Back in the early 60's, one of my sources of income in college was repairing jalopies in the parking lot. Putting in rebuilt babbit rods was a common thing. I never pulled a head. On passenger cars, it was more trouble dropping the pan than replacing the rod. I never had reason to try to replace a 235 rod. As Hotrod says, try it. The pan has to come off anyway. And on a pickup, dropping the pan is no big deal. If you do have to pull the head, I think the gasket would be reusable and I have done it before. But you might want to buy a new gasket just for peace of mind.
