Apologies to Mike. The casting number on the head is 3701887 which, according to Advance-Design.com, is a 1953 235 head which was the "last low pressure 235". When I went to "https://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/enginecodes.htm" it shows the "235 prefixes", which, I'm guessing refer to the serial number in the photo I posted. The LDA comes back to a '53 235. Again, apologies to Mike. I completely forgot that the early 235s had the same type of valve cover mounting bolts as the 216s. I'm still trying to locate the block casting number. The date code, just above the starter, is E 5 3, which seems to translate to May 5, 1953. The same source says that the casting number should be between the 3 bolt holes just in front of the distributor. However, there are no numbers on this engine in that location.
I'm wondering if, at some point, a prior owner swapped out the entire drive line from the 216 to the rear end for the 235. As I posted in the Driveline forum, this truck has an open drive line.
I'll keep digging around to try and figure out what is in this thing. It does start up on the first try and runs very smooth. There appear to be a number of new lines (gas, vacuum and electrical) in it as well as a new master brake cylinder and fittings. The trans is a 4 speed.
Joe
