The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 59’ 235 Harmonic Balancer

During the planning stage of changing my long shaft water pump to a original 216 pump with a water pump relocation adaptor plate, I was trying to find out what harmonic balancer was installed. I took measurements, and then snapped a picture. Ugh! It looks like the wrecking crew installed this one. It appears that it is not fully seated and was installed with a BFH as evidenced by the marks on the hub and rivets. In addition it appears that the cast iron balancer is cracked thru. I just got insurance and I thought we were ready to put her on the road. I don’t want to think what would happen if that cast iron balancer came apart while driving. This just made my top of the must do list. Now the first of what I’m sure will be many questions. Is the crank shaft threaded on 1959 235? From the picture it doesn’t appear to be but I can’t really tell.

Dont run it, the crank snouts are not threaded, and the balancer is not retained but it is a good idea to do so.

Contact these guys to get the kit to drill/tap the crank in the vehicle, it is really good insurance.

https://www.12bolt.com/

https://www.12bolt.com/store/p164/C...83-327-250-235-261-230-215-194-Tool.html

In the mean time find yourself a new balancer.

Steve

The whole fan belt setup on this truck is screwed up. It started when they installed the 235. Butchering the radiator support, the hood latch panel and the lower splash pan to move the radiator forward for clearance. They further complicated the issues when they added the alternator. They mounted the alternator with a threaded rod and nuts without a sleeve so it has bent under the strain. They extended the adjustment arm by cutting it in half and adding two stacked thin pieces of flat stock and a couple of bolts and nuts. In addition, none of the pulleys are in alignment. Im not even sure if the belt is correct as it measures 7/16”.

I had planned to straighten out this mess but I thought I had a little more time. I plan on buying the alternator conversion brackets which will address the alternator mounting issues, but I do have some other questions

I know that in 1952 they used a 5/8” v-belt and I assume the 216 harmonic balancer from 1952 will fit my 59 235. Where can I get a new 5/8” pulley for the alternator and do I match the existing OD of the pulley?

I plan on buying the adaptor plate to relocate the 216 water pump. In reference to pulley alignment, how do you compensate for the thickness of the adaptor plate.

And finally, where would be a good source for buying a Harmonic Balancer?

For the alternator pulley, try speedway they should have it for you:
https://www.speedwaymotors.com/

The thickness of the adaptor plate for the water pump is compensated for by removing the backing plate off the water pump.

Put a add wanted in the stovebolt here for the balancer, make sure you get a 52 and older one, they have the 5/8" pulley

By the looks of your balancer and alternator setup, I would leave no rock unturned on your truck, check it all out, somebody has done some pretty bad work there. I would do it anyway, that way you know it is done correctly.

Steve

sstock,
I agree with your assessment of the quality of work performed and plan on going over the truck with a fine tooth comb. I’ve already gone thru the electrical and brake systems and cringed over some of the PO’s butchery. And thanks for the lead on the alternator pulley!

Now concerning the water pump. Are the thickness’s of the two plates the same? With my past background as a machinist, I’ve aligned industrial pump to motor, fan to motor pulleys before. I know from past experience that a 1/16” misalignment can cause premature bearing, belt failures and excessive pulley wear.

If the two plates are different, should this be a concern or is my (perfectionist) machinist background clouding the issue?

Phil

"Are the thickness’s of the two plates the same?"

Dave's blog on the water pump relocation plate (on high pressure 235/261 engines).

"When installed in a 1939-40 Chev, the fan will be ¼” forward from stock but will fit fine."

I wonder what the difference in installation between a 39-40 Chev. and my “52” 3100 would be?

The plates are very close to the same thickness.

I see that you “Pre ‘68 Dave” are the inventor of this conversion so you are definitely the expert. Is there any noticeable misalignment of the pulleys?

I have put close to 50 of these on customers engines, and they usually line up fine.
Because rebuilt and aftermarket pumps are not assembled to exact speck, I have found that in rare cases the pulley needs to be moved on the pump.
I have lost track of how many I have sold, but I have never had anyone complain about belt alignment.

Pre ‘68 Dave,

Thank you for your assurances as that’s just what I was looking for.

I finished installation of the water pump relocation plate today. I had drilled and tapped the new 3/8” holes in the block a couple of days ago and that went well. When I attached the plate to the water pump and tightened up the flat head allen bolts, it shifted the plate on the water pump and offset some of the holes. I can’t say if it was the new water pump I purchased from RockAuto or the relocation plate I purchased from Ebay. I remedied the issue by enlarging some of the holes. The rest of the job went easy. I also installed a new alternator bracket, new 5/8” pulley on the alternator and finally 216 harmonic balancer to complete the package.

After driving on the balancer, the misalignment between the balancer pulley and the water pump pulley was about 1/32” which I believe is acceptable.

The first two pictures are finished job. The third is the before and the forth is the misalignment of the plate to water pump after tightening the flathead allen bolts.

Thank you all for your help on this project.

Update: Today I discovered that my newly installed water pump was weeping out of one of the bolts. The two 3/8 bolts and nuts (marked “E” and “F”) that bolt the water pump to the relocation plate, have a direct path to the antifreeze and should be sealed. The picture shows the nut exposed to the cooling jacket. I should have caught this while I did the installation but did not. This time I reversed the bolts and used silicone sealer on the shoulder. My logic for reversing the bolt is there is only one leak path vs. both, the shoulder and the thread with the nut installed on the back of the plate. I haven't added antifreeze as I’m waiting for the silicone to fully cure. Hopefully this time no leaks!