I tried for weeks to break my engine loose before giving up hope and breaking it open. The bottom end looked fine, but the pistons were rusted to the cylinder walls. Once I realized it was gonna cost me the same to rebuild the 216 or build a new 261, I went with the 261. Since then I've seen many good looking re-built motors for sale on e-bay that I could have bought and saved a lot of money.
If you decide to go with a 235, try an ebay search for 'chevy 235' everyday for a week or so, you might find something that'll make you think twice about spending the $1,500+ to rebuild your old 216.
For example, here's a 235 rebuilt by Jasper that's been on e-bay for a while, its a pick up only deal and located in Indiana. You could probably get it for $600 or less.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/chev...yZ34202QQihZ018QQitemZ280017573144QQrdZ1
