Just pulled the head on a 216 from my ‘53 1/2 ton.. Found blown head gasket but worse is a very worn head. Luckily have a top notch guy who is rebuilding.. I bought the truck from a broker in 2014. Receipts showed 80k restoration. Beautiful truck, very well done (except for the engine) for a fraction of the cost of the restoration.. Anyhow, while it’s cool to have the original 216, I’ve always wished it came with a 235.. It seems the original customer may have gotten the wool pulled over his eyes. This motor has a lot of miles on it. Which brings me to my dilemma. I can get her running again, the lower end is suspect. Had the thought to find a 235 and start a s!ow rebuild but seems they are scarce.. She’s been a Sunday driver but I’ve decided to use it more than that. How hard is it to find a 235 ??? Am I better off pulling the 216 and doing a first rate rebuild??? Any thoughts would be appreciated
One more bit of info. Wasn’t burning any appreciable oil, compression around 90 average. Thanks
