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Apr 26th, 2026 | | AD Chevy Trucks  Over 6,000 pictures Brad Allen has an awesome collection of Chevrolet factory pictures that he has set up from film strips. Check them out!
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| | | | Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 4 Moderated | | Moderated Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 4 | i have a 1953 Chevrolet truck 3500. what to replace 216 and no babbitt bearings. engine suggestions? thank you | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,783 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,783 |
"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!
| | | | | Joined: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,922 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,922 | | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,783 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,783 |
"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!
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 10,275 Renaissance Man | | Renaissance Man Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 10,275 | You boys aren't helping. Y'all snowed in or something?
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
| | | | | Joined: Aug 2003 Posts: 108 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Aug 2003 Posts: 108 | I strongly recommend a 235, or a 261 if you can find one. These are both bolt-in swaps. I currently have a 1948 235 truck engine (babbit/ splash-oiler) in my '53 3600. It is a very low-mileage engine I picked up from a guy who was swapping a small block into the 1.5 ton truck it came out of. I could not be happier with the way my truck runs, and the power this older 235 has! I use my truck as an actual work truck, and sometimes do drive on the interstate, as much as 70 miles at a stretch. I'm running a Carter YF carb, btw, and I also have the coveted 4.10 rear end gears. This truck will easily do 65-70 mph (with the tallest tires I could fit, I believe they're 235/75 R 16s).
230/250/292 will fit, but if I remember right from reading posts here, it will require moving the radiator forward. In my opinion, this is a better option than a V8. At one point, years ago, a mechanic friend talked me into putting a 350 sbc in this truck, after I had very naively thrown a rod in the late 50's 235 it had when I bought it. Sbc swaps involve moving the steering gear and fabricating motor mounts. In my case, I never got the 350 to cool properly and wound up fatally overheating it and ruining one of the heads. If I knew then (roughly 20 years ago) what I know now, I would have just had that first 235 rebuilt. In any case, after my ill-fated few years with the V8, I went back to Stovebolt 6s and will never look back. | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,783 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,783 | You boys aren't helping. Y'all snowed in or something? Not yet but it's supposed to be on the way. How about a Cummins 4BT? 170 HP, 420 ft/lbs torque, no computer, and much better fuel mileage than any gas engine that comes anywhere close in performance to it. Think outside the GM inline six box! 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!
| | | | | Joined: Apr 2016 Posts: 1,043 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Apr 2016 Posts: 1,043 | I'm voting for the 292. I tend to hoard them but the last one I bought on ebay in running condition with compression test was $500 delivered. There is some fab work involved in it but it's a great platform. Maybe someday you want to say bump it up to 1000 HP or so then you're ready. So there's that.
Old enough to know better, too young to resist.
| | | | | Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 4 Moderated | | Moderated Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 4 | thanks for the the advice. | | |
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