Well, fellow oletruckers, having a few weeks to mull this old 235
situation in my mind has done wonders. Last night, Jack Daniels and I had had
a good talk and the problem sorted itself into several distinct areas.
To refresh this sorry story in your minds, I purchased a used '59 235
that one of our oletruck listees had surplused in the course of his V-8
upgrade project. The motor was running sweetly as recently as last Dec., and
had even returned 22 mpg in a '50 AD 3100. Upon inspection, the motor had
certain suspicious characteristics indicating it had had the mechanical
attentions of a first class moron (not our fellow listee but somebody further
back in the food chain), and disassembly revealed a bent pushrod, broken
bolts, stripped screws, butchered engine front plate, worn out set of main
bearings, worn cam, marginal rod bearings, rod nuts of mixed parentage and a
generally poor assembly quality.
Well, by no particular logic, Jack Daniels and I have decided to stay
with this 235 -- for now. It ran well, and probably will again once certain
lower end problems are sorted out. I know certain Doubting Thomases wiseacres
on this list (and in my head) have warned that the upper end is uncertain
too, but I guess lightening can't strike twice -- can it? I will repair the
trouble I have found, put the motor back together, and drive the darn truck.
I can look for that perfect 261 to mate to the perfect T-5 trannie (or other
powerplant) after the beast will actually move on it's own.
OK, that was decided somehow, so now I am going to pull the crank and
measure it. As was suggested on this list, mebbe new mains can be fitted and
that will be the end of it. If the crank needs machine work then it will be
new mains and rods.
What to do about the cam? The fuel pump lobe is deeply gouged, and if the
cam is replaced, I understand that the bearings must also be changed out. Is
this something I can do "under the shade tree" out back? What tools are
required? Can a cam place rework just the lobe and leave the bearing surfaces
as they are so that the old bearings can be reused? Mebbe an electric fuel
pump might just settle the issue for the time being.
Perhaps it would be wiser to just replace the cam and move on. If so,
what cam would be best? There are quite a variety of grinds available, and a
little extra poop would not go amiss. Patrick's offer one for mild street
use, how about any others?
Paul O'Neil, Hudson29@aol.com
1951 Chevrolet 3600 Pickup Project, See it at:
The Poor Man's Advanced Design Tech Tips Page
http://home.earthlink.net/~conntest47/
Fullerton, California USA
AEROMARK - Need Rubber Stamps or Signs? See:
http://hometown.aol.com/hudson29/myhomepage/index.html
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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