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Chevy 216 Rebuild Kit

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Irishman, Jul 9, 2012.

  1. Irishman
    Joined: Mar 28, 2012
    Posts: 148

    Irishman
    Member

    I'll be looking at starting into my 1947 Chevy 216 engine in the next month or two.

    I've never broken down an engine before but my neighbor builds engines all the time and has persuaded me to give it a go with his guidance and help.

    Yeh, I know, everyone is going to chip in with "dump it and get a 235" advice.

    Money is tight and I have the original engine sitting in my garage already, and I kinda want to keep the car as stock as much as possible.

    I've been looking online and there are so many variations in price I'm getting a little lost. I just want a basic rebuild kit, but I've seen some selling them for $700 and some selling for $1200 and everything in between.

    So, who has the best value kit out there???
     
  2. LIL ANGE.
    Joined: Nov 7, 2006
    Posts: 97

    LIL ANGE.
    Member
    from Long Beach

    hace you checked chevy of the 40's
     
  3. Irishman
    Joined: Mar 28, 2012
    Posts: 148

    Irishman
    Member

    Yep, checked them out. They are in the triple digit price range.
     
  4. jcmarz
    Joined: Jan 10, 2010
    Posts: 4,631

    jcmarz
    Member
    from Chino, Ca

    Forget Chevs of the 40s. They will send you the wrong part and then their customer service department will try and argue otherwise. It happened to me and I never bought from them again. There are plenty of other places to get parts from. If you want a top notch kit, check out this place http://www.egge.com/
    And good luck on your rebuilt.
     

  5. Snarl
    Joined: Feb 16, 2007
    Posts: 1,639

    Snarl
    Member

    are you looking to convert it to full pressure? (talk to Beck's Machine in CA)

    are you looking to change over to insert rod bearings?
    are you looking to change over to aluminum pistons?

    all these things affect the price. Look closely at what these different "kits" have for parts.
    You can't really order pistons, bearings, etc... until you tear it down and talk to the machine shop about what it will need for oversize/undersize on certain parts....
     
  6. 'Mo
    Joined: Sep 26, 2007
    Posts: 7,432

    'Mo
    Member

    Mmmm. I hope your friend friend is familiar with babbit-ed and shimmed con-rods. (Non-insert bearings.) These are not found on most engines.

    Aluminum pistons are definitely recommended.

    I tip a glass to you and your 216!
     
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2012
  7. Mark Karger
    Joined: Feb 22, 2005
    Posts: 397

    Mark Karger
    Member
    from houston TX

    I would just find a 250 or 292 Chev. six for it. You can still find a good running one for cheap, it's lighter, a lot more power, & easier to find parts for.
     
  8. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,941

    squirrel
    Member

    As Snarl said, you gotta take it apart and see what you have before you get too far ordering parts. And as few people as there are that like 216 engines, you could probably find a better one to build if yours needs a lot of work.
     
  9. I am buying a 49 Chevy truck in October because it has a 216 in it. I plan to use the 216 to replace my current one in my 47 Chevy truck.

    Congrats on trying to keep yours original. Glad to hear I am not the only one.
     
  10. LIL ANGE.
    Joined: Nov 7, 2006
    Posts: 97

    LIL ANGE.
    Member
    from Long Beach

    i would open it up and heck it out before buyin a kit,i know over here there is a guy that rebuilds motors and for some reason a 216 is about 5 hundred bucks more to rebuild. but thats over here and what the shop charges. on the other hand you could probaly find a running one for around 400 bucks give or take.
     
  11. LIL ANGE.
    Joined: Nov 7, 2006
    Posts: 97

    LIL ANGE.
    Member
    from Long Beach

    on the other hand depending on how u gonna build your ride, i take it u are building a bomb,like myself. for some reason a 216 has more rapp than a 235 especially if your running headers and straight pipes. a 216 just sounds meaner. do u have pic sof your ride?
     
  12. 6inarow
    Joined: Jan 24, 2007
    Posts: 2,361

    6inarow
    Member

     
  13. LIL ANGE.
    Joined: Nov 7, 2006
    Posts: 97

    LIL ANGE.
    Member
    from Long Beach

     
  14. Irishman
    Joined: Mar 28, 2012
    Posts: 148

    Irishman
    Member

    I'm planning on cracking it open first to make sure all is ok before breaking out the old Visa card.

    I took off the valve cover and oil pan, and from a quick visual it all looks nice and lubed, no metal shavings anywhere and the thing can actually be turned by hand. I know that kind of inspection means dicky all, but it is a cause to cross the fingers at least!
     
  15. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,941

    squirrel
    Member

    What you need to know is how much taper the bores have, and how much skirt clearance the pistons have. And, how long you expect it to last. If it's not going to get many miles on it, you can get away with a ring job if the bores aren't real bad. Boring and buying pistons can get expensive on the old engines.
     

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