Once again, I am new here and to my truck so please excuse me being naive about it all. I already wrote this post once, but it disappeared, so I'll give it another go. I have a '55 first series Old Navy truck so you all knoow it has been slapped together. It has a 47-53 nose on it, which I kind of like with the one piece windshield and 5 window cab. Neat!! However, when looking at the truck from the front, it appears that one fender is a little (ever so slightly) different from the other. One fender seems a little more rounded on the top behind the headlight and it appears as though that headlight is a little higher up than on the other fender. Was there any variation during the 47-53 years in the fenders? Or is it possible that one of the fenders is 54-55? I don't think the later ones are interchangable with the earlier ones because of the differnce in grill style, etc, but I really don't know. What I really need to know is what fender should I order when replacing the one that is badly dented by the wheel opening. I don't want to get the wrong one if there was some variations during 47-53. Next question is really directed to Nate who seems to be the general grand poobah on this site regarding knowledge of these trucks. But, please, anyone feel free to help me out as I need all the help I can get being so new to these trucks. My truck has no engine . A guy around the corner from me has a running 1960 235 that he will give to me for nothing (I just bought a '54 parts truck from him). He says it burns some oil but runs well. The guy who gave the motor to HIM tells me it has a dead cylinder. First guy insists the cylinder is not dead, that engine runs well, but burns oil and needs a rebuild. Question is; what am I getting into here? How hard or easy is it to rebuild these monsters? What can be salvaged? What cannot? How much do the internal parts cost? Where to get them? Is it really neccessary to pull the crank and grind it (so many posts say "no")? Or is it okay to just put a new set of bearings in (main, rod and cam)? What bearings do I put in it? Do I mic out the journals and put in oversized bearings without grinding if it doesn't meet specs? What's the leeway on that? Since it is already out would it just be better to do the whole thing and forget about it? But how expensive would THAT be? What about the head? Trying to put a good project together for my boys on a backyard budget. This is NOT going to be a trailer queen and certainly is not intended to be pretty when done. I just want to build a truck with my young sons (12,11,9) and teach them about research and restoration and cars in general. They are excited, but I can't really afford to go whole hog on this. I want to do it right, but still on a budget that will leave me with a decent looking and running work truck that we can all have fun with and take to the supply yards when we need stuff. What, what, what do I do?????? I guess I'm really asking is what would you all do if your truck had no engine and a free one like this came up? would you take it or look for another that runs better? Andy
Andy ; I just went back and read my response on the other thread.... Anyway , yes , these engine can be overhauled easily , no need for expen$ive machine work usually . go grab that good used 235 . I'm trying to picture your fender , maybe it's a '54 one ? or is just like the passenger side one on my '49 , it has over 30 # of mud in it and looks funny up close ~ what the hey , it's just a work truck .
Okay Nate, I am going to grab that engine. I have a couple of other engines in the works as well and they are all for free. One is a 1961, the other I don't know yet. Whichever one I choose to take, I will probably take the head off to take a look and since they will be out, take off oil pan and a couple of rod caps and a main cap to inspect. Maybe plastigage to see the story and mic out the cylinders. Gotta do the front and rear oil seals at least owing to the numerous threads all talking about how these engines leak. I will post again when I get the motor I choose and mic it out. Thanks again for the replies. Andy
Used 235 Engines Andy ; You're on a budget so be smart : don't take apart an unknown engine ! set it upright and adjust the valves , run a compression test on it , by the time that's done you should have some oil coming out the rocker weep holes... Look at the spark plugs to see if it's been buriung mass quantities of oil... Don't worry about the rear main seal , if it leaks , it leaks and you can replace it in situ ~ opening up a perfectly good engine is very wa$tefull of fund$ for working folks....
