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I am trying to ID the engine in my '46 Chevy Pickup. This was my Dads project before he passed and he was not the original owner. I think it was originally from Oklahoma.. I am going to paint the engine and when I started to clean things I finally uncovered some numbers on the block and head.
I think the block is a '58, but I'm not sure.
I don't know about the head.
I have attached 3 photos. Any help would be good.
Thanks in advance

Those are useful codes.

Please find and post all the following codes - that will hep us ID the date/year of the head and the block.

1. head casting code :
2. head date casting code :

3. block casting code :
4. block date casting code :

5. engine serial number :

Tim

5913 head casting is 54-55. 848 came in 56 and up. The distributor pad stamp supports a towanda block built 54. The year on the block, the casting date pad looks, like an 8 in the photo but i will bet is a 3, so December of 53. Factory retooled like august september, so this would be a motor built for the 54 model year.

Thank you very much. I guess it would be safe to assume that this head originally came with this block in '54. Do you agree?
I'm a little out of my element here. What is a Towanda block?

My fat fingers typing to fast. Tonawanda assembly plant as opposed to the flint assembly plant. I can’t say whether that head came with that block but it’s the right head for that block.

Chevrolet had two engine assembly plants...Tonawanda and Flint.

Mike B

my trucks are Canadian cast blocks
No USA engines
-s

They also had an engine plant in St Catharines, Ontario, just across the river from Buffalo.

Thanks for all the helpful replies.
As I mentioned I am going to be painting the engine. What would be the correct color be for a Chevy
'54 235 six cylinder? Any recommendations for brand or type of paint?

50 Shades of Gray. Read the Disclaimer under "Engine Colors"

Engine Colors have been discusses and debated here over many years. Here is a post from 2012.

I got the paint and the engine turned out really good!
I guess that I really need to figure out the year of the head on this engine. I adjusted the valves to .18 and.06
The engine still chatters a little bit when putting a load on the truck, like going uphill. Not as bad as before but.....
I have read about different gaps for the valves depending the original use for the engine, and I wonder if I have set them incorrectly. I think that the engine was from a car.It is now in a '46 Pick Up
Can anyone help with the ID for the head and what is the correct gaps for the valves?

I will look up that casting code (maybe someone else will find/post it first?).

Is there an Engine Serial Number that was stamped into to block in the "ledge" to the rear of where the distributor goes into the block?

If it has not been ground-off or changed, it should help to ID the year of the engine.

location of 1953 and earlier engine codes

location of 1954 and later engine codes

I have looked things up and I am certain that this block and head are 1954
I am wondering about setting the valves now.

Are you sure it is a solid lifter engine?
Car 235’s in 1953 would be hydraulic.

What did you find for these codes?

1. head casting code :
2. head date casting code :

3. block casting code :
4. block date casting code :

5. engine serial number :

If it is a 1954 automatic transmission car engine, it would have had hydraulic lifers (which, of course, are adjusted differently from truck mechanical/solid lifters). That is why Pre '68 Dave posted his question.

Tim: the serial number is in the middle picture in his first post.

T54Y is Tonawanda 1954 powerglide according to this: http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/models/engine.htm

Too bad it doesn't have a G after the Y!

Thanks, Gord

As you know (and, Gary P. should note), that a Powerglide car engine would have come from the factory with hydraulic lifters.

What would YG designate (you have stumped me)?

YG is Corvette.

Thanks, Dave
Thanks, Gord

Thanks to everyone for their knowledge. I have learned a few things
This engine is in my late Dad's project that I'm working on now. It's a 1946 Chevy Pick up. It looks like his first vehicle.
Obviously the engine has been swapped. The block casting shows 53. What I have learned on this forum is that Tonawanda retooled in August 53, so this is probably a '54 and originally it was most likely driving a powerglide transmission.(Now it is powering a speed manual) The casting on the head indicates that it is a truck head.

I have set the valves to .006 and .018. and valve noise was greatly reduced but is still there. Any recommendations or advise?

1946 was the year the federal government allowed GM to sell to civilians after WW2.
My grandpa dashed down to the dealership to be the first to buy a new truck.

If the truck was mine, I would risk removing a few screws on the side lifter galley cover and peek inside with a flash light.
No more guessing. Figure out what lifters you have before making adjustments.
If they are solids and light tapping, that's music to the ears. Means they are not too tight.

Take a lifter out and confirm unless there is another way.

I'm fairly certain that these are hydraulic lifters. However, I would like some confirmation before I start adjusting the valves.
I plan on going to a show at the Jersey show, 100 miles away, and I don't want to hurt this engine. This old truck has a top speed of about 55 or so.

Gary, very hard to be sure from the photo, but it looks to me like the newer ('56-'62) style solid lifter. Best way to tell is to pull one, so you can verify if it has the movable internal plunger of a hydraulic lifter or not.

Photo I've attached is of a Melling JB-874 solid lifter, replacement for the OE lifters used from '56 onward, which looks pretty much like your photo. The longer "milkcan" solid lifters like Buoymaker posted were used through '55, with a shorter pushrod. For the solid lifters after '55 (or the hydraulic lifters from '53 onward), the OE pushrod length is listed as 11-13/32".

Hope that helps.

Doug

I have changed my mind and now I think they are solid lifters.
One of the reasons is that when I warmed the truck up and checked the existing lash on the valve I had 6 and18. I believe that if they were hydraulic there would have been no lash.
I also tried to compress the pushrod and I got nothing. If it was hydraulic I probably should have gotten a little bit of movement.
Before I do any more adjusting I'm going to put a vacuum gauge on the intake manifold and try and get the carburetor running at Optimum performance. Although I had lead to the gas, it's crappy gas.
I'm also going to try and set the timing with the vacuum gauge. I can't find my timing light. Although, I don't know how I could get it to work on a 6 volt system.

Get ready, here comes Hotrod Lincoln to explain the errors of your plans. You can power your timing light off of a 12 volt battery pulled up next to your truck. Light doesn’t care where it gets it’s power the flash is from the spark.

I've got a 6 volt truck and an old Penske 12 volt timing light. I use my 12 volt lawnmower battery to power the timing light. It works.

That lifter looks solid to me also. No retaining clip.
Since you have experience making lash adjustments you should be able to loosen up a rocker arm enough to take a pushrod out then remove a lifter.
First you want the camshaft lobe pushing the lifter up so it's easier to use your fingers (engine not hot) to grasp the lifter to pull out.
Do not use any tool to remove a lifter that can scratch or damage it's surface. Do not drop, gently lower, the lifter down on the camshaft.
An old lifter can be stubborn to remove (build-up of varnish or deposits). I have to work them up and down while speaking a few "choice words".

Well, I drove the truck 100 miles yesterday and everything went fairly well. The motor had good power and there was a little bit of valve noise but it wasn't too bad. The Sweet Spot on this truck is cruising at about 45 - 50 miles an hour . I don't think it's going to go much faster than that anyway.
Apparently, I developed a small oil leak on the way and I partially blew out the donut gasket on the exhaust manifold but other than that everything went really well.
Thanks to everyone for all of your input. The knowledge on this form is invaluable to me.