Many of you have had these stovebolt engines. If I remember that the 216 and maybe the early 235 engine had timing gears not timing chains until later years of the 235. I know what he is saying is true. A person had to time those from the bell housing or flywheel. Nice video. Where were you when I was growing up
Fellas lets remember chrome dosent make it run . It just makes it look good when sitting still . Personally i dont put chrome on my motors . I dont like cleaning it . But if you do , i dont care ! Why fuss about it ?
Old retired machinist here, what we saw as not as easy as Dan made it out to be. Great craftsmanship shown. Nice to see a local doing those wonderful inline sixes.
I have great love for the 235. Had one in one of my first cars - a 1959 Brookwood 2door station wagon. I have a curiosity…I was once told by someone who CLAIMED to know that the 6 cylinder in some first Gen Toyota FJs are a direct copy of the chev 235, to the point of parts interchangeability. True?
The best way to get right is to measure from the notch in the oil pump to the flat surface where it bolts down and adjust the clamp to that measurement and mark it with a scribe tool. Then take the clamp off of the distributor and cut the clamp off just behind the slot where it bolts down. Then grind the clamp off to make it round. Replace the clamp with the adjustment screw towards the front of the engine like it was before and tighten really tight , you won;t be using it again, now you can use a Chevy V8 distributor hold down clamp. The reason I suggest this is that if you loosen the clamp too much when adjusting your timing the distributor can be pushed out of the oil pump and the engine will still run so you may not even know it happened until the engine starts making noises. It happened to mine and it's costly.
So, is the length issue with oil pump engagement or cam gear engagement? I just got my 235 back from the machine shop. I have not tried to start the engine yet, but I did move the clamp on the original distributer for cleaning. I noticed at that time that it was adjustable. I just stuck it down the hole until everything engaged and then adjust the clamp. I should have watched the entire video first. You answered the question.
Chevy 235 best engine ever ..I pulled a 1965 Chevy C10 side step out of a potato field back in 1974 , it had three busted piston .. took 6 piston and connecting rods from a 283 ..that has the same bearing and pistons the connecting rods are a shorter ,,so it had great lower end torque .. after twenty years it was still running strong it ended up in a potato picker .. in northern Maine ..
is this a car 235? or where did you find the adapter plate? that's to mount a automatic transmission correct? i searching for an AUTO transmission that will bolt to my 57' truck 235.
The Stovebolt distributor setup was industry standard in their era. The distributor was like that on most engines then because the vacuum advance actually turned the entire distributor body. The distributor had to float in the block to allow that. Its an odd setup today, but not when they were new. I can see where running a modern distributor could lead to confusion in installation.
Hey Dan, I'm new to the straight 6 world, yet I have been working on installing them in 40s and 50s. I need help learning how to set timing on them when the have hei distributors and 350 or 700r4 transmission. Do you have any info or videos on that? Thanks
At least one of the bolts in the head has an oil galley through it. The people who rebuilt my 235 failed to put the proper bolt in, so I did not have any oil going to the lifters or to the top of the head.
IS THERE A BALLPARK FIGURE WHEN DOING AN OVERHAUL ON THESE ENGINE'S....I'M GONNA KEEP MY 235 EVEN THOUGH SOME OF MY PEOPLE'S WANT ME 2 GO 4 N LS SWAP EVEN THOUGH I THINK IT'LL MOVE MY 55.5 CHEVY 3800 DUALLY ALOT QUICKER I'M STICK'N 2 MY INLINE 6🙋🏿♂️🙋🏿♂️🙋🏿♂️🙋🏿♂️
I prefer the look of the stock distributor as well. This is what the customer wanted and it actually ran very well with that hei. I usually install stock style distributor with a pertronix
The HEIs are good distributors but I would never put one on my 235s or 261,they look so out of place and as bad as hanging a alternator on the side of one. Never had points leave me stranded like electronic ignitions so all the I have converted to electronic will eventually be going back to points.
I seated a DUI HEI dist with sliding clamp like that into 235 oil pump and tightened clamp before I tightened then bolt. The down force from tightening bolt pushed dist gear into bushing in engine block above oil pump and caused bushing to cut and wear where gear rests on bushing. Bushing wore a massive amount and sent filings through motor. Also engine oil pushed up the shaft and leaked into top of dist under rotor. Original distributor is designed to float and ride on the bushing above oil pump. When hold down bolt is tightened dist gear destroys bushing. Engine ran great and had good oil pressure, but eventually caused bearing failure. These DUI HEI distributors are designed wrong and will eventually cause engine failure. They also should have a seal under pickup coil to keep oil out of upper housing.
