235 Grenade

you've got a 261 bud.I've got a 235 replacement if you want to go to a 235 sure enough. Semper Fi sir

 

Your engine looks to be a 261 because of those "CAPTAIN BARS ". I have a 261 in my 50 it's so much better than the 235 I had ! The truck has loads of power shifting the 3 spd on the column. My oil pressure from the stock gauge reads about 30psi cold , at idle warm around 15psi. I use shell rotella 15w 40 and have more than 4 thousand miles with the 261 with no issues. My engine has had a 235 head put on by previous owner. All 261"s I believe had solid ifters/cam in them, that's while they have a ticking sound at idle. Mine has that ticking sound at idle. From what the old timers have told me if they sound like a sewing machine your golden ! Hope you can fix that block. Those are kind of hard to find.

 

I know it's not HAMB friendly but there is a newer straight 6 that would run rings around 235 or 261 (X2 on yours being a 261).

PM me if you want to know as I won't name it here.

If you want the vintage 6 for cool points, definitely try to come up with the 261, more gow right outa the box.

Unless of course you are willing to do the long motor (GMC) swap.

If Scott doesn't have one, he might know someone that does.

Best of luck, bummer it died.

 

Have you tore into the motor yet,I am curious to what went wrong.

 

I haven't tore into it yet. Between work and getting ready for a small deployment plus having my 77 F150 tore apart still, the 40 is on the back burner. I would love to find another 235 or 261 to put into it again. This time though I am going to build it and update the rest of the drive train as well. I am thinking of going the route of the 5 speed upgrade with an open drive rear. But right now it is all in the planning stage. I am always looking for other options and being that this is a 40 Chevy, I was really thinking of a different engine for it. Maybe an old nailhead or early Cad motor. Hell Pontiac or olds would be cool as well. As we all know these cars and this hobby is always fluent and thinking outside the box is always fun to do.

I will keep every one posted on the tear down and post pics as I go along.


Semper Fidelis

 

Heathen pointed out 52-54 blocks have the motor mounts shown.It's also been noted,more than once,54 235's have Capt bars, so...........at any rate it's junk.
Did the block just crack? Or did something inside the engine try to escape?

 

Brutal photos. Hope you stick with a six........then again I'm biased.

 

If my 235 goes boom like yours I am also thinking about a vintage V8,I spent so much time trying to make the 235 look like a 216 I would hate to give up on it but a Olds,Caddy or nailhead would be great and have that vintage look. You will like the 5 speed if you keep the six as I have done that to my 37 and is a totally different truck and it makes it more enjoyable,I just hope the 235 keeps going as I have a couple other projects to do before I can even tear into it to see where the noise is and I am watching for a good 235 or 261 that I can drop in since the noise in my 235 is probably related to the sleeved cylinder or because the crank was polished and not turned.

 

Something tried to escape. There is a few holes in the oil pan as well. And it left a nice trail of oil for about 1/8 mile on the country road I was on.

My 53 has a 235 and 5 speed an I love it. I just liked driving the 40 more then the 53 though because of the body style on the 40. It will be back on the road though. Soon enough.


Semper Fidelis

 

Yikes....sorry to hear/see that.....
Good luck redoing it!
You gonna stay with the 6 banger ?
Cheers......

 

g-lover, sorry to hear that bro! capn's bars=261 and that is even more sad

if you need a 235 or 261 feel free to pm I may know where a few can be found

 

All right, you guys need to lay off of the "captain's bars mean it's a 261" bandwagon. Maybe, but maybe not. I've owned no less than three 235s with them cast on the passenger side rear of the block above the starter. All of them were '53-'54 blocks, like the dead one the OP has.

 

Well my hair isn't too short these days but I still go for the throat. Old habits die hard.

Sempre Fi

I had an inline of a different breed grenade in the '70s. it was a recent rebuild but just never ran right. When it tossed a rod through the side of the block other than not maintaining oil pressure it ran like a scalded ape for about another 10 miles. Turned out that the ninny that screwed it together had a rod in backwards. I have no idea why it broke the rod above the big end. OH well.

