The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Bringing the bolt back

Hi everyone,

I have a '49 3/4 ton Chevy that I want to get running and driving. It has sat for quite sometime, around a decade, and had a very amateur resto at some point including a 12-volt conversion with an alternator. It has a '54 235 in it with a '53 cylinder head, connected to a floor shifted 3 speed. It is in fairly rough, but not horrible, condition and will need everything mechanical gone through. I don't know much about these trucks and I'm hoping to learn more and get some help here along the way. I have decent mechanical skills but I'm no pro. I don't have a heated garage, yet. I moved it into my greenhouse so I can work on it on the weekends through winter. I hope to have it running and driving by spring.

The first thing I want to do is to try to make the engine run. It appears to be in decent condition, no water in the oil, looks decent under the valve cover. I think it can be made to run as is with basic tune up parts. I purchased all new ignition components(cap, rotor, plugs, wires, condenser, points) and a new fuel pump. I plan on changing out all those parts. I also plan to run a hose from the pump into a gas can to avoid any problems that may be lurking in the old fuel tank and line up to the pump. I will only connect the battery while I'm trying to start or running the engine, I don't trust the old electrical system. It will be disconnected at all other times.

First question: What type of oil should I put in it. Can I run modern oil or do I need to run one of the special old engine formulas with add zinc, etc?

Any other things I should watch out for before I try to fire this thing up? Any advice you can give me to help me from making stupid mistakes would be greatly appreciated. LOL

Thanks in advance!

Go get some 30W oil and some zinc and you will be golden. I personally would put a kit into the carb. too.

No need for "zinc" - ZDDP, but it would not hurt anything.

The original 1954 235 oil spec was 20 or 20W, or 10W-20 or 10W-30.
http://1954advance-design.com/Photos/1954OilChart.JPG

I hope you have a carb and a coil - don't see them in the pix.

How about a Stovebolt TechTip on starting an old engine? Dead engine start

Do not try to start w/o removing valve cover, pulling all the spark plugs and turn the engine by hand watching all the pushrods move. Many a valve train has been messed up trying to start a long setting engine. If all the valves are free then go for it.🛠

I suggest dropping the oil pan. Sludge and crap happens. Clean out any sludge in the pan or in the bottom of the engine.

Use a little mirror and a flashlight to look above and around components and clean as necessary, especially the oil pump intake.

Then, squirt some new oil over EVERYTHING and let it soak for a while (overnight). Are there grease cups anywhere (water pump or distributor)? Dig out the old grease and put new stuff in.

If the top end has been oiled, then turn the engine over by hand to make sure it turns okay. If you don't have a hand crank, put the tranny in gear and rock the truck while someone is watching the engine.

Don't forget to put the oil pan back on and fill with new oil before cranking it over using the starter.

We'll cross our fingers and toes for ya!

Dean

Thanks for the insights everyone!

Gord, thanks for the engine starting link. I was looking for something like that but failed to find it on my own.

I do have the carb. It is an old Rochester that I assume was correct for these engines at some point in time. The casting was warped badly, when gas was put in the carb the gas would just run out the sides. I ground each section flat on a surface grinder and rebuilt it. Will it work? I really don't know but I guess we're gonna find out. I'm assuming there's a better carb option out there, I just don't know what it is yet.

I also have a coil, I removed the old one before I took the pic because it was upside down and leaking oil.

Next, I will remove the plugs and spray a little PB Blaster in each cylinder and let it soak for at least a couple hours, I will get that done in the next hour. Then I will remover the valve cover and attempt to turn it over by hand. I will try to get this done later today but I have a lot other things I want to get done too so it may not get done until Thanksgiving.

If you guys have any other tips please keep them coming, I really appreciate it!

Kevin

As far as the coil goes, I think the usual mounting is ‘upside down’, at least that is how my 56 is. I think that is done just to make running the coil wire a little easier. It should not leak oil though.
Good luck.

The first link is the first segment of a 6-7 part series. The principles are the same for starting a motor that has been sitting whether a Ford, Chevy or other 6-8 banger.


(for in the field mucking around)

The second link - well its just too good to not paste here.


(this is very good)

How about using the big screwdriver in the distributor hole on a drill to bring up oil pressure?

That will work fine.

For oil, I use Valvoline 30w VR1 which is high in zinc.

Dear Stovebolt forum,

I have gotten to the point where I want to try to turn the engine over by hand but have run into a little problem. I reached down to the crank snout to find that there isn't a large bolt holding the balancer and the pulley on, like most of the stuff I've worked on before. Instead I had my finger sink into a greasy hole. I've never gone this far with a Stovebolt before. I was a little scared, a little nervous and unsure of what to do next so I took a pic and moved away from it so I could get some advice. What can I stick in that hole to get it turned over?

Signed,
A hand cranker who seeks fire in the hole(actually all 6 holes)

That is made to insert a hand crank. Search here for a recent thread showing them. It’s about 14 posts down from this one.

Martin, that pic is the balancer for full pressure 235. A hand crank will not work on it. A 3/4" drive ratchet should fit that hole well enough to turn the engine over. The earlier 216s and low pressure 235s had a snout which had an extension designed to throw the handle out of the hole once the engine fired.
Carl

Thanks Carl, I was just going of the year of the truck. You da man!