Next time you build one of these... drill out the oil passage on the side of the block to 3/8" or more ( depending on your confidence) thread the passage...on the outside of the block drill & tap 2 holes for installation of fittings for a full flow oil filter system...last , install a plug so it rests in between the 2 hole's you drilled on the outside of the block... now you have a full flow filtered oil system. I did this on our engines for figure 8 back in the day and we were the only ones with the same running engines at seasons end.. I also used 2 sets of main bearings, use uppers from both sets for 360' oiling...These weere great engines in their day... don't forget roller rockers , we didn't have them back then...
Thats my favorite modification to do to these engines. The 261’s have a full flow filter setup and I can tell a major difference in wear when I take them apart. I agree it is a much needed upgrade.
#1 mistake you put it in a car !
Thanks for your video
Where are you located? I have a 250 I could use some help with!
Just think no more carburaors, no feeler gauges. Techno;ogy stiks.
Many of you have had these stovebolt engines. If I remember that the 216 and maybe the early 235 engine had timing gears not timing chains until later years of the 235. I know what he is saying is true. A person had to time those from the bell housing or flywheel. Nice video. Where were you when I was growing up
Measure off a stock distributor and your set.
Can you stick long screwdriver down in hole mark distance with sharpie
Yes that method will work too
@danmaxwe11 thanks for reply
Had a 54 chevy belair. Blew a rod thru the side of the block, but still ran and got me home about four miles..Tough engine.
Fellas lets remember chrome dosent make it run . It just makes it look good when sitting still . Personally i dont put chrome on my motors . I dont like cleaning it . But if you do , i dont care ! Why fuss about it ?
I would like to know how one works with a turbo , head work , a cam and a 4 bbl .witha 5 spd.
Toyota F and 2F, same issue.
Old retired machinist here, what we saw as not as easy as Dan made it out to be. Great craftsmanship shown. Nice to see a local doing those wonderful inline sixes.
Thanks!
Please share more info about your shop. Looking to have my 235 rebuilt.
I have great love for the 235. Had one in one of my first cars - a 1959 Brookwood 2door station wagon. I have a curiosity…I was once told by someone who CLAIMED to know that the 6 cylinder in some first Gen Toyota FJs are a direct copy of the chev 235, to the point of parts interchangeability. True?
If you need a carburetor,the best option is uremco,but you will need to use the original jet out of the old carburetor,and reset the float.
The best way to get right is to measure from the notch in the oil pump to the flat surface where it bolts down and adjust the clamp to that measurement and mark it with a scribe tool. Then take the clamp off of the distributor and cut the clamp off just behind the slot where it bolts down. Then grind the clamp off to make it round. Replace the clamp with the adjustment screw towards the front of the engine like it was before and tighten really tight , you won;t be using it again, now you can use a Chevy V8 distributor hold down clamp. The reason I suggest this is that if you loosen the clamp too much when adjusting your timing the distributor can be pushed out of the oil pump and the engine will still run so you may not even know it happened until the engine starts making noises. It happened to mine and it's costly.
So, is the length issue with oil pump engagement or cam gear engagement? I just got my 235 back from the machine shop. I have not tried to start the engine yet, but I did move the clamp on the original distributer for cleaning. I noticed at that time that it was adjustable. I just stuck it down the hole until everything engaged and then adjust the clamp. I should have watched the entire video first. You answered the question.
Chevy 235 best engine ever ..I pulled a 1965 Chevy C10 side step out of a potato field back in 1974 , it had three busted piston .. took 6 piston and connecting rods from a 283 ..that has the same bearing and pistons the connecting rods are a shorter ,,so it had great lower end torque .. after twenty years it was still running strong it ended up in a potato picker .. in northern Maine ..
Any chance you can do a video on changing the rear main seal on a 235? There is very little info out there, and the shop manual is not helpful.
Thanks for the tip
Thank you :)
🥝✔️
I got chrome on mine both of them 👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸
Good info ,I'm currently doing the distributor in my rebuilt 235, thankyou 👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸
Great informative video, thank you for posting.
What I had was an oiler problem with my 1956 chevy after 2 years and that was in 1965
is this a car 235? or where did you find the adapter plate? that's to mount a automatic transmission correct? i searching for an AUTO transmission that will bolt to my 57' truck 235.
Hi my hei distributor is too short. About 1/4 inch. It is a truck engine. Are car and truck distributors different sizes.
