The stock water pump on a ‘55-‘62 235-261 positions the fan too far forward (interferes with the radiator) and too low on the radiator to be efficient. They make shortened water pumps to solve the too far forward issue, but it doesn’t address the too low on the radiator issue.
There is one of our fellow ‘Bolters, Pre ‘68 Dave who invented an adaptor plate that utilizes a stock 216 water pump and moves the position of the pump up, so it is centered on the stock radiator which solves both issues. He offers it to us thru his email. This plate is also for sale on eBay, but the seller copied Dave’s idea and has capitalized on this invention. Dave receives nothing thru the seller nor eBay.
I personally have installed this adaptor on my ‘52 3100, that I bought thru Dave, and it works great. Fairly easy installation, accomplished in an afternoon. I provided a photo of my installation. The red arrow points to this adaptor plate.
I highly recommend emailing Dave,
[email protected] and let him profit from his invention. He also has a website that has allot of info on old Stovebolts here. [chev235guy.blogspot.com]
