Replacing Motor-1949 235

[bultisimo]

Hi there!
Have a 1949 chevy 2ton utility flatbed am restoring. Gonna be a worker for me. I live on a horse ranch and this truck has been in this area it's whole life. Hauling horses and hay!
Going thru what to do's on the motor. I want a fresh but same or similar motor 6 cyl. 235. Right now there is a fifty-six 235 in her. It is tired. Problem has been finding alternate motor for her. What years can I drop in it without worrying about alternating things? For example, I can purchase a motor through advance Auto "locally" for a decent price. (1400.00) But the earliest year is 69. Would this motor be comparable? I plan on using all of the old stuff(rebuilt) on the motor. Using twelve volt.(alternator) But want to use the same (vacuum) brakes and fuel pump. I want to use the Hydrovac system. Any assistance is greatly appreciated!!

[rebel842001]

dude sounds like an awesome project. i think you need to put up some pics of this thing. but to your question i dont really know how "new" year wise of an engine would fit, but think of this GM did not change the basic 350 from the time it was introduced all the way up till the 70s or so. With that said i think you should have a good amount of fexiabilty on it. Just courious why dont you rebuid the current motor if its just "tired" and doesnt have rods hanging out the bottom? If you can get a complete engine im sure the parts are still avaible to do a rebuild.

[cancritter]

ya...dont come back without pics or your gona hear about it.....rebuild original motor...keep all the original parts ya can and box up the ones you do change

[tonkadawg]

Too bad you aren't closer, I've got a fresh 216 that I won't be using that would drop right in. Check out www.stovebolt.com - lots of good info there including how to's for upgrading to 12 volt as well as v8 swaps. I've had good luck finding parts at both
http://www.brotherstrucks.com/ and http://www.classicparts.com/ - you can probably find everything you need to rebuild the 235. Oh yeah, http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/ is another good place for parts.

And like others have said, don't come back unless you have pics :aniteef:

[TheBigMortboski]

My uncle gets a ton of parts from these guys http://www.dreamershotrods.com/. They specialize in old Chevy trucks, and he has gotten a ton of parts for his 49 GMC. They're based in Everett, WA, but they ship all over the world.

As far as your question, I "think" the newer I-6s, the 250 and 292, were based on the same architecture, albeit with superior redesigns (oil pressure, for one thing).

[bultisimo]

Hey thanks for replying. Because I am now on a fixed income. I need to be frugal on my spending. To rebuild my existing, it will cost roughly 1900.00. I researched "swapping" out the motyor through Advance Auto Parts, locally. And I can get complete engine(head too) for 1400.00. So, there is a little difference there. But you are right, I should just rebuild. The damage I see is there is a hole in the top of the pistons at the #5 and #6 pistons. I think the head gasket is suspect here. Due to the fact that both pistons were clean on the top. Also some rust in the back of the head around those two. And looks like the water journals were al corroded. So, i'm guessing "detonation" due to heat and loss of cooling. Motor cranks good and all pistons move good. Also cylinders are really nice looking from what I can tell without teardown. After talking with a guy at MJM Engines here locally, probably gonna give motor to him to re-build. I will post some pictures as soon as soon as I upload to photobucket. Thanks again!

[bultisimo]

IMG]http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad272/ceezd/51chev-2.jpg[/IMG]

This is a link to photo of 1949 chev before I towed her to my place.

[Stratosman]

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad272/ceezd/51chev-2.jpg

you had too many ['s and img's in there :cheer:

cool truck!

[TheBigMortboski]

Nice, my father-in-law has one similar to that, but a few years newer and much more of a basket-case. I think I'm going to "acquire" it from him, since he doesn't seem interested in doing anything with it.

[cancritter]

gona be a fun one............enjoy

[UnderCover W/T]

Thats awesome! Check out Clifford. The guy who runs the company is super knowledgeable and they have alot of great stuff. I used their intake and headers on my old 250
http://www.cliffordperformance.net/