I am getting close to having my 1960, 235 motor overhauled in my 1953 Chevrolet pickup. It uses or leaks a quart every hundred miles or so. It has a 848 head, as I remember the terminology. What are the do and don't dos in getting the work done? Kit prices vary, any don't buy this or that advice? I will pull the motor myself and deliver it to the professional. Is the motor, bell housing and transmission pulled together? Also the clutch has clutch judder. When replacing are there do and don't dos? KentC
Kent ; The 848 had is the very best one , DO have the valve guides replaced with bronze ones , DO replace the exhaust valves with one piece stainless steel ones ! . Much more can be done to the head to improve driveability but you'll soon pass the $600.00 mark in labor alone , lemme know if you want to know what to do . DON'T let the shop turn your crankshaft unless it's been miked out and really needs it , they rarely do unless it was knocking . DO have them measure the cylinders for taper and only bore if the taper is bad . I'd replace all 6 pistons and have them balanced to _zero_ grams (anyone tells you this is difficult or impossible shouldn't be working on your engine . DO have the connecting rods balanced to zero grams too , a good shop will mix & match the rods & pistoins to get them as close as possible before balancing them to zero grams as assemblies . DO replace the camshaft and lifters with NEW ONLY ! do NOT let anyone talk you into re-ground cam and / or lifters ! use a '56 ~ '62 261 cam , NOT any " hot rod " piece of crap . you may have to look around for this , I think Iskandarian still makes them up new . DO replace both cam and crank gears with ones from the SAME manufacturer or brand , you'll be wanting an aluminum cam gear . If you had decent oil pressure before , DON'T replace the oil pump ! new ones have terrible quality control . DO have the flywheel re-surfaced whilst it's off them have it balanced to zero , if you see a trend here you're right ~ balancing everything makes the engine run smoother , smooth running engine last longer anf transmit more POWER to the grearbox... There's a world more but I'm beat having spent several hours in the sun in the junkyard , it's 105* out there to-day and my brain is fried . -Nate
Nate, please go on, im about to start re-build of my 235, any help is so apreciated, thanx Mad dog and englishman! ________ Insight
[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jul-09-06 AT 09:30 PM (CST)]Well ; The most bang for your buck will be in correcting manufacturing deficiences in the cylinder head : Have the exhaust ports smoothed out and the valve guide bosses " unshrouded " , take the machine shop the manifold you're going to use and have them " match port " it ~ this is where the open up the ports to exactly match the ports in the manifold , both intake and exhaust . DO NOT polish the intake tracts ! . this will create bad flat spots in off the line acelleration . Have the combustion chambers " C.C.'d " and polished to a high luster , C.C.ing them makles them all equal in volume , this provides more even power pulses . I don't _EVER_ deck the head or the block unless it's seriously warped or has blown a head gasket before . Brass freeze ('Welch ') plus of course . If you can find a 261 head gasket to use as a template , drill both the block and the cylinder head for steam holes , they're pretty small , about 3/16" IIRC , detailed information is over on The StoveBolt Page , was a few years back . Sorry for bad spelling end etc. / Basically you're trying to make the engine run smoother as doing so will _vastly_ increase the driveability of the engine even if the dyno only shows modest gains in horspower . If you look in older posts I have written all this and more before . I hope this helped , I'm beat (it was 105* in the junkyard) and going to bed . -Nate
Is the bell housing and transmission pulled with the motor? Or can the transmission remain in place and make the stab ok when reinstalling? How much do you think the 235 would weigh with and without the transmission? KentC
[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jul-12-06 AT 02:02 PM (CST)]KentC - The engine and transmission come out as one. There are only three mounting points for the lot, one at the front of the engine and the other two either side of the transmission. I don't know how heavy they are, but I was able to take mine out easily with a 1 ton foldable crane using a couple of webbing straps (1 ton each). I guess it's heavy if only 'cos I know the crank weighs in as 72lbs. If weight is a problem, make it a bit lighter by taking the head, starter, water pump... off first. By the way Nate - thanks for the rebuild tips. My '55 vintage 235 is scheduled for a rebuild this winter. Last time it was out was a transmission fix so now its time to fix the knocks, rattles, clunks, shakes, coughs and generally sad state of the stovebolt. Mel
RE: Motor, 235 Removal You're entirely welcome . The powerplant is a _HEAVY_ sucker and can cause cherry picker tipover as you get it high enough to clear the engine bay so be _SURE_ to extend those legs as far as possible ! . DO NOT try to stop it if it goes over , you'll get hurt badly . I usually do in frame overhauls as the bore and crankshaft are O.K. mst of the time . Keep us posted . -Nate
RE: Motor, 235 Removal If front and back seals are leaking badly, does the motor have to be pulled? Is there a small eight cylinder that can replace the 235 with no modifications? The vehicle is a 53 with the standard transmission and tube type (enclosed) driveshaft. Is the 261, 6 cylinder, the largest motor that will fit with no modifications? Would you say that the motor and bell housing weighs less than 1000 pounds? Thank you. Kent
RE: Motor, 235 Leaks I'd say re-seal it in situ . the timing cover seal on the front and the rear main has a ' rope ' typ oil seal , needs a " Sneaky Pete " tool to fish it out (Chinese finger trap made of woven metal) , if the main bearing shells are badly worn , replacing them will help reduce rear main oil leaks . I hope you know these old tech engnes will leak somewhat no matter what you do . NO V-ate engine is a drop in , exhaust manifold hits the steering box and so on , need to fab up new motor mounts etc. . Then of course you're overdriving the brakes , best to leave it stock -Nate
