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Rebuilding the 54

Climberdad

Climberdad

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Nov 2, 2007
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Location
Argyle, TX
Hello all,

The project has begun. This weekend I got the front clip off and the engine is out. After a lot of scraping, a lot of degreaser, a lot of power washing and a lot of Gojo from head to toe - the engine, frame and engine compartment and finally myself are all clean...

1st question. I can finally read the engine numbers: Con 4 C 314 are on the plates behind the distributor. 3835911 on the same side towards the front. From the inliners page the engine appears to be a 53-55 235. What does the Con 4 C 314 translate to?

Here's some pics of the progress.

Cheers!
 

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Thanks for the info.

It was my understanding, from the Previous Owner, that the engine was a 58...

This make this a little more interesting. How do I tell if the engine "matches" the body/chassis? By matches - I mean - is it the original engine?

Cheers!
 
Rarely do they match this far out. What you need to do is to decode the date out of the engine, then decode the vin of the truck. I think it is acceptable in the resto world if the #s are in 45 days of each other. No one will know but you.....so if it is not, DON'T TELL ANYONE.
 
Which Engine

Just post up a pic of the engine before you pulled it apart and we'll know what it is...
 
Smooth looking truck!

As nice as yours is to start with, I'm not sure why you are blowing it apart~:confused:

I'm sure you'll have fun with it, however. Did you get to drive it much before you started disassembling it?

Keep the pictures coming!
 
Does anyone have a source to decode the C 314 code? the VIN shows it's sequential number to be 26015. I'm trying to determine how close these two are in production dates.

ol' chebby said:
Rarely do they match this far out. What you need to do is to decode the date out of the engine, then decode the vin of the truck. I think it is acceptable in the resto world if the #s are in 45 days of each other. No one will know but you.....so if it is not, DON'T TELL ANYONE.
Click to expand...
 
Nate,

I looked back and found that I took no engine pics prior to starting. I've got a ton of the disassembly - most of the linkages and some other things that were going to be confusing during the re-assembly.

From what I can tell - this engine has not been rebuilt. The main bearings are not oversized and I can not see any markings on the tops of any of the pistons.

We'll see soon enough. I have been talking with Evan (Coilover) and he is helping me locate some bits. He has a gentleman by the name of Jerry Willis in Princeton, TX who is a inline 6 expert. Maybe Evan will chime in on more of Jerry's background. Jerry is going to build up a long block for me that should wind to about 4500 RPM and have plenty of go to run my AC for those hot Texas summer days. I am having him build it due to his experience with those engines. I do not want something that is not streetable but I do want it to have the power to run down the highway.

Cheers!

vwnate1 said:
Just post up a pic of the engine before you pulled it apart and we'll know what it is...
Click to expand...
 
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It's funny - I am not a big fan of the grill guard. I have removed it and welded up the extra holes in the bumper. It is stored in a very secret and safe place...;) I can not part with it though - I know it is a unique piece.

Cheers!

ol' chebby said:
If you don't use that headboard on the front, you can ship it this way......
Click to expand...
 
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This started almost 1 year ago. I was pulling trailer full of kids around a neighborhood for trick or treat and it just started loosing power. See: https://talk.classicparts.com/showthread.php?t=9344 I got it home and started checking things out and found that the compression was way off - especially cylinders 2 and 4. I pulled the head and found that there was some pretty good scoring in those cylinders. The truck sat for the last year while I decided what to do.

As you stated - it is a very clean truck - all original. I can not start chopping it up. But I really want to be able to drive it more. I have this dream of taking my son, who is now 12, on a road trip starting in Oklahoma City and driving Route 66 to the pier in Cali. As the truck sits that is not feasible.

So - using only period correct pieces and parts it will go back together and I will have a truck that can run down the road at 65-70 all day long. The brake work I have done make it stop on a dime. The suspension is still stiff - but - it is a truck... Now - some may say that I am ruining a nice truck. To them - I am sorry. I honestly do not believe I am doing anything to harm it. As for my son and the time we get to spend together - I will bank every second.

I will keep the pictures and comentary coming - along with all of my questions to you guys.

Here's a project I did a few years back - different mode of transportation but a similar project: http://forum.ih8mud.com/hardcore-corner/51130-hardcore-rotm-project-rascal-july-2005-a.html

Cheers!

Zig said:
As nice as yours is to start with, I'm not sure why you are blowing it apart~:confused:

I'm sure you'll have fun with it, however. Did you get to drive it much before you started disassembling it?

Keep the pictures coming!
Click to expand...
 
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Climberdad said:
Does anyone have a source to decode the C 314 code?
Click to expand...


I'm no expert on '54 Chevy trucks, but many GM casting date codes follow a 3 or 4 character code where:

The first character is a letter. A=January, B=February ... L=December
The last character is a number, 0 thru 9. Signifies the last character of the year.
The one or two digits in the middle are the day of the month, 1 thru 31.

In your case, C314 would decode to March 31, 1954.
 
Engine

O.K. Bruce ;

Look at the rockerbox ~ if it's held on by 4 little perimiter screws , it's a 235/261 derivitave .

