Well, could not stand not having a ride for the summer and knew there was no way I could get my Modified together in time. (just got the rearend last Thursday from the builder. and have alot of things to still do to the frame and all the body building.. I found this 51 chevy locally for a good price and snagged it. What is interesting is all the stainless, grill, taillights (backup) and a bunch of other stuff is 52. The owner said the guy he got it from (original owner) said he bought it very late in 51, just as the 52 were coming out.. the title, and all tags show it is a 51.. The car came out of Az but the owner blew the original 216 up and shipped to his winter home in Tacoma Wa. he found a later 235 (no babbits) and just spent over 5k rebuiliding the motor and trans (receipts show it was done in June '10).. He also coverted it to 12v which is nice. he got it running at the end of summer and drove it around 200 to 300 miles before heading back to Az for the winter (he is a snowbird). he just got back to Wa in May and decided to sell his house and buy a condo here to make it easier to maintain the house. He just sold his 51 chevy PU and had this for sale for the past 2 weeks on craigslist. The car has a great patina from the Az sun.. nice satin finish to it now . I must have been the first to make an offer and when I did he got really quiet.. took him about 15 minutes to finally talk about my offer and give me a slight counter. I agreed and now its in my garage.. anyone ever heard of a 52 being built and titled as a 51 from GM.. (it must have been at the very very end of the 51 build year and they ran out of 51 parts?? here it is at the previous owners house. anyone know where you place the oil and temp sending units in a 235, they do not work since the original gage panel is 6v.. (maybe I can use some converter to reduce voltage or I plan to use a 3 gage panel under the dash... I could also use some rear window stainless (need upper piece and two vertical pieces)
Great car, there is a 51 for sale here that I pass daily. I swear that car is calling my name. Good luck with it.
Are the oil and temp gages mechanical? If so it does not matter on voltage, just change the bulbs out. If they are electric, use a "7806" solid state voltage reducer. Input 12 v, output 6 volts. Requires a ground, but easy and able to handle about 1 amp which is sufficient to run a gage. Use this on my 37 Chevy gas gage and it works fine. Nice hardtop you found, should be fun driver over summer.
Wow, Boones...that's a nice hardtop. Looks solid as a rock. And the 235 and trans are rebuilt too...with proof. Excellent. Congrats. The oil-pressure sending-unit port should be on the driver's side of the block, at the very rear, about half way down the block...a small hole...approx. 3/8 diameter with fine threads for a fitting. Originally, the car would've had a fitting there, with a small metal tube going to the gage. There's got to be something in the port, or your oil would leak out...either the original fitting with a short length of original tubing pinched off, or a plug. The temp. sending unit port is in the head. Let's see...I think on top...whichever side of the head isn't covered by the rocker-cover...driver's side again I think. Probably a plug in there too. It's an approx. oh...1/2"-5/8 inch dia. hole.
As mentioned...original oil pressure gage is mechanical with a line carrying oil and pressure to gage. Get a fitting and line, and use the original gage. Temp sender and gage are electric...I think. Can't remember shit for sure anymore...but I don't remember any other tubing going under the dash for that in any old Chevys I've owned.
Maybe it was common for dealers to dress up remaining stock with the newer look back then. The '51 Cadillac I used to own had '52 trim because it was originally sold 12-30-51.
From the factory service manual: TEMPERATURE INDICATOR The temperature indicator consists of an indi cating unit on the dash, an ether filled bulb in the cylinder head and a small tube forming an air tight connection between the two units. As the water in the cylinder head warms up, the ether expands causing the hand on the dash unit to move toward the right indicating the water temperature.
After most all auto manufactorers introduced the new (next years) models in September. Some states however did not change the way titles were issued untill the late 50's. So if you bought a new '51 before January 1,1951 it might have been titled according to the year it was sold. There also were a few "left over" new cars sporting titles saying they were a year newer. This was a practice that varied not only state to state but some times county court house to county court house with in a state. Eventually every one standardized but it was most common in the early 50's.
'51 gauges should both be mechanical - to use the '51 temp sender you need a new bushing to fit in the head at the driver's side rear- I think I got mine from Chev's of the 40s Oil pressure gauge will 'peg' at 30 lbs with the 235 - 216 & early 235 (babbitt) pressure was 14, and the gauge only goes to 30 - later 235's were 35 & 45 lbs on the oil pressure
Very kool. Looks like the kind where all the hard stuff is done, and you can focus on the fun stuff ;D
The Jalopy Journal
