The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop My new 216

I recently purchased a 1949 3600. The truck came from MO. And the previous owner had it since 1964 by the title. I know nothing about it and from all the negative things I hear about the 216 am paranoid about this engine. I purchased the truck mainly because it did run. I can repair most anything and have been since a teen. I have read many articles and have done research on this " Cast Iron Wonder". My main concern is the rods. The engine runs great. The truck was stock when i received it. sm420 transmission and 4.56 ho52 rear. After repairing brakes and repacking all the wheel bearings and changing all the fluids. I drained engine oil and ran it for a few minutes with 2 quarts atf and 15w40 oil then drained. removed valve cover and engine looked good. Flushed out top of engine while drain plug was out. Adjusted valves. reassembled. Filled with new 15w40 (because I have in bulk in my Truck shop). The engine is quiet. (other than slight valve tick which i hear is normal). No smoke and good power. I drove about 10 miles and transmission would lock in low gear. I removed transmission and swapped with t5 from s-10 .72 overdrive. Now i can drive it and it doesn't sound like it is turning an extreme amount of rpms. I notice at around 60 mphs it runs out of steam. Is this normal for this engine? I realize this is a low hp engine and may be expecting too much. I also know many people say pull it out and repower. But there is something about a truck that is 73 years old and still runs good. The engine at one time was painted blue so I assume it has been worked on. The serial number on block shows to be original. Rear seal is leaking some and so is front. I will eventually pull the pan and inspect. I know the timing advance is dry rotten. So may go to hei. Oil pressure pegs gauge when cold and runs around 17 psi when hot going down road. About 10 at idle. So the question is What to expect from 216? I am good if all i can drive is 55 mph if I know it is going to kill the engine. But would love to run at least 70 . According to all my calculations it should work. But I have no experience with these small engines.

It sounds pretty good to me!

You’re expecting too much from a tractor engine. Dial back your expectations and drive. Resist the temptation to go HEI without doing some research here first. Enjoy the ticking engine by finding the sweet spot, sit back, relax and go!

I drove my 1950 216 for work yesterday. The engine is unrestored and the transmission is still three on the tree. It ticks over like a sewing machine.

I put over 100 miles on it making my service calls and stayed at 50-55 on the freeway. That's what you can expect from truck built 72 years ago when they didn't have interstate highways.

If you want to drive 70, don't drive a truck made in the 1940s.

Hy Thomaslb, welcome

Remember that we won a world war with vehicles running Babbit-rod engines. As long as the connecting rods have the right oil clearance, they will last a long time. The clearance can also be adjusted, something that's impossible with an insert bearing engine. The T-5 was probably a huge mistake, since the only time you're likely to be able to use 5th. gear will be on roads as flat as a pool table. The engine needs to be wound up into its useful torque range to perform properly, and most stovebolters get a case of the vapors if they can hear normal engine sounds. Take the fan off and run the truck a few miles, and I believe you'll be able to figure out where most of the noise from under the hood is coming from.

Before you try to keep up with highway traffic be sure the steering, brakes, and lights are in 100% condition. The engine won't have much of a problem making speeds of 60-65 MPH or so, and driving faster than that probably isn't a good idea without major upgrades to the steering, suspension, and brake systems. Have fun!
Jerry

Thank you for your replies. I think I will install a tach to see exact rpm I am turning. 3000 rpm should be safe. I have new brakes all the way around and have installed bendix style lincoln brakes on rear. Stopping isnt an issue. I live on eastern coast of NC so mostly flat land here. If I drop one gear I am back to same gears as old transmission. Finding different ratio for rear is close to impossible. So I went with the T-5. Plus it was cheap.

It is my opinion that the T-5 is exactly what you need to get as much performance out of your 216. What is your tire height? 30.5 inch tires should help dial in that 216/T-5/4.56 gears.\combination. Don't be in a hurry to shift it into overdrive.
.72 overdrive creates quite a significant drop in RPM, leading to sluggishness if you shift into 5th gear too soon.

I have to disagree with Jerry about the T5 only able use 5th on “pool table flat” roads, I can only use my T5 5th gear on downhills…..steep downhills, and at that point the speed is beyond my comfort zone….
My truck came with the T5, so I never had the original in this 46 (had them in my younger days on AD trucks though) I have to say the T5 is a sweet gearbox, it’s relatively quiet, and with a Hurst Blackjack short shift kit the rowing it is pretty easy, ratios are nicely spaced, I just dont use 5th….
Chuck

You won't find a stronger 216 proponent than me; still running factory original engine, probably has 175K on it from my estimation, at least 50k of those by yours truly. I rebuilt it once plus highly probable it was rebuilt once prior to 1982 when I got it.