Or , post up the raised part number casted into the left top side of the cylinder head and they guys will know what engine you have , I only know a few head casting #'s like engine in 848 or 050 .

making it go 65 MPH is easy , just balance everything inside it to ZERO grams and away you'll go :D and it won't break .

As long as it's apart , be sure he replaces the cam bearings as that's the primary cource of oil pressure & volume loss and these oldies need good top end oiling .

If it's a 235 , you should really buy a brandy new 261 cam and solid lifters , from a 1962 C-50 , it'll pep the engine up nicely and won't affect idle , cold Wx operation etc. like thos silly " racing " cams do .

FORGET about hydrauilc lifters as you want a freeway flyer and they never worked out well in these engines anyways , I've been working on them since they were new and I know . ( $$ down a rathole and it'll still clatter loudly @ hot idle and pi$$ you off)

The tires too are *very* important ,I know you'll be wanting LT radial tires as it's a heavy rig and passenger car tires on an old truck you're driving long distance with your son in , is not only stupid , it's irresponsable . (precious cargo and all that) . they need to be TALL , I've posted the correct size before .

I'm sure you'll have a nice rig when done but unless it's rusty there's no need to rip it all apart , my '40 is another ' survivor ' rig and has never been restored , it wheezes on down the road at post legal speeds all the time and is just fine and reliable too . this comment isnt for you Bruce , it's for others who might rip a good truck to pieces then three years later scrap it , that's the fate of 95 % of all hobby vehicles and it makes me crazy.

The guys here have ALL the answers , they've never been stumped when I ask even the most arcane questions .

I hope you'll consider hanging that grille gaurd on the garage/shop wall , I LOVE it .
 
Thanks Nate,

I will take a closer look at the head tomorrow and get the casting numbers. Thanks for all of the other engine tips - I'll pass them along. As for the tires - that was the first thing I did - I'm running LT215/85 R16 BF Goodrich Commercial TA Radials.

As for the future - who can tell... But the plan is that this truck will be in our family for a long time;)

Cheers!


vwnate1 said:
O.K. Bruce ;

Look at the rockerbox ~ if it's held on by 4 little perimiter screws , it's a 235/261 derivitave .

Or , post up the raised part number casted into the left top side of the cylinder head and they guys will know what engine you have , I only know a few head casting #'s like engine in 848 or 050 .

making it go 65 MPH is easy , just balance everything inside it to ZERO grams and away you'll go :D and it won't break .

As long as it's apart , be sure he replaces the cam bearings as that's the primary cource of oil pressure & volume loss and these oldies need good top end oiling .

If it's a 235 , you should really buy a brandy new 261 cam and solid lifters , from a 1962 C-50 , it'll pep the engine up nicely and won't affect idle , cold Wx operation etc. like thos silly " racing " cams do .

FORGET about hydrauilc lifters as you want a freeway flyer and they never worked out well in these engines anyways , I've been working on them since they were new and I know . ( $$ down a rathole and it'll still clatter loudly @ hot idle and pi$$ you off)

The tires too are *very* important ,I know you'll be wanting LT radial tires as it's a heavy rig and passenger car tires on an old truck you're driving long distance with your son in , is not only stupid , it's irresponsable . (precious cargo and all that) . they need to be TALL , I've posted the correct size before .

I'm sure you'll have a nice rig when done but unless it's rusty there's no need to rip it all apart , my '40 is another ' survivor ' rig and has never been restored , it wheezes on down the road at post legal speeds all the time and is just fine and reliable too . this comment isnt for you Bruce , it's for others who might rip a good truck to pieces then three years later scrap it , that's the fate of 95 % of all hobby vehicles and it makes me crazy.

The guys here have ALL the answers , they've never been stumped when I ask even the most arcane questions .

I hope you'll consider hanging that grille gaurd on the garage/shop wall , I LOVE it .
Click to expand...
 
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Zig

I completely rebuilt them from the master cylinder to the brake drums and everything in between. I keep them properly adjusted. The few times I've had to rely on them they have stopped me with out issue - no pulling to either side...

I think that drum brakes get a bad rap. If they are properly maintained and adjusted they work great!

Cheers!

Zig said:
So what all did you do to the brakes?
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Bill,

So an engine manufactured March 31, 1954 and a VIN that stated it was the 26015 Sequential number in 1954.

What do you guys think? Possibly the original engine?

Cheers!


Bill Hanlon said:
I'm no expert on '54 Chevy trucks, but many GM casting date codes follow a 3 or 4 character code where:

The first character is a letter. A=January, B=February ... L=December
The last character is a number, 0 thru 9. Signifies the last character of the year.
The one or two digits in the middle are the day of the month, 1 thru 31.

In your case, C314 would decode to March 31, 1954.
Click to expand...
 
1954 235

If it is , it's a mixed blessing ~ having the original engine is a HUGE plus but IIRC the '54 235 is a one year beast , hard to find parts for .

Build it carefully and correctly and it'll outlast YOU and your kids .

Drum brakes are O.K. but you have Bendix brakes , they actually WORK unlike Huck (rhymes with suck) brakes :rolleyes:
 
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