Just in case someone wants to know what a stock LOOKING '28 Chevy coupe looks like- here is mine. Looks can be deceiving, however-- Herb Kephart
I love it. I love sleepers, period. Whenever I look at a restored car, I think to myself "What would I have done if I'd bought it new?" -Dave
I just finished skimming this entire thread with out finding what I was looking for. I am sure there was information about where to get and what to ask for A book by Gerber about early racing and Chevy fours. If someone who knows can repost I won't procrastinate this time. Except I'm leaving for the salt this wekend. Or maybe it's "Outlaw Sprint car racing"? I hope so since I just bought a Good Used print.
did not know that there were so many 28 chevy left.i'm bui;ding one and collectiog parts for it.i'm using a different ventage engine,a studebaker v-8(1957 289 v-8 no its not a ford,i'm going to build an r-4 clone with it and a 5-speed mustang manual trans.dose anyone know where i can find body parts and did they make a p/u in 28???any help will be greatly helpful.having a custom frame built the stude v-8 weights 780 lbs.if so what are the wheel bases on these??? yhanks in advance. charlie.
Rich- The title is "Outlaw Sprint Car Racer" isbn 9-9627653-9-2 Stude- WB is 107" and yes there was a pickup (same WB) Don't under any condition use the Chevy rear--they break axles with the stock 36 HP engine. If you want to keep the 6" 6 bolt wheel pattern, get a rear from any of the small Jap pickups from the 80's I use a 83 Nissan, and it is the the right width hub to hub. One other thing-- If you are using the stock hood, about where the front of a Steadybreaker V8 is going to land, the width is 22" ---and narrower at the rad. Length is not a problem, as the engine bay was designed to be long enough for an inline 6. If you need any other info--ask. Herb Kephart
You beat me to it, Herb! Rich, That's the book and you'll absolutely love it! Stude, Listen to Herb, that '28 rear is WEAK. Nissan works and so does the Toyota 4 Runner. Also, I'm about 20-30 min away from you- let's talk (sending a PM)!
I have a question for those of you with experience with the 490 Chevy 4 cyl motors.....is it viable to swap a 28 head onto a 27 motor and would it have any advantage to the stock 27 Chevy performance? Thanks!
Even more important is that the '28 head has larger valves than the '27, and 1 1/2 to 1 rockers, as opposed to 1 to 1 on the '27. Something like 6-7HP more. The early single exhaust port heads (up to '27) were very prone to cracking in the exhaust port if overheated even slightly--more or less cured by the '28 head. It was very common to go to a '28, if your '27 head cracked. BTW the "490" was a car model, not an engine designation. Herb Kephart
Thanks for the info ! I picked up a complete 27 with trans and a 28 missing the valve cover ... both will be more closely checked out when I get time to get in the shop! Have you ever seen pictures of the 1928 Beach Racer , a restored 28 Chevy race car? I would like to build a modified something similiar. Herb, Mac and others here in this thread.... do you guys have plans to be at Hershey this year? Thanks!!
I thought you guys should be made aware of this ‘28 Chevy engine on eBay. It's not listed very well. It’s close enough to me, I’m half tempted to bid myself, but what I really need right now is a Ford 200 six. -Dave
I have a 27 Chevrolet 4dr. I know this is mostly about the engines but I thought I would ask this.. I am looking for a aluminum grill shell and radiator for the 27. Anyone have one? I would be open to a steel grill shell if the aluminum is not available
vividlyvintage, I have an aluminum shell- pm me your phone # and I'll call you tonight. Sandbarfarm31, I'd love to go to Hershey, but may not make it this year... family health issues need to take top priority right now. Dave, at $50, that's a steal!
That's not the only 28 on Ebay. three others. Two with the two port head. The things are getting common. If they were around here I would be grabbing a few.
