Labor Day Putting down your wrenches or time for
MORE wrenching? 
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| | | | Joined: Dec 2016 Posts: 80 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Dec 2016 Posts: 80 | Looking for advice on rebuilding my 235. Does anybody have any suggestions of upgrades or tech tips? Already planning on having it balanced and replacing the fiber camshaft gear with the metal type, installing a oil filter kit. Looking to keep it as stock as possible.
1959 3204 Basic Cab
| | | | | Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 1,652 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 1,652 | Have the crank snout drilled and tapped for a balancer bolt. Allows the use of a regular balancer install tool instead of a block of wood and a hammer. Send your distributor out and have it professionally rebuilt.
Mike
| | | | | Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 7,440 Bolter | | Bolter Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 7,440 | Have the head Magnafluxed as they are prone to cracks. 
Martin
'62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress)
'47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project)
‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily)
‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence)
“I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one!
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USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
| | | | | Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 393 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 393 | Check out Deve's Rebuild page.
It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it.
| | | | | Joined: Dec 2016 Posts: 80 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Dec 2016 Posts: 80 | All great ideas, totally forgot to look at Dave's Rebuild page, thank you!
1959 3204 Basic Cab
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2014 Posts: 4,473 Moderator, Electrical Bay | | Moderator, Electrical Bay Joined: Mar 2014 Posts: 4,473 | While it was out I would see if anyone near you could machine the block to accept a one-piece rear main seal. Also, I would buy a harmonic balancer repair sleeve and install it. Even if you center that seal perfectly and polish the balancer sleeve nicely, it can still leak. One other thing...if you're handy with metal working (1/8 inch aluminum will do) make a bar for the lower side of the pushrod cover so it will seal better.
Good luck,
Jon
~ Jon
1952 1/2 ton with 1959 235 | T5 with 3.07 rear end
| | | | | Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 1,652 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 1,652 | Another thing to consider. As you can see, Chevy had an odd way of retaining the timing cover to the block. Mostly screws, although sometimes bolts, from the outside, but two bolts and a retainer from the crankside side of the motor. I have no clue why they would do it that way, maybe a sale on pan gaskets or something. What this means, is if the timing cover leaks you have to pull the pan to get to those two bolts in order to replace the gasket.
A really old modification, tap the front main cap for threads, i forget offhand what size they are, 3/8-18 maybe but not certain at the moment (the holes in the cap are close enough to the correct drill tap size to do it), and drill out the timing cover and plate to oversize, so that you can install all of the bolts from the outside. I have done this to a majority of the motors I have built. Had a timing cover gasket fail just once, with the most recent 261 build. Boy, was I happy. Only had to deal with the front of the motor, and did not have to pull the pan to do it.
Mike
| | | | | Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 29,269 Bubba - Curmudgeon | | Bubba - Curmudgeon Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 29,269 | | | |
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