I wasn't too upset I had a V-8 ready to go in its place but it did leave me about 40 miles from home and that pissed me a bit.

Good luck

 

are you goin with another inline?

 

good luck with that deployment brother, the motor can wait until you cmoe home safe

 

Anybody else notice the pinched off tube that looks to be oiling the rocker shaft?

 

"The truck has loads of power shifting the 3 spd on the column". OMG I can't explain the kinship I feel with you over that comment. Some can't understand me shit canning the turbo hydro in my Monte Carlo and going 4 speed.

 

thanks taff i missed it

 

The pinched tube did nothing to cause this. Oil still got to the rocker shaft and returned properly through the head back down the engine. By pinching the tube all your doing is increasing the pressure to the rocker shaft but only by a small amount.


Semper Fidelis

 

I have 2 or 3 like that too. But Heathen, dont tell them to stop with the Captains bars stuff. I was going to sell the damn things a 261's. Thanks, now you ruined it for me.

 

You damned sodbusters.....always lookin' to screw someone.

 

The truck does feel like it pulls good through the gears. I plan on doing a five speed swap one day, but for now it works sometimes . LOL....

 

You can also see the casting date above the starter H 24 3 = August 24, 1953. Which would be correct for an early 54 motor. I'm guessing you were running a 53 or older 216-style valve cover instead of the 4-screw 54 or later. As others have said, "most" of the time the captains bars means a 261, but not always. 54 was the first year for the 261 in 2-ton (and optional in 1 1/2-ton) trucks. And some 54 235 blocks have been found with the bars. Just curious; what is the stamped serial number behind the dist?

 

Well I took apart the oil pan today and from what I can tell it looks like a connecting rod broke. But in the aftermath it role the cam in half, breaking the distributor and oil pimp. Then moving on to tearing the block apart. Oh well it will be running with a new mill in a few months. I will post more of the tear down and rebuild.


Semper Fidelis

 

So after a lot of thinking I have made up my mind. I am going to build a 292 six cylinder and go with a 5 speed transmission and open drive for my 40. With that being said does any one have a 292 for sale in and around NC?

 

292's were used in a lot of trucks up through mid-80's. should be fairly easy to locate one. Same bellhousing pattern as V-8 SBC and BBC, so putting a T-5 behind it should be fairly straightforward.

Your engine is definitely scrap! Might see if anyone needs some parts before hauling it to the scrap metal yard. I hauled some scrap the other day and here it was $230/ton for iron scrap!

 

I have a `53 235, a `54 235 and a `57 261. Neither of the 235's have Captain's Bars. My 261 does. I'd pull the head out of curiosity and lay it to rest.
261's have Captain's Bars on both sides of the block. One set above the starter and one behind the exhaust manifold below the center port.
Either way, it's a shame. These engines are great.

 

On chevys when there is low oil pressure check cam bearings!!!!

 

These engines are known to self destruct due to cam failure.

IMHO, I suspect you might have the order of destruction somewhat 'out of order'.

When the cam breaks, parts fall down into the cylinder causing the piston to stop dead causing the rod to take the brunt of the dead stopped rotational forces.

Additionally, when the cam breaks the broken half (which stopped turning) allows things like valves to touch pistons which additionally cause rods to take the brunt.

Look at the top of the pistons to see if any are damaged from a blockage.
The real key will be in finding bent valves as a valve will only become bent when it gets out of time with the crank and pistons.....

jmho and believe me, this is a common occurrence on these engines.

.

 

OUCH would be a severe understatement. Sorry for the ka-boom, I know the feeling after a spun bearing on my 235. If the journals on the crank look good, save it; maybe the pistons too if they look fresh. What is the casting # on the head? The 848 head has the most compression, is always sought after. I could use the rocker assembly if its in good shape - shafts not badly grooved or rockers sloppy. PM me with a price, they might fit in a large flat-rate USPS box. Take Care and THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE! - Tim