The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 235 issues

Hey everyone, i'm having some issues with a 53' 235ci inline. the car would start if dumped fuel down the carb so i took it to a local shop that works on older hotrods to get it running good. They installed a new carb, plugs, wires, points, electric fuel pump (they say it's regulated down). They called and said it was running good but not charging so i said fix that and i'll come pick it up. The next day i called to see if it was ready and they tell me it won't run right and they think it needs a cam. The reason they think that is because the car will idle but when you give it fuel it just pops out the carb. I would think this would be a fuel or ignition issue but i'm no expert on chevy inline engines. any ideas?

Looks like you are referring to a 235 car engine (" . . . the car would start . . . ")?

Mechanical or solid lifters?
- Manual transmission 235 would have solid lifters.
- Powerglide car would have hydraulic lifters (except for Corvette).

Did they adjust the valves?
How?

Did they adjust the timing?
How?

Yes, it's in a 53' chevy sedan. I'm guessing it has mechanical lifters since it has a 3 spd trans. As for the timing or valve adjustment i'm almost positive they did not do either.

I think you mechanic see dollar marks in his eyes..

he said it was running good, but not charging, now
he says it wont run right and needs a cam... something smells here, just my opinion

did they drive it when they told you it was running good.. they should have....

I agree with Joker.

Regarding setting the timing - if they changed the points, they might have changed/adjusted the timing.

Where in PA are you?

I'm located in kempton, its about 25 minutes from allentown pa. I think i'll be taking the trailer over there tomorrow morning to get the car. i just hope there not right about it...

I have a suggestion and I am by no means a mechanic but
if it needs a cam, then it will need other stuff and that garage would probably end up costing you about $3,000 bucks, just ask them what they think the total cost would be, then you can trailer it home and think about it........you can buy a good rebuilt 235 all day long for $700 bucks or so..

I wish you luck my friend, I think when you said you could dump fuel and it would run that the fuel pump probably fixed it but they wanted to go farther... I dont know but for sure... but

look at this deal

Well they already said that i'd be better off putting a whole new/rebuilt engine in which would run me at least $2,000. so far my bill there is over $800 for the tune up, fuel pump, alternator and a new carb (guess they couldn't rebuild my old one for some reason)

I would pick that sucker up and head for home and take my loss..

they charged you way to much to began with, at the most
1 1/2 hour labor, fuel pump about $30 bucks, alt ,maybe $70 and a new carb probably a lot less then they claim,you can buy them all day long for $100 bucks or so... make sure it has a new one on it, and make sure you get the old parts..

Is this the only garage in town. way to much money for work described,, if you let them rebuild your engine, I bet the final cost would be a lot more then quoted...

how long have you had this truck, how was it running previous..
for one thing, they should have checked it out before they started replacing parts, etc.......I might do something trial and error but a professional garage... should not

i got the car from a used car dealer that had taken it in on trade for another older chevy, they said it ran but died on them half way to there dealership. he thought it had sucked dirt up and clogged the filter since the filter was dry and it started right up when they poured gas down the carb. it was even inspected before it was traded in. The shop i took it to after i picked it up isn't the ony garage around but since the claim they specialize in older vehicles i figured that was the place to take a 53'.

well they may be right on but.......
good luck with it.........as my wife says, it is only money..lol

Sounds to me like the vacumn advance on the distributor is not working.

Thanks, is there a way to check/test that?

I doubt the vacuum advance would cause those symptoms. After all, many of these old engines didn't have one in the larger trucks. And at wide open throttle or under heavy load the vacuum advance doesn't work any way. Had it been in storage for a while? New fuel? Ran on old fuel?

I would pop the valve comer off and look for push rods being out of place from a valve sticking from old fuel in the past. Could be as simple as putting the push rod back in place and adjusting the valve. Make sure the offending valve is moving freely.

Sounds like this shop is a rip off artist.

I hope that shop buys Vaseline by the gallon- - - -surely they don't treat their customers like that without a little lubrication. Call a tow truck and get your car out of there!
Jerry

I plan on taking my trailer out tomorrow morning to pick the car up. they did say that they won't charge me any labor since they couldn't fix it. they just had me a little worried that i'd have to drop over $2000 in it to be able to drive it. I don't think they even pulled the valve cover off since they started working on it.

when you get it home pull the valve cover off. then turn the motor over by hand and check to see if all the valves are opening properly. or if any have a lot of lash this will tell you if have a bad cam. I doubt you do.
Jay D.

so he just charged you for $800 parts they put on ?
well said Jerry,

I would suspect that the gas tank is fuel of varnish. I would get the original carb back that they replaced. In my opinion they installed a replacement carb, got the car running and then when it sat the gunk from the gas tank plugged the carb again. I would also suspect some stuck valves and or bent pushrods. Don

Yes, take the vacumn line loose at the carb and connect a vacumn source / pump to it and watch the dist housing it should move, if it doesn't the vacumn unit is bad. Not hard to replace.

I would double check that they put the plug wires on in the right order. 153624

Well i got the car home today and as i expected they came to the conclusion that it needs a cam with doing a comp test or even pulling the valve cover off. They told me it will start and run but pops when you give it gas, when i got there i tried starting it and the battery was almost dead so i didn't even hear it run yet. i have the charger on it now so hopefully i can start it tonight or tomorrow and see what it does. going to check the plug wires first, then do a comp test, then pull the valve cover.

I wonder if the acc pump on the new carb is working. I would look down the carburetor with the engine shut off and see if giving the throttle a shot causes it to squirt inside like it should. Did they change it over to an alternator as a way of repairing it?

It already was converted to an alternator when i got it but they said it wasn't charging.

Well i attemped to do the comp test today, it has 140-145psi on cyl #1 but only got up to 120-125psi on cyl #2 before it killed the freshly charged battery. i even hooked up my jump pack and it still acts like the battery is dead. I'm going to check the battery cables and get a new battery. is there any other reason besides the starter that would cause this? i pulled the valve cover off and all the valve springs,pushrods ect look good. all the valves look likr they move ok when i crank it over as well.