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When did GM go from an enclosed drive line to an exposed drive line? The bell housing that came on my '35 Chevy accomidates the enclosed drive line. However, that same bell housing appears to fit a '57 235. I am confused because someone told me that the two won't fit.

the 55 1st had the open driveline - the enclosed driveline starts at the the back of the trans [or the front of the torque tube], the bellhousings only have to fit the front of the trans, and the back of the engine .... what engine is in the '35?

Bill

[QUOTE
When did GM go from an enclosed drive line to an exposed drive line? [/QUOTE]
I don't know what year it started, and I'm no authority on big bolts, but heavy duty trucks had an open drive before light duty trucks did. I just pulled a 4 speed out of a '51 GMC
1 1/2 ton that was open drive line all the way.
(before and after the carrier bearing)

Bill
When I got the truck home, it had