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Cliffords 235 Rebuilds..Anyone buy

lazys53

lazys53

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live in Sparks,NV, but my heart is in Cali.( I wil
Been in touch with Larry over at Cliffords Performance 6=8 http://www.cliffordperformance.com/. Found out they got a sh-t load of goodies for our trucks!If you never heard of them you gotta check 'em out. The website is above,just copy & paste.I am wondering if anyone else has been there and bought anything.I just want to hear about your experiece. I run a '53 1/2 ton with the 216 (still runs).But I want the added horses under the hood.The 3.55:1 gears, the 4 bbl carb.This guy comes from pushing these ole 6-ers to the drag-strip.I believe it.Guess I just want to know someone else does too.I think I'm gonna get my running gear straight b-4 I get my body straight.Then I'll think about want color he'll be.
 
RE: Cliffords 235 Rebuilds..Anyone

Sounds good to me ~ remember that carefull attention to detail when building even a stock engine gives impressive results and doing so when hopping it up makes not only more power but longer life too .

Enjoy ! .

-Nate
 
RE: Cliffords 235 Rebuilds..Anyone

Thanks Nate, I knew you would come through with a response.This guy Clifford, have yopu been to the website?It shows and tells the story of what he did back in the old days of racing.Dragging these 6-ers,thats got to get him an award of SOME type.Like I said, I do NOT want a HOT ROD, I just want to be able to do,at least, the speed limit.$3,800.00 for the whole rebuild.I came to the conculsion, that the guy I meet,with the 235 for free,is not really willing to give it up.I call him,leave messages, but he never respond's.So, thats it.I have found a guy in Sacremento,CA who is selling a 235 out of a '55 truck for $400.00.I've emailed him, just waitting on a response.Larry over at Clifford's,said he wouild locate one(235)for $350.00.The one from Sacremento, he says that it has recently rebuilt.I'll keep you posted on that one.Check you out later Nate. --------> lazy -->P.S. I've attached the link to this engine,check it out let me know what you think.http://community.webshots.com/photo/235683178/238286223Jzprqd
 
RE: Speed Limit W/235

This should be simple as my old tired _stock_ 235 goes the speed limit now .

First thing : learn how to tune it ' just so ' and do that then buy some _tall_ skinny radial tires and see if'n it doesn't do what you want . then add the Patrick's 3.55 ring & pinion for real relaxed freeway travel @ 65 MPH all day long .

Still have some of that $3,800.00 left ? I know you do so go buy a brand new 261 cam and lifters and install that and see if it's fast enough yet , it certainly should be .

More power ? (the speed thing was covered in paragraph 2) ~ have the exhaust manifold properly split by Kansas Kustoms and then buy a dual carby intake manifold and install that . you're prolly better off digging up some Cartier YF carbies but I'm an old man who grew up with leaky old Rottenchester 'B' series carbys so I use and love them and ignore the seepage and resulting stains around the gaskets , this is an old _TRUCK_ for crying out loud , NO WHINING !
:7 just kidding ! . learn how to properly balance dual carbies by reading on the MGA pages.... a " Unisyn " carby tool cheap @ VW hot rod places helps too .

I hope this helps , as long as your oil pressure gauge lifts the needle off the peg as soon as the engine clears idle speeds and you have over 110 # of compression you don't need a rebuild to make it run sweet & strong .


BTW : what's the deal on a free engine ? I might have missed or forgotten that . look over on the Task Force pages to score a rebuilt 235 engine cheaply , don't pay any attention to the asking prices as the hot rodders are scrapping them in droves .
 
RE: Hot Rod Addendum

Oh yeah Tom Langford's Stove Bolt site has good stuff on it too .

I see lots of really nice high dollar hot rod 235's that'll run fast but few seem to get the regular freeway high speed usage I manage to reliably squeeze out of whatever tired old StoveBolt I'm working with .

$pend your $$ carefully , keep track so you can see what $ makes the best bang for yiur buck .

-Nate
 
RE: Speed Limit W/235

The $3800 is for a full rebuild. Including the 261 cam, Headers and the option of carburation.If I want Dual or Triple carbs they will do it.They gave me a recipe that included the cam,lifters,Headers and a single 390 Holley carb. Was told this would give me from 195-210 horses.But I could also go with a dual 2bbl setup.Thought a single 4bbl would be easier to tune.Or is there something I don't know about going with 2 x 2bbls than the 1 x 4bbl?Is one way better than the other?And these pages you talk about,where do I find them?The MGA pages and where do I find the "Task Force" where yoiu said I could find a cheaply rebuilt 235?And what do you mean by," the hot rodders are scrapping them in droves."? I just want the engine to be rebuilt so it will last me alot longer.--> lazy
 
RE: Speed Limit W/235

So many questions ! .

This BBS has various pages depending on the year and series of your truck , the Task Force series is mostly hot rodders so lotsa good stock running gear parts to be had there , there's a classified section too . be patient , look all over and take copious notes .

