Hi Stovebolt folks, I have a 1950 GMC 1/2 ton with a 216 and a 3-speed trans. The trans has a significant leak from a major crack in the case that had been brazed, but still leaks like a sieve.
I just found a good condition running Chev 235 with 3-speed trans - about 1953 - that I can get very reasonable.
How can tell if that trans will bolt into my drive train without major modification?
I'd like to just swap the transmission for now if that is possible, as I understand there are some modifications needed to swap in the 235 engine.
1948-54 truck used the same basic transmission. There were some minor changes internally, but they will all bolt directly into your 1950. If the transmission looks the same as the one in your truck, it will fit. The transmission case should measure 13-3/4” long.
I don’t know that there are any mods for the engine as your Canadian gmc is basically a Chevrolet .If the engine is a early 235 the water pump is in the same location .If you buy this check the casting numbers to see the year .My 54 needed a new motor when I got it And should have had a older 235 but when I got the short block was given a newer 235 ,it fit the only mod that may be needed is the water pump relocation plate.I have been running it without any mods for years without any problems .If your engine is okay then just change it but FYI there is not much difference that I know off.
Thanks Dave and Kev, more info - this engine was removed from a light pickup - 5 yr ago - so has been sitting for a while - the water pump is seized pretty solid. It was on it's way to the dump when it was "rescued". It is supposedly a 1951 GM 235. The engine serial number stamped on the flat area behind the distributor is 463608 - which doesn't match any of the patterns I see for US engines, so I'm guessing it is a Canadian version. (my 1950 GMC 216 is C377402 in the same location) The dimensions of the rocker cover and location of the engine mounts look pretty much the same as my 216 (two bolt rocker cover) The generator is the same serial as mine (6 volt), and the distributor is "Delco Remy Made In Canada 1112364 - which my book says was in the 1951 1/2 to 1 1/2 ton truck BUT - the trans. is shorter - mine is 13 3/4 " as you noted, but this one is only 12 1/2" Photo attached I have the 1948-51 Maintenance Manual for Chevrolet GMC Trucks (General Motors Products of Canada Limited, Oshawa, Ontario) It only lists one version of the 3 speed transmission for those years - looks like mine, but this one looks different.
Any idea what this trans is, and if I could make it fit?
That is a 1949-54 passenger car style transmission. I can tell it is Canadian, at least the coil is. I have only seen aluminum coils on Canadian engines.
Thanks Dave - that explains it - the middle man got in touch finally with the original owner, and he confirms it came out of a 1951 Chevy car (doesn't know the model). So now please excuse the next question from a rookie, can that car trans. be installed in my 1950 GMC truck. The total length from front of trans. to back of the torque tube connector sleeve on that 1951 measures 21 1/2" - which looks the same as my truck. Are there other differences that make the car trans a poor choice for a 1/2 ton ?
update - I've been searching everything I can on the web - found the Transmission Bolt Pattern chart - looks like a 1951 car trans has a different bolt pattern than a 1950 truck. So the next question is - can I swap the whole unit - 1951 235 with attached 3 speed car trans. into my 1950 truck and connect to the existing torque tube ? I checked the water pump, and it has the same depth (engine face to end of shaft is 4 1/2" ) as my existing pump.
Was there ever a spray oiler 235 used as original equipment with a 3 speed manual transmission? I've always heard that the 235 was only used in passenger cars when equipped with a Powerglide trans and hydraulic valve lifters. Those engine/trans combinations had side engine mounts and a rear mount under the transmission tail shaft housing. I've also seen at least one 216 with the side-mount threaded holes in the block. I've got a 216/PG assembly in storage that was removed from a 1952 passenger car, but I haven't run the numbers to see if the engine was original to the car. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Hotrod Lincoln: “Was there ever a spray oiler 235 used as original equipment with a 3 speed manual transmission? I've always heard that the 235 was only used in passenger cars when equipped with a Powerglide trans and hydraulic valve lifters.”
Jerry, for passenger cars, the spray-oiler 235 (solid lifter) was used with the 3-speed manual transmission in '53.
Before that, only Powerglide-equipped cars had spray-oiler 235s from '50-52, and they were equipped with hydraulic lifters, just as your wrote. '53 was a transition year, where the Powerglide cars got the first "full pressure" 235s with insert rod bearings (and hydraulic lifters), while those with standard transmissions still had the earlier spray-oiler design.
HD trucks started with the early 235s back in '41 as you know, although I've never seen one with a 3-speed (always 4-speed). Interesting that TSP found a refence to a truck 3-speed with 235.
I believe among the spray-oiler 235s, only the '53 engines had side engine mounts. The '50-52 cars with Powerglide used the front/timing plate mount, as was used for the 216s. I'm not sure if the '50-'52 235 blocks had side-mounting provisions, but I don't think so. The side "tower" mounts were first used in '53-'54 cars.
I have a '53 Powerglide (full pressure) engine in my shop at the moment that doesn't look to have ever been apart (casting date of December, '52). It has both the side mounts, used in the '53-'54 cars, and the older-style front/timing plate with mounting provisions, even though they weren't used in '53 cars. Maybe Chevy was working off the older stock (of timing plates) going into the '53 model year?
As for your '52 engine with Powerglide, the factory never combined the 216 with a Powerglide, so that wouldn't be an original combination.
I had a one-owner 1950 2-door hardtop Bel Air in my high school shop for a couple of years that had a Powerglide trans, and side engine mounts. An assistant principal at the school had inherited it from his father, who bough it new. Someone had swapped a side-mount 216 from a later model car into it, according to the stamped number by the distributor. I believe the engine checked out to be a 1952 passenger car 216, by the stampings. I didn't ever tear if down far enough to confirm the bore and stroke. The car had definitely NOT had any sort of engine mount modifications, however. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Thanks, Jerry. Always learning something new about these cars & trucks. I went back to my '53 Chevy Master Parts Catalog, since you got me thinking about the side mounts. According to that, I was certainly mistaken about the first year of the car side mounts - started in '52, not '53 (they share a common lower mount P/N). So the '52 engine in your '50 Bel Air would have been set up for the side mounts. Makes sense.
