Need more help guys. I'm putting a '61 235 into my '50 Fleetline. I installed the water pump adapter on the front of the block along with an early water pump that has the narrow belt groove. I'm running a late model alternater that also has the narrow groove. My question is what crank pulley to run that will have the same narrow groove but will be the correct diameter in order to not over-spin the water pump. Thanks again in advance for your help. Mark
Not sure but Patrick's could help you out by email they are very knowable and helpful..... Looks clean as hell!
nice engine. why dont you try to swap the alternator pulley instead? when i converted my 216 from gen to alt., i swapped the pulley on the gen to the alt to accept the old style belt
The pump is a '53-'54 style, so I would think a '53 powerglide balancer or a '54 would be just right, also I believe any 261 balancer will work. I read somewhere that you don't want to use the '55-'62 235 balancers for the reason you mentioned.
nice engine. hope the oil pan isn't sealed yet. am i missing something or don't you have to put the timing cover on first?
Thanks for the advise guys. The Portland Swap is coming up so I'll be on the hunt for the 53-54 balancer. Are the 261 balancers the small diameter also? I'm running the stock 216 fan as I read that you can do that when you relocate the water pump with the adapter plate. It bolted right on. As for the front cover, I dont think you have to install it 1st but then this is the first inliner I've worked on. Let me know if I screwed up!!
261 and 235 are different I had to use a the 235 crank pulley/balencer do to misalignment plus that what the correct belt length with the 53-54 water pump.
I may be wrong but I thought that early water pump/pulley = early balancer pulley. I used a pump and balancer from my early 50-something 216.
two screws on bottom come off from inside of oil pan. http://www.jbhardin-gallery.com/trucks/camcover.html heres a article to fix that.
i did the same swap in my fleetline but i ran the stock 61 pulley on the crank the water pump pulley was something i had layig around that worked and ran a alternator. guess what i'm saying is after 9 years i havent had a problem with over spinning pulleys or anything like that
Thanks one more time guys. That article was great and I'll use that info to get it fixed right. Not looking forward to un-doing all that silicone but it sure could have been worse. I think I've got the pulley deal all figured out and it's good to know the large pulley doesn't tear up the water pump. Mark
so while your back in there you might try the old timing cover trick then start shopping for another cam to play with while your at the PDX swap too... I did it to my 270 GMC and am glad I did. http://www.jbhardin-gallery.com/trucks/camcover.html
considering that the 235 and 261 water pumps are the same depth, there is no reason you can't run either a 235 or 261 balancer. I mix and match all the time. Ideally you would want a '53 'glide or '54 balancer due to pulley diameter, but the later '55-62 balancers will also work even thought they are larger in diameter. guys run small diameter pulleys on the later style water pumps all the time without issue, which is essentially what you would be doing by running the later balancer. You can calculate the difference in rpms if you wanted to. If your engine is cruising at 2500rpms or below, I really doubt you will have any issues with the later balancers.
Good to know Snarl, I've got a good later crank pulley and may use it if I can't find a 53-54 unit. It's not a race motor but it does have a "cam" in it but at my age I'll probably just cruise it. You guys are the best, thanks again. Mark
This is from a guy that makes the adapter plates. Hope it helps. Also, how hard was it to install the adapter? Looks like I may have to do it for my truck. 1955-62 Water Pump Adaptation When installing a 1955-62 235 or 261 full pressure engine in place of a 1937-54 216 or 235 engine, this conversion allows you to put the early style pump on the later engine. In the past modifying the 1955-62 water pump was done but required a press to force the hub further back on the shaft, then the hardened shaft required being cut off. Additionally a special pulley and fan was required. After all that the pump and fan still sat 3" lower than the 216/early 235 pump and that could lead to overheating and possible fan hum. By using this adapter with a 1941-54 water pump, the pump is put back in the stock location*. If you need to replace the water pump in the future you can buy an over-the-counter pump and install it without modification. *Note: When installed in a 1939-40 Chev, the fan will be ¼” forward from stock but will fit fine. Requires drilling and tapping two holes in block. Note: I recommend using the harmonic balancer and water pump with the belt width you want from your original engine. 1941-52 ⅝" belt 1953-54 ⅜" belt (An acceptable substitution is to use a 1955-62 truck balancer. It is designed for a ½” belt and may be used with a ⅜" belt. This will allow the belt to run deeper in the groove and in effect will reduce the diameter to very near the correct size). 1937-40 must use one of the above Caution: I do not recommend using the 1955-62 passenger balancer since the pulley is larger and may turn the fan too fast, leading to cracking. (to identify this balancer, the pulleyis 6 3/4" OD X 5/8" outside to outside edge) An acceptable substitution is to use a 1955-62 truck balancer. It is designed for a ½” belt and may be used with a ⅜" belt. This will allow the belt to run deeper in the groove and in effect will reduce the diameter to very near the correct size.
I got it done Grease, it appears to have worked well but the motor hasn't been installed yet so...to be continued. As i said earlier in this post i drilled just a bit too far when I drilled the two holes so don't make that mistake. Some good stuff in Proverbs, I try not to be a slacker. Thanks, Mark
Ooops, is wasnt this post, try the link below. Mark http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=676
Here is another thread discussing the 235 water pump. There might be some worthwhile info there. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=790851
The Jalopy Journal
