will this work and if so what mods need to be done? The 235 im looking at is # A 17 7, E124B,3837004 im wanting to put this in my 49 chevy?
Drill the mounting holes in the plate behind the timing cover to use the original mounts, and fit a short water pump - wither shorten the impleller shaft yourself, or buy one from Patricks. That should do it
You're gonna want to use your '49 bell housing, flywheel, and starter (even if/when you change to 12 volts - it'll love it) You can either drill the front plate to match your stock mounting holes, or if you'll be tearing into this engine for a rebuild or inspection, you can swap front motor plates with your 216. If you'll be taking the front timing cover off, do yourself a favor and modify the bottom attaching bolts by drilling and tapping the block so the bolts go in from the outside. There are tech articles on this and drilling the front plate over on stovebolt.com. Throttle linkeage will probably need some fabbing, or tweaking and the "easy button" for the water pump issue is to just get the "short" one from Patrick. Edit. depending on which head is on the new 235 your water temp sender may not fit, if the hole is too big, use NAPA Balkamp part #701-1798 to adapt your old sender.
My '50 came with a '56 235 installed probably before I was born, it's been in there a long time. To beat the water pump issue all you have to do is slide the radiator in with the fins to the front of the cradle instead of to the rear. You get about an inch clearance on a stock unaltered pump - enough that mine with a bad pump was wobbling pretty good and never touched the radiator. You may need to clearance the inner hood brace a bit, mine was done, but I'm not sure it was necessary.
It's better than a 216, but still has no full flow oil filter so it needs a little more attention to the oil changes and so forth. If it runs, $100 is cheap. There is no easier swap except another 216 that goes in bolt for bolt.
None of the 235's came with full-flow filtration, but they can be modified fairly easily if you want to go that route (again, tech article on stovebolt). Heck, even the bypass filter was an option, I have owned several 235's and haven't changed a filter yet (didn't have one to change). I just change the oil regularly. I'd go for it! This is the easiest and cheapest engine upgrade you can do for your car, and while you won't be the fastest thing between the lights, you'll have a very dependable, amply powered cruiser with that certain sound everyone loves (gotta have dual exhaust) and plenty of cool factor. There are lots of aftermarket "speed" parts available if you want to warm it up a bit. Just my 2cents worth.
Do it. Check the numbers on the block and head to make sure what all it is. These engines go through a lot of changes over the years.
Round 2 on the 235 engine, this one is a 1957 . Numbers are block 3837004, E124B, A 17 7, the head is a 848. Is the 848 a good head ? Picked this up for $100 from a climate controled shop with a backgraound on the engine . Pulled because #1 cylinder was low on compression and replaced with the 283.................thats all i know I did speak with Philip at Patricks today and this is the enginge he roccomended for me . Told me to go for it, very nice to talk with and very helpful. I have the Patricks catalog on its way . Thanks
Check the 7-digit casting number on the head, if it's 3836848 that's as good as it gets in 235-land. The 848 has the highest compression ratio of all the 18-bolt 235 heads. It was first produced in 1956 and became the replacement head for all the 235's including the Corvettes. Good luck with this one, hope it checks out o.k.
I put a 58' 235 in my 50 Chev many years ago. The info above is all you need to complete the swap. The other thing I did to my 50 was to change the 4.11 rear gear to 3.54. The 3.54 gears came standard with a powerglide. I think the rearends were closed driveshaft and will interchange thru 1954. With the 3.54 gears it cruised at highway speeds much more comfortably, and I didn't feel like I lost anything in town either.
Regarding the 848 head - dont get wound up on the numbers. None of the 235 heads had much compression. The differences are half a point so it doesn't make a tinkers damn when you are driving on the street. if it runs and you got if for a fair price, its the right one. In the real world they are all the same.
It is the 3836848 head i think the date code is F 26 9 ? The engine looks clean i havent had a chance to dig into it yet . Im in no hurry , my 216 is running but i wanted to get something to start a rebuild as im enjoying my car over the summer. As far as the rearend goes i have the one i just bought with 3:70 gears , that is the one im going to use! Should end up being a good all around set up .
An addition I have been curious about is the 57 bell housing to closed driveline, I have 57 6 cyl set up with closed driveline .. Is the 57 engine bellhousing bolts same as say turbo 350? and then i can open my driveline? or what transmissions will adapt to these 57 engines?
if your going to put a 350 trans behind a 235 you have to get an adapter for it. I know there is one made by Buffalo but I think I read some bad stuff about the pressure plate not being balanced correctly? I havent had a bad exp personally but I would do some research on it first...
I think we need some clarification from you as to what you are building as 1954 was the last year for an enclosed driveline... you can't use an automatic with a V8 style bellhousing pattern (like the TH350) on a 216/235/261 engine without an adapter.
I have a 50 fleetline closed driveline with 57 235 engine I want to run the 6 but open up the driveline. So is the 57 6 cyl engine bellhousing compatable with the 350/400 or is it absolutely needed to run that adapter? Or what manual trans can bolt to that bellhousing? are the transmission bolts same for a saginaw and i can add a saginaw trans and change rear end? Know what I sayin?
A '57 235 bell housing will accept any of the later 3 or 4 speeds. If you want an automatic other than a cast iron PG, it's aftermarket adapter time.
If you never changed the frame mounts for the bell you have to have a '50 bellhousing, pretty sure that's how mine is. But pretty much what Heathen said just the same.
If you use a '55 or newer 235 manual trans bellhousing, any 3 or 4 spd or T5 5spd can bolt up to it as long as it has the 4 11/16" diameter bearing retainer. However, the clutch fork will be at the wrong angle and the stock linkage won't work right. I do sell a linkage part that solves this. It would be better to use the stock '50 bellhousing and get an adapter plate from Buffalo or myself, and use an S10 T5. Look for an '83-89 vintage one if you want cable driven speedo, but make sure it is before you buy as not all are cable driven and you can't just swap out the speedo parts as th tail housings are different between the cable and electric. this has been covered many times. "tony" has done a very good tech posting on the conversion.
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