The 235 has three intake ports in the cylinder head so spacing out two or even three carbies is better than dumping all the fuel into the middle of the intake manifold . tuning three caryscan be a PIA , the good thing is : once you have the carbys balanced m they _never_ go out of adjustment else _YOU_ fiddle with them ! , this is true of ALL multi carby setups ~ most " carburator problems " are NO the carbys .

You must needs learn to do the searches , look up old MGAs @ mgcars.org , lots and ots of tech info , _read_ it then ask questions .

I'm an old time mechanic so I don't trust anyone else's work , hence I drive my old 235 with a zillion miles on it whilst many others struggle with " rebuilt " engines , mine has low oil pressure and leaks oil but I trust it 100 % .

You pays your money and takes your choice .

I'd get your truck running well and see how it goes before I tore it all apart , were I in your shoes .

-Nate
 
RE: Speed Limit W/235

OK, the BBS is a website? Big Block Site? The other one is TaskForce.com? And the Intake, would using 3 2bbls work better than 1 4bbl? Would 2 2bbls work just as good? And the MGA's whats that stand for? But I'll go to the mgcars.org site. When it comes to my truck Nate,I've driven my truck for about 4 years before putting it down 2 years ago. I only put it down because at the time, the truck was somking from the rear, I did not know what was wrong, at this time I was not working, since then I found out that these trucks, you cannot use the parking brake all the time, it will lock up on you, or in this case, on me. Right now, I can drive in circles in my backyard with no problems. I kept it tuned, the oil always every 2-3 months changed (because no oil pump or filter on this year) and spark plugs also changed with the oil. But I never installed a dual or triple carb setup. Whan I heard the 235's (in certain years) came I made up my mind to swap up! for a 235 full presure oil system. JUst would make me feel better. Let me know what you think, talk to you later .----------lazy,( Jerry)
 
RE: Speed Limit W/235

Lazy,
the BBS that Nate is referring to is a bulletin board site, or forum, just like you are posting on. There are many out there, a lot of them pretty good.
As far as "taskforce", it is a designation given to 1955-1959 Chevy trucks. 1947-1953 were called Advance Design. Nate is suggesting to click on the 1955-1959 forum, as there are many rodders removing 6 cylinder engines, and replacing with V8's. You can probably get one for decent price. And they will be later engines, with better oiling systems.
Intakes are kind of a personal choice, as they all will work fine to some extent. Multiple carbs take more experience to setup, and will need a different air cleaner setup, etc. The dual carb is popular, as it looks good, and parts are easily available. I am planning to go that route when time and money permits. Adding dual exhaust at the same time is a good idea.
I would do a complete inspection of the brakes before driving the truck again. I suspect that a wheel cylinder may be leaking brake fluid. The brake fluid will absorb moisture, and can lead to rust, possibly causing the symptom you described.
As for the MGA, it is a vintage British sports car, that Nate should be ashamed of for mentioning on the same page as "Task Force" trucks! Just kidding Nate.
Hope that helps clear up some of the confusion. Type in various combinations of words in any search engine ( try google.com ) and you can find thousands of sites for old truck info...........Mike
 
RE: Speed Limit W/235

2 carbys are easier to adjust than three are but three will give you better power and fuel milage , a 4BBL carby in a 235 is a wa$te of time and $ .

If you're having one wheel brake lock upo when you touch the brakes , there is a brake cylinder leaking as brake fluid when it permeates the shoes , causes grabbing and brake lockup unitll it gets hot , then it won't grab no matter how hard you stand on the brake pedal .

when I was young , dumb and invincable I was out driving
one of my antiques with a leaky front brake cylinder and that locked up @ 85 MPH , made the car spin and hit a curb & flip over ~ fix your brakes now and do a good thorough job . only _three_ things can go into your hydraulic brakeing system :

Brake fluid

Alcohol

Aerosol brake cleaner

That's it ~ you _CANNOT_ use anything else to flush then rinse it away ! .

Wagner still makes all the brake cylinders and hoses so go get ;em NOW while still available , I believe CD sells them .

DON'T turn the brake drums ! sand them a bit if rusty inside but DO NOT TURN THEM ! .

Remember Lazy , only _HOT_ oil changes ! .

Spark Plugs should last about 10,000 miles .
-Nate
 
RE: Speed Limit W/235

You guys are right! Here I am looking all over for the right deal for a re-buyilt 235. Ignoring, the fact that I STILL NEED to re-do my brakes! Thanks for CHOVING me back on the right path! Thats more important. If I get the engine, install the 3>55:1 's and race down the road ( like I do) I still need to stop! Sooner or later! I was reminded by my bro-inlaw about the brakes, but I (drinking at the time) just told him," I don't need to stop!" Then I accused him of messing with my high. Thanks again fellas!! I'll get right on my brake issue. ---> lazy
 
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