So what prompted me to start this was that when I hear people tossing out the term, "swapin the 216 for a 235" then they gotta mean a 54 or later no doubt. cuz the earlier ones were no better than the 216 that they are replacing.
And it seems to me that in almost all cases that the powerglide 235's put out more HP because of the cam's that the had, so the ideal engine swap is a '60 235 powerglide, give or take a couple of years either way, that sound right?
Now just one more question; in 1963 I was working as the night parts manager at a Chevy dealer and a three year old ‘60 Biscayne, 2dr., six stick was traded in. I bought it and kept the car till ’67 when I was shipped over to the Fareast. I had the lifters out of it while doing a valve job at one time and remember that they were hydraulics which I spent a weekend disassembling and soaking the varnish off the plungers, so much for the bulk oil the dealership was using. From what I've been reading here the powerglide 235's were the only ones with hydraulics, and the stick shifters were solid lifters. Anyone know what was going on here? Now I know your gonna say that they were probably changed by the PO, but I know it came from the factory like that because it was a one owner. The owners were a little old couple that we all knew cus they were so meticulous about servicing it. They bought, serviced and traded it at the dealership that I worked at.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