The Stovebolt distributor setup was industry standard in their era. The distributor was like that on most engines then because the vacuum advance actually turned the entire distributor body. The distributor had to float in the block to allow that. Its an odd setup today, but not when they were new. I can see where running a modern distributor could lead to confusion in installation.
I bought a 50 fleeline 2 door sedan with original motor. how can I find out if its a 235 or a 216
216 looks feminine compared to the 235.
Hey Dan, I'm new to the straight 6 world, yet I have been working on installing them in 40s and 50s. I need help learning how to set timing on them when the have hei distributors and 350 or 700r4 transmission. Do you have any info or videos on that? Thanks
This. Video. Gives. Some. Very. Solid. Advice... with. Good. Logic. And. Reason... with. Visual. Examples.. of. How. It. Needs. To. Fot.... good. Job. have. A. Nice. Day....
I can't thank you enough for this video and valuable information. I almost made the catastrophic mistake you mentioned on here.
At least one of the bolts in the head has an oil galley through it. The people who rebuilt my 235 failed to put the proper bolt in, so I did not have any oil going to the lifters or to the top of the head.
You are absolutely correct.
How about if you have the old stock distributor and take a measurement on it!
measurements are the same on a stock distributor.
Right on , compair the origional one , check oil flow before firing up
Glen Self got a lot of power out of those 261s.
IS THERE A BALLPARK FIGURE WHEN DOING AN OVERHAUL ON THESE ENGINE'S....I'M GONNA KEEP MY 235 EVEN THOUGH SOME OF MY PEOPLE'S WANT ME 2 GO 4 N LS SWAP EVEN THOUGH I THINK IT'LL MOVE MY 55.5 CHEVY 3800 DUALLY ALOT QUICKER I'M STICK'N 2 MY INLINE 6🙋🏿♂️🙋🏿♂️🙋🏿♂️🙋🏿♂️
Why not use the original distributor throw that hei distributor away
I prefer the look of the stock distributor as well. This is what the customer wanted and it actually ran very well with that hei. I usually install stock style distributor with a pertronix
It’s the only automotive engine I’ve ever rebuilt.
The straight six was a good engine.
I did not watch you build, but when I built one I put a 261 cam in it
The HEIs are good distributors but I would never put one on my 235s or 261,they look so out of place and as bad as hanging a alternator on the side of one. Never had points leave me stranded like electronic ignitions so all the I have converted to electronic will eventually be going back to points.
I seated a DUI HEI dist with sliding clamp like that into 235 oil pump and tightened clamp before I tightened then bolt. The down force from tightening bolt pushed dist gear into bushing in engine block above oil pump and caused bushing to cut and wear where gear rests on bushing. Bushing wore a massive amount and sent filings through motor. Also engine oil pushed up the shaft and leaked into top of dist under rotor. Original distributor is designed to float and ride on the bushing above oil pump. When hold down bolt is tightened dist gear destroys bushing. Engine ran great and had good oil pressure, but eventually caused bearing failure. These DUI HEI distributors are designed wrong and will eventually cause engine failure. They also should have a seal under pickup coil to keep oil out of upper housing.
That looks like the engine that was in my 62 Chevy truck that lasted many years, thanks for the reminder, l was only 16 at the time
My father stupidly bought a 1959 Chev with that engine. The brick could hardly move.
Ok, now I'm aware and won't do that. Those old sixes were commonly found as everyday drivers into the '70s.
I don't buy Chevy so I don't have to worry about mistakes.....😮
You don’t fix anything so people ruin everything you own.
I’m down with the straight six cylinder engine because of it’s sound and grace
I remember my 66 chevelle with a 194 cid motor
Next time you build one of these... drill out the oil passage on the side of the block to 3/8" or more ( depending on your confidence) thread the passage...on the outside of the block drill & tap 2 holes for installation of fittings for a full flow oil filter system...last , install a plug so it rests in between the 2 hole's you drilled on the outside of the block... now you have a full flow filtered oil system. I did this on our engines for figure 8 back in the day and we were the only ones with the same running engines at seasons end.. I also used 2 sets of main bearings, use uppers from both sets for 360' oiling...These weere great engines in their day... don't forget roller rockers , we didn't have them back then...
Thats my favorite modification to do to these engines. The 261’s have a full flow filter setup and I can tell a major difference in wear when I take them apart. I agree it is a much needed upgrade.
That's good advice! Any other suggestions? I'm rebuilding great Grandfather's 52 with I believe a early 235