When I bought my '46 in 1985, its original 216 was cracked. I had an opportunity to get a '54 235, so I jumped on it. The rebuilt engine went in in 1986. It's still going strong. As far as originality goes, I'm told that when the babbit pounders went, they were replaced with full pressure engines as a matter of some routine back in the late 50's and early 60's.
My engine has no oil filtration system on it. I drive it about 2000-2500 miles per year and change the oil about every 700-1000 miles. The engine doesn't burn oil and has plenty of power. I suppose if I drove it more frequently I'd have to incorporate some type of filtration, but for occasional use, frequent oil changes are working fine after 23 years. Then again, maybe I'm just lazy.
My 2 cents? - unless you want a numbers-matching show restoration, go with the 235.
David B
Last edited by David Bush; 03/17/2009 6:56 AM.
