual?  Please read on to understand why I asked the question...

The main issue is that the flywheel on the old engine, the 216, will not work with the 12v starter on the new, 235, engine.  So if we want to go with a manual transmission I have to find a flywheel for a 235.

But, I'll also need to find another bellhousing because I can't get this one off.  Remember that I said that some of the bolts holding the bellhousing to the engine are only accessible after pulling the pressure plate, clutch, and flywheel?  Well the only way to get to the 6 bolts holding the pressure plate on is by turning the crankshaft on the engine, but I can't get it to turn - in spite of using a very long pry bar/lever.  And in spite of you and I squirting PB Blaster oil into the cylinders last spring.  This engine is locked up!

It is hard to explain how difficult it is to get to the bolts, but the video below might help.  I have it set to start at the 6 minute mark where he's taking everything out to get the bellhousing off.  Note that he uses a screwdriver to turn the engine to get to the other bolts.  I've tried using that large pry bar we had out and even then it will not turn.

However, if we go with an automatic transmission we won't need the bellhousing nor the clutch/flywheel/pressure plate combo.  Our "new" engine is set up for an automatic, so I think it would be much easier to go that way, although I've not researched it much yet.

Comments, please!

[ArdWrknTrk]

If the old engine is shot why not just undo the main caps and whichever rods you can reach?

Or just cut the crank at the last journal?

[Gary Lewis]

I can, Jim.  In fact, Steve/FoxFord33 told me on Sunday that he has recently seen a Youtube where a guy removed the rod caps and main caps and was able to turn the crank enough to get to the bolts.  I've not found that video, but I have read on other forums that guys have had trouble executing that procedure.  So I wanted to ask the question about the auto tranny.

If we want to go back with a manual I'll at least have to source a 235 flywheel.  But that doesn't look too hard as here's one at Parts Geek for $88.

I'm going to continue with disassembly to see what I can do, but needed to start the conversation.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I know nothing about these old inlines, but it seemed the expedient path forward.  

I'm really surprised that there isn't a different starter gear you can use with that flywheel, but again I'm not looking at it, and "I know NOTHING!".

[Gary Lewis]

Well, I don't think there is an automatic transmission that will work.  If you watch that video, above, the guy is installing a 1954 235 in a late 1949 truck, which is almost exactly what we are doing - a 1955 235 in a 1950 truck.  And he says that you can't use the bell housing off the 235 as its mounts don't attach to the frame the same way the 216's mounts attach.  And since it doesn't look like they offered an automatic in the trucks until the mounting change happened, there isn't an auto tranny that will bolt in.

So it looks like we will have to go back with the manual tranny and the original bell housing plus a new flywheel and probably a new clutch.  Given that I'm working to this plan:

1: I moved the engine and shop crane into the machine shop side and cleaned things up.

2: I'll roll the truck back around to the car port behind the shop and put Big Blue back in his stall

3: I will then turn the engine upside down, pull the pan, and figure out how to turn the crank to get the clutch & flywheel out and, therefore, the bell housing off.  And I'll pull the front mount off.

4: When I have all the pieces I'll put them on the 235.

5: When Ian is coming back I'll bring the truck back around and either install the engine before he gets here or wait until he gets here to install it.  Then we will start it.

[1986F150Six]

Hang in there, Gary! Maybe you remember this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p68sYaCgQdA

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, David.  I do remember that, but it was still funny.  

Got the 50 back under the carport today and Big Blue back in his stall in the shop.  Here are a couple of pics to prove it.  The one on the left shows the motive power used for a few minutes - until I realized that the truck was almost rolling w/o the mower, at which point I just pushed it by hand.  The one on the right shows that I cut it rather close getting it past the post - but it cleared.

Now I can work on disassembling the engine to get the bell housing off.

[85lebaront2]

Gary, it would take some doing and fabricating the mounts. Later 235s (1958-1962) used a 3 point mount system, 2 on the sides of the block and one under the back of the transmission.

I suspect the 1950 truck has the older mounting system, similar to what my 1958 F100 had, one mount at the front of the engine and two on the clutch housing. When I went to the 312 and 3 speed + OD, I used an engine swap mount kit so I could used the 1957 Ranchero mounts.

If you can get the iron case Powerglide that would have come on that 235, it has it's oil reservoir built into the bottom of the converter housing. On the left end cover the throttle valve and shift valve are mounted insied, on the right end cover, the dipstick tube is in it. I would imagine that with the engine sitting in the frame with the front mounts secured, the side covers on an iron Powerglide would be about where the rear mount "ears" are on the clutch housing.

Check with Jack Clifford if he is still around and tell him I referred you (long story), he may have a solution for it. Iron PGs were used through 1954 with torque tube drive shafts.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, Bill.  I'm sorta back on the manual tranny kick right now as I really don't want to do any fabrication.  So if I can get the bell housing off and buy a new clutch/flywheel/pressure plate combo I think I'll go back that way.

But you are right, the 50 does have one mount in front and two in the rear.  The one in the front mounts to the timing cover and is said to fit the 235.  So I'll be taking it off as I work on the 216 to get the bell housing off.

[viven44]

Thanks for asking that. I didn't have the courage to ask

Growing up in a ex-French colony, my family would sometimes talk about the Chevrolé (how I thought it was spelled as a kid) they had. I had no idea they were talking about a Chevrolet until I moved to the states.

[viven44]

With the engine frozen that much (likely piston-cylinder wall), I'm afraid all the maincaps, rod caps, head, pistons need to come off before anything is going to turn.. this is based on all the "I do cars" videos I've watched...

[BigBrother-84]

viven44 wrote

Thanks for asking that. I didn't have the courage to ask

Haha, no shame about this kind of question!
Let's say I know a little bit about French things, and I'm always surprised when my US friends make "french" statements that I never heard anything about...
In this case, I learned that a truck simply needs to have a french name to become a French Truck.  Okay...


Also (thanks to Gary) I previously learned that my US friends call the Chevrolet brand Bowtie.  Because of the emblem shape.

Guess what, you have to live in English to know that story.
Because here, a Chevrolet is just... a Chevrolet.  Not a «noeud papillon».


Oh, and about the pronunciation.
French is like any other language, it's colored by multiple accents shades.
So, in Quebec we say "Chevrolè" (like "let it be" but not pronouncing the "t", le[] it be).
My brother in law, who was born in South France, pronounces it "Chevrolé", as in "lay".

[85lebaront2]

Cheap
Heap
Every
Valve
Rattles
Oil
Leaks
Every
Time

[BigBrother-84]