Stovebolt.com Forums The Shop Area The Engine Shop 58 Car 235 into 51 3100

Fixite... at 70 years old, I can't swing an 8 lb like I did 40 yrs ago. I used it like a dead blow. Should have said that, I guess. Stood a 4x4 up against the damper.

D'Ecosse On the wooden block,just have a helper pry the crankshaft forward so that each lick of the hammer will be away from your thrust bearing. The heavy crankshaft absorbs the blow,you'll notice a change when the harmonic balancer hits bottom and your beltsshould line up.

How about this one, guys?

I think you 'll be able to get it out with a regular seal puling tool.

The process you describe does work for this seal too.

The shop manual actually says to remove the seal "... by prying it out of the cover from the front with a large screwdriver.".

Dan

Researching the Timing Plate Mods some more:

I got the Stovebelt tech guide and the template, also found this engine build tech guide - https://www.chevydiy.com/how-to-assemble-a-chevy-inline-6-engine-after-rebuild/;
There is some perhaps contradictory info between the two;
in the latter guide it says for the Timing plate installation ....


From the tech guide and advice earlier, it suggests to insert the bolts in with the balancer removed (while also replacing the seal in the cover) i.e. NOT with the cover removed, just the balancer
(See the first image attached which follows this counsel where they have put the bolts in while installing the plate)

I trust my learned 'Bolters here so I presume the Bolts will go in without having to remove the timing cover?
(I did learn something here - earlier I had perceived it was the PLATE that was bolted from the inside, appears it is the COVER)

The other question is regarding the hole mod for the timing plate:

The drawing suggest 1/2" hole - the bolts I understand are 7/16" carriage - so I presume the 1/2" holes reflect clearance for the square 'carriage' section
So ideally I should really drill 7/16" holes and file square if I want the anti-rotation capability of the carriage - yes?
It must be hard otherwise if you use a carriage bolt - or do you use a regular hex bolt and get a wrench on it BEFORE installing the Balancer (in which case, why not still 7/16" hole?)

Jethro, your light blue engine looks like a Ford 200!

Same color as the 216 I pulled out of it. Can said "GM Blue."
Carolina fans like it.

My ‘59 235 was already installed when I bought my ‘52. When I rebuilt the engine, I found my plate was drilled round. “Pre ‘68 Dave”, on his website shows the plate having square holes. Maybe he could elaborate if he sees this post. Here is a link. http://chev235guy.blogspot.com/search/label/Timing%20Plate%20Drill%20Template

Thanks @Phak 1
Was it drilled round 7/16 or 1/2" - and did you use carriage bolts?
I can only imagine the 1/2" is to clear the square on the 7/16" carriage bolt shoulder
If indeed it was 1/2" round (and it had to be if the holes were round and used a 7/16" carriage bolt) can you recall further, does a 7/16" carriage bolt fit through that 1/2" hole with the timing cover in place?
I'm wondering if that 1/2" hole allows for better angle of entry to get it through with the cover in place ....
edit - clearance for a 7/16" bolt is 29/64"

For others searching I found this excellent thread - https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/908168/1.html - with extremely good info referenced to Lonniec (it's an inserted quote in a DADS50 post) and some terrific pictures by Denny Graham
Lonniec reported (and there's an image) that showed his installer ground the head of the bolt for the passenger side to get it in under the timing cover on that side.

Also in an unrelated post on Alternator Mount I happened across this image from @Poncho52 which is an interesting idea of using the nuts on the top side for the centre bolts
Image only shows the drivers side though - there may still be an issue with the passenger side, at least with a view to using a nylok nut.

WIld idea - I'm toying with the idea of making a rectangular slot on the timing plate on the passenger side which would allow the carriage bolt to slide in under the timing cover; the drivers side would be regular square.
To make, drill 7/16" holes, square off both holes, then file futher on the passenger side to create a slot, just wide enough (TBD) to get the bolt in place.
The side to side and final position of the passenger side bolt would be constrained by the driver's side bolt and once torqued, even the passenger side would likely be a non-issue in that plane.
And the vertical integrity for me would be better than grinding the head of the bolt.

Thoughts/comments?