1950 Chevy Pickup Resurection

[viven44]

If this was on a FORD, should be Godzilla swap time! Glad Ford decided to come out with a compact pushrod offering. Tired of Coyote swaps.

[viven44]

That escalated quickly!

[Gary Lewis]

I would consider a swap to a 235.  From the outside you can't tell the difference, but they have a full-pressure oiling system instead of the dip rods, and the 12V starter.  So we could bolt that in and still use the rest of the original driveline.

And we could do a rebuilt ourselves by just honing the cylinders.  But I'd rather find a used one that is guaranteed to run.  So if anyone of knows of a Chevy 235...

[FuzzFace2]

That puts a wrench into the system
I still think I would work with him to get this running as he can learn from it none the less.

Where is that leak tanking the block?
For S&G what if you were to grind that crack out and clean the area then heat it with a torch and stick weld up the crack?
You cant cant loose anything but some time to try.
Even if it still leaks what you have to go thru just to get it to run he will learn.
Dave ----

[85lebaront2]

I do know where there is a rebuilt 235, however it is a 1954 Corvette engine that the owner decided to restomod the car instead of restoring. There is also a rebuilt Powerglide with it. If he were to sell it minus the triple Carter YHs and split exhaust, it's just a slightly warmed up 235 (Jack Clifford hydraulic cam equivalent of the original Blue Flame solid lifter one).

It is actually not a 1953/54 Corvette block as he found out when the motor mount locations were wrong.

[viven44]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/353246321051853/

[Gary Lewis]

Dave - If it weren't for the other engines coming out of the woodwork I could see if the engine would run despite the cracks and then hope I could weld them up.  But with these other options...

Bill - I assume that engine is on the East Coast, so I'd have a long trip to get it if so.  But, it is a possibility.  The Powerflush might be a nice addition.  Can you ask how much?

Vivek - Nice find. The price isn't too bad and the distance is much better than the East Coast.  But the "fair" condition is slightly worrying.  On the other hand the tranny would be a bonus, although I'd bet the one in this pickup has a lower 1st gear.

All - My brother talked to a friend of his/ours that knows of a 235 sitting on another friend's garage floor.  He bought it to put in a truck but sold the truck before he got it installed.  So he's supposed to ask about it tomorrow or Monday.  It is only 100 miles away and said to be running when purchased.

So thanks, y'all!  Things are looking less dim this evening.  

[85lebaront2]

I will call him tomorrow and find out. Both as I said were rebuilt by me.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Why not just LS swap it?
It IS a Chevy after all!  🤨  🤮

You and I are cut of different cloth, my friend!  

[ArdWrknTrk]

Amazing what pops out of the shadows wen you know how to make the right friends. 😉

You've got this Gary!

I've been waiting for you to address the Chevy since you went and dragged it out of the weeds.  👍

[Gary Lewis]

No swaps that increase the power, unless that's only a very minor increase - like the 92 HP of the 216 to the 115 HP of most 235's.  Planning on keeping the same tranny and diff to make this easy.  Just get it running and driveable.

And yes, it is amazing what comes out of the woodwork.  Hope the one my brother found works out.

That one is in my home town of Ark City, Kansas.  My brother still lives there as do both of his sons, one of which is a very well respected mechanic.  We were up there last Thursday and met a few of the hot rodders in town, one of which drove up in his '68 Goat - with an LS in it.  And it has an NP440 tranny that I'd not heard about, which was in some of the trucks then.  Relatively high 1st gear and a .73 OD.  And it bolts up to an LS.  (One of Chevy's Better Ideas.  )

But during the conversation about the Goat (aka Gran Turismo Omologato aka GTO) the guy that has the 235 engine was mentioned.  So it is a tight community and things might happen.  

If it does I hope it comes with a starter as that would be a 12V unit, and save some money as they aren't cheap.  And if we get really lucky maybe it has the generator on it?

[mat in tn]

I think resurrecting it as simply as possible is really the best plan. teaching the basics and will have the best chance of a quicker turn around. it is a wonderful way to teach and keep an interest. and there is something that happens in this process. ten years later, when its dropped, bagged and ls swapped. there will be a little bit of "I miss the way it was". priceless!

[1986F150Six]

Gary, I am reminded of a 1963 VW Beetle I had which had a 6V electrical system. I installed an 8V battery and adjusted the mechanical voltage regulator. The car ran for many years with quicker starting times, brighter lights and faster windshield wipers.

[ArdWrknTrk]

X10!  

[Gary Lewis]

Mat & Jim - I have a book on Restoring Your Chevy Pickup and he's already read the whole thing.  He is gung ho, although the "leak in the block" took a bit of wind out of his sails - and mine too, for that matter.  So when I asked him this morning if he was feeing better about it he said "Yes!".  And today he's hoping we can take the stuff out of the bed to see what it is like.  

David - My brother and I were talking about the 8V batteries just the other day.  Dad set one of our vehicles up that way and tweaked the regulator, but it wasn't to be taken out of town as it tended to boil the battery.  My brother did.  

[mat in tn]

discovery is something that happens in life. learning how to navigate through setbacks is very similar to many other types of diagnosis. along with conflict resolution. and it also gives him a front row seat to how his elder does it. he is watching! he is listening! he is interested! and now he needs a spark of hope and a seed for a direction. then he needs to be heard!

[85lebaront2]

Gary, I just spoke with Sonny Tesh about the 235 and Powerglide. Powerglide was a closed shaft (Torque tube) unit. He bought the parts to change it to the open drive shaft for the Corvette.

I mentioned one of his stumbling blocks being the motor mount brackets, the 1953-55 6 cylinder Corvette mounts were different than the car (and maybe truck) mounts. so after all the work, the engine would not fit the frame. He sort of put it "on the shelf" so to speak till a couple of years ago. He bought a later frame kit, put an LS3 and 4L80E in it.

[Gary Lewis]

Bill - Did he mention a price?

This thing has, as expected, a torque tube.  In fact, I just pointed that out to Ian.

But that complicates things as the Powerglide/torque tube combo is probably a different length than this 3-speed/torque tube.  I think the torque tubes were specific to a wheelbase/transmission combination.  So I'm not sure we could use that.

Anyway, the mounts on that engine should be the same as this engine - right?

Nice 'Vette!

[85lebaront2]

Gary, I honestly can't say on the mounts. Sonny was going to see if he can figure out how much he has in it.

I remember the 1947 and 1948 Chevies dad had, the 1947 was a sedan and the 1948 was an enginless convertible. The motor mounts on them were a front support, a rear under the transmission support and two little rectangular "out rigger" style on the lower part of the clutch housing. On the cars, the torque tube had a slip joint near the front, as the axle/torque tube combination was attached to the rear springs with pivots. This meant the axle location was determined by the rear springs, and the torque tube only enclosed the U-joint and drive shaft and took the rotational reaction.

This was completely different from a Buick or Nash where the fore and aft axle location was controlled by the transmission mount (guy I worked with had a 1953 Roadmaster, 322 Nailhead and Dynaflow). The tranmission mount was two parts, one support it, the other was the thrust mount. Thrust mount had failed and the whole powertrain was about 3" forward and had sheared the motor mounts.

I would suspect the 3 speed and Powerglide might be very close or the same length.

[Ifitaintbroke]

I know you're looking for a 235, but I just stumbled across this on CL.

https://augusta.craigslist.org/pts/d/gough-1949-chevy-216-motor-plus-parts/7732671648.html