There has been a lot talk about rocker arms for this motor. The Nash rockers are the ones that were used in the past, but they seem to be "out of stock". I chased down several of the "candidates" and I'm not sure I'm satisfied with anyone of them. The following pictures show the 28 Chev at the top, the GMC, and the 216 Chev last. I prefer the GMC because all of the rockers are right and left handed and align well on the head. You will notice that the ratio of the GMC and the 216 are not quite the same as the 28. I've checked Pugeot??, Slant six Dodge, Volvo, Luv pu, and any other thing with the head up. I finally found a Saturn 4 cyl. They are aluminum and have a roller shaft, but no adjustment. So if I can't find Nash rockers, I'll try the 28's until they bend and then the GMC's. I think Herb's approach is right, make them out of aluminum. The final two pictures are of the GMC rockers on a three port head.
There has been discussion on which block was the best choise for hop-up. It's been said that the years "26 thru '28 were weaker due to the holes made for the distributor. I have both and have been comparing them. I want to use the '28 so my judgement might be clouded, but I see a lot of reinforcement that was added when they made the change. I've included pictures of the center main of both blocks. Is there any history of the later block failing?? The distributor/oil pump drive on the cam looks much weaker than the model A. I'm thinking of drive the pump off the front of the motor and only the distributor in the stock location.
Norson, Which GMC engine did those come from? Walking around Charlotte this weekend with all those "barely used" roller rockers for sale made me think about making my own again. Just make new rockers to the correct length and use the parts off of the donors.
Mac the yankee Sorry, my head was on vacation. the rockers were '40s & 50s GMC. I think they must all be the same. The Old Parts Store must have had 40 sets still on the shafts and they all looked the same.
Plym49 asked Is it feasible to use an adjustable pushrod? Maybe from a Harley? Yes, it is perfectly feasible- In fact that was the way that the 3 port head was arranged- the lifters had a cavity in the top that a spherical end on the bottom of the pushrod sat in. At the top the end of the pushrod, and the part of the rocker that it pushed on were both flat. The top of the rod was kept on line with the rocker by coming up through a hole in the head. My gut feeling is that HD pushrods aren't going to be anywhere near long enough. I made my pushrods out of 5/16" steel tube (not brake line stuff) Herb Kephart
I seem to recall that aftermarket Harley pushrods are available in many different lengths. If not long enough, maybe you could splice them. Any Harley shop will give you as many good take-offs as you'd like.
Just about all the major Hot Rod cam Manufactures make adjustable push rods in any length you want and many different tip configurations. This is an old racers trick to fine tune a cam to compesate for crazy angles made by using High Lift cams. It should work great and be a simple way to deal with rocker arm ratio changes and/or the primary valve adjustment if desired on these motors.
Good input on the adjustable pushrods. I hadn't got that far and thought they might be too heavy. I know this was the one of the tricks for solid lifters on the '50s Olds engines. I now have another way to look at stock rockers. Norm
Look in the Sacramento Vintage Ford catalog for info on '28 Chev or 3 port Olds head. They are used on model a engines....if you have the money. I have a catalog about 5 yrs old and the price is 825.00. They're listed next to Ardun and Riley 4- port, so you'll get some power from it. Catalog is on line.
Wow I have had all these chevy 4' out in the garage for all these years and thought no one was messing with them any more. I was told I had a 25 Rufi engine years ago. I have an article from and old mag that show's one of his engines and mine is something a lot like his, so I don't know. It has the log manifold for twin 94's or Winfields. It is drilled and pressured has a good looking cam grind. Has the cut front plate and two welded together to use the crank gear to drive the mag. Has a set of interesting pistons with sleeve's in them to adapt to the chevy gudgeon pins. Has a cool looking gear cover looks like it was cast in a high school shop. The mag is an old horseshoe Bosh type. Oil pump sticking out the front, with the lines running all over the place. The head was missing as this was the only reason the guy had purchased the engine he wanted that, he then gave me what was left. I think that was a good deal. I am going to get some pic's of the parts and see if anyone can identify some of this stuff. I have to go back an finish reading the last ten pages, but later my head is hurting. LOL. Thanks everyone. Have fun, Dave
X2!!! Dave, I'm betting that everyone on this thread would like to see that engine! Thanks for the pm- looking forward to hearing/seeing more!
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