• We have upgraded our forum software! See here for details.

Which 235 is better?

bammiller84

bammiller84

Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2014
Messages
44
Reaction score
0
Location
DANVILLE, IN
Need a little help. I have been looking thru the forum, but thought it would be easier to ask. I have been looking around for a 235 motor to replace my 216. I have found one that I believe is out of a 56 chevy car with 3speed, or a 1959 235 with 3 speed transmission, and rearend out of a truck? Not sure if the rearend will help? I currently have the stock setup and rearend.
 
58-62 are the easier engines to work with. The 57 and older had main cap shims even with the shell bearings. By 58 they are like any modern engine and have the better head.
 
As Usual ;

...What Evan said ~

In 1958 they enlarged the oil galleries one last time in a futile effort to make hydraulic lifters work properly in these low pressure , high volume oiling system engines .

They're not there and dirt cheap or FREE ! do not buy one that's disassembled or has the head off , there are plenty being taken out of Hot Rods and Projects every week...
 
Ok thanks for info, the 59 is a running motor but he wants $700 which seems a little high. So I will keep looking to find a better deal.
 
Oops ~

I meant to write : they're out there , and dirt cheap or free .

Seriously , Task Force Rigs are popular Hot Rods right now so go spend a few days looking at old threads in all the various Task Force Forums , PM or E-Mail anyone who took out a 235/261 as they're usually sitting there still , YEARS later and the owners are anxious to get rid of them .

I( always hear about ' I can't find an engine ! ' but I see them littering Junk Yards , back yards and garages .

The very few people who follow my advice here , ALWAYS contact me later to tell me the killer deal or FREE engine they got , later .

ALWAYS .

I have several vintage (NOT 216/235/261) engines scattered about my back yard , I'm building one for my truck , another for my Metropolitan Nash and will then overhaul and try to sell off the others , I wonder if anyone will actually want them , who cares ? I like engine building as does anyone who knows how .
 
You're real close to me, in Danville. My father-in-law tried to sell a '57 truck 235 on Indpls. craigslist two years ago, nobody even called. He hauled it in to Omni-source in Greencastle and SCRAPPED IT!
I found out about it maybe 6 months later. Had I known, it would be in my shop, probably just taking up space.
 
Cheap/FREE i6 Engines

I keep trying to tell Folks this , one old grump here says I'm full of it :p .

I just found a takeout 1953 216 and hope to go check it out soon , I certainly don't want it cluttering up my back yard but I'll try to get it in the hands of someone who wants it , as cheaply as I can .
 
What Nate said

I followed Nate's advice years ago. I put a note up on the '55-'59 forum looking for a "good running" 235. One of the nicest guys I have ever met contacted me the NEXT DAY saying he took one out of his task force truck 4 years previous and tried to sell it but nobody came to look at it. It had been sitting on blocks in his heated shop ever since. Told me he was tired of banging his toes on it and would I PLEASE come take it off his hands for free.

It was a five hour drive away but that engine is STILL in my truck now and still running strong.

Seriously, don't pay more than a couple hundred bucks for one. People are literally throwing these great engines away. Seems like we are the only ones that want them. That's too bad because they are great engines and make putting one of these trucks together a simple task instead of having to fab up V8 motor mounts/re-position the radiator support/fab trans mounts/replace rear end/etc.

Andy
 
Lesson Learned Yet

Andy is a wise Man here ~ he _could_ have $pent mondo Dollars finding and rebuilding/overhauling a 216/235/261 but instead he ignored the nay - sayers and beat the bushes , found what he needed FREE (even better than my favorite cheap) and is still using it YEARS later .

Now , go burn up those Task Force and '55 ~ '62 Cheverolet CAR forums because EVERY DAY some boob yanks another perfectly good Stovebolt engine out and sets it aside...
 
Who Doesn't ?

Even the Lesbians I know , they all like boobs too ! :rolleyes: .

Motocycles too :p .

Anyways , I'm prolly the biggest boob here because I still prefer my old ancient InLine 6 Bangers to rattle & wheeze my way across the Mojave Desert

Diff'rent strokes and all that jazz .
 