Ive run 25-30K with 3.55 rear end and 30 inch tires. But what I've noticed, and this may not be true for everybody, but my perception once it gets to around 60 in that configuration the low horsepower of the 216 starts to show its true colors on hills, headwinds, etc. It just doesn't seem to have the umph to really do anything extra at that speed, and it's much harder to maintain those speeds than with 4.11 gears at 45-55 mph. It's not a big truck, but definitely suffers some aerodynamic drag, and wind resistance increases proportionally, so 5-10 mph means alot with a low powered engine.

I've changed it back to the 4.11 and even run 15 inch rims with smaller tires nowadays. It's the perfect combo for around town and leisurely backroad stuff, but I do have the complete torque tube with 3.55 and big tires/16inch rims to put back on if there's a reason it really really needs to go anywhere hundreds of miles away.

Last rebuild was 38k miles ago, and the only thing it's needed outside of routine maintenance is adjusting rods/main bearings, easily accomplished by removing shims and checking with a piece of plastigage. Actually, you should consider bearing adjustment routine maintenance with these engines, about every 35-40K miles you'll notice oil pressure on the gauge is much lower when warm than it once was; adjustment boosts it right back up.

(worth noting, they aren't routine scheduled maintenance, but I've changed vacuum advance a couple times, as well as fuel pump, several carb rebuilds, that's about all that comes to mind right now)

I have similar experience as Skooter. My truck has its original engine with unknown mileage but I suspect it's 120k or more. (just fixed the speedo this year)

I have the original 3 speed with 4.11 rear end. I installed 16" rims with tires that are slightly shorter than the original 30"dia.

60 - 65 mph is doable but that puts too much stress on the engine in my opinion. I keep it between 50 and 55 on the interstate.

It runs great and drives like a 70 year old truck. Fortunately for me I've never owned a modern car so driving a truck like this seems perfectly normal to me. Since I truly don't know what I'm missing, I'm perfectly content to drive within the limits of antique vehicles without unreasonable expectations.

I may be confused about the tire diameter in inches. My big tires are 215/85-16, small ones are 215/75-15. If I recall, just that change alone results in around 3.5mph difference at a given rpm. It's very noticeable when driving. Truck had 15s on it when I got it and fortunately, the G78-15 recaps on my dad's Ferd at the time would also fit my truck. So when searching for tire for these current 15 rims, discovered that old size translates closely to 215/75-15 by the modern standard. And they're not recaps anymore.

Mine also had crappy 15" tires on 8 inch rims when I got it. It was horrible to drive.It was hard to steer, even while moving. The proper rims and tires make a major difference.

Thomaslb Your doing good!! Didn't you see my post about the old man saying "if you get 10 or 12 lb. of oil pressure your doin good" this is after shimming rod bearings to light tap fit. I remember how that felt,used to run the portable crankshaft grinder. Was a sunnen,well the floor model real grinder was 10 times better. Anyway enjoy your truck,might help the seal leaks with positive crankcase ventilation. Ran my 235 hard yesterday roading it to a parade and back didn't leak much has PCV.

Your 215/85-16 tires should be 30.5 inches tall.

So I have driven my truck 50 miles or so on and off the past week. The truck really amazes me as to how well it runs. The vacuum advance is bad but the truck has no issues that I can tell. It is leaking quite a bit of oil from the lifter cover and maybe front crank seal. Does the breather pipe have anything to keep oil from splashing out during highway speeds? The trucks I work on have like a brillo pad in them to allow vapor to escape but to deter oil from slinging out. Not sure if I have a problem there was just curious. I will pull pan and inspect lower end and replace rear seal soon. But after driving it as much as I have the last week or so I don't think I should have any problems? Got it on I-95 for about 5 miles at around 65mph seems fine. The truck has no oil filter. Would a bee hive filter make a difference with lowering oil temperature to keep oil pressure a little higher?

216 with 4.56 rear end and you're doing 65mph and seems fine? You've definitely got a keeper!!
Kills me when folks say these trucks have a "top speed of '45 mph." Well sure, that's about as fast as you wanna cruise all day with one, although my 216 w/4.11 is quite comfortable 50-55 all day long. Your 65 might be close to actual top speed though, although I've never held it to the floor to check. I'd be interested if you can verify it with GPS.

Can't imagine a beehive lowering temps enough to boost oil pressure, maybe someone who knows for sure can answer that.

I have an app. on my phone which i use to calibrate speedometers. It updates slow sometimes but is accurate. I also have .72 overdrive with the T-5 that helps. When I was 17 i completely rewired a 48 ford with flathead 6. That truck sounded loud at 45. And wouldnt want to drive long much at 55. This is much nicer than the ford in regards to drive able.

Thomas lb Your truck sounds like my 51 216 3600,it had a rod shim job plus rings in 82,is still OK at 10 psi oil pressure at idle. No chance It will ever hit 70 mph,too much to ask from a safety standpoint. Otto is right if you want to run 70 mph get a tool made to do that safely modern equipment,keep the 50 on the blacktop.