One other thing, I think you can post a "want to buy" ad on Craigslist, for free. Might wake-up someone with one.
Personally, I've never had ANY luck with Craigslist, maybe you can.
 
craigslist

Yes , it's is scammer and crazies central but I have also found some good things there , often very cheaply .
 
Found one!

So I was on craigslist the other night as usual looking for deals, wife asking me as usual why are you always looking on there :D, and found a 1960 235. So went after work with my father-in-law about 1 1/2 away. Motor was pulled but looks good. has everything except fan blade and generator and also included bellhousing. So I bought it for $100. Which i thought was good deal.

Now I wonder what to do and rebuild. Any suggestions for possibly a good cam or any other suggestions. I will eventually go with a dual carb setup and prolly stock headers. Want to make it a driver with a little bit of power but not so much it wont run right or wont be to trust worthy.

Thanks again for great advice!

Brock
 
Drop it into the frame as-is, read up on Nate's advise on how to revive an engine from a long sleep and get it running. I strongly suggest new wires, plugs, points, condenser, cap and rotor as well as fuel pump and new or rebuilt carburetor. Also strongly suggest pulling all plugs, squirting some oil in each cylinder, removing rocker cover and liberally pouring some oil over entire rocker assembly, then spinning the engine with the plugs out until you see the oil pressure gauge show some movement. Bring it up to operating temperature, making sure you have some kind of oil pressure and there is oil weeping out of all the rockers onto the valve stems (leave the rocker cover off while checking). Then adjust the valves and run again to operating temperature. Pull plugs and do compression test.

As stated before, my '57 235 sat for almost four years without being run when I got it. It blows a little smoke, but it runs great, is reliable and cost me NOTHING. No need to rebuild it if it's doing what you want. Save yourself some money and get it running first to see what you exactly have.

BTW, cool that you found one for cheap. I'm willing to bet it's a good runner as-is.

Andy
 
Last edited:
What Andy said !

How you re awaken it is critical .

Drain the old oil out straightaway and re fill it with thin DINO BASED Multi-Viscosity oils , like 10W-30 or 10W-40 .

Don't be surprised / up set if the old oil comes out brown , gray or with water in it , just let it drip a long time before re fitting the drain plug and fill it .

It's better to find a hand pump typ oiler and use it to squirt oil / ATF in between the valve springs as what usually happens is : the valve stems want to stick in their guides , this bends push rods , co$ting you time and effort before you've even begun .

Once it's full of fresh DINO oil and the valves have been oiled , then set the valve gaps and remove the spark plugs , crank it over a while , don't run it 'till the battery goes flat or the starter motor smokes , it should crank really fast with the plugs out and in a few minutes you should see oil beginning to dribble out the weep holes in the middle of each rocker , plus maybe the oil pressure gauge will lift off the peg ever so slightly .

Gap the spark plugs to .035" , use new ones if the center electrodes have rounded shoulders . NEVER use platinum plugs in an old Tech engine .

Gap the points to .013" ~ .016" then static set the timing to ball on pointer , now you're ready to re install the spark plugs and see if she'll light off .

Following the right order makes the job easier and it'll run better too .

NO STARTING FLUID ! use a small tin can with Gasoline in it , only dribble a little bit in each time .

Once the fuel pump picks up it's prime the carby will fill quickly .

Once it lights off , keep it running at a fast clip but NOT over revving it like a Honda ~ expect HUGE BILLOWING CLOUDS of blue and white smoke until it's been running a while , then it'll prolly settle down and leave a faint blue haze behind it .

Come back here and let us know and we'll walk you though easy tune up and routine maintenance including how to repair it to stop smoking without a $1,500 overhaul .

Step by step , steady as she goes , you're going to enjoy how it runs and drives , trust me this is why CHEVROLET handily out sold those other (who ? I dunno , who cars ?) brands 3 to 1 for 50 years....

BRAKES ! no test drives sans brakes !! :eek: .
 
235 Engine #'s

Ok here are the #s I found on block is 3769716 G 15 0, and on the head is 3836848. Anything special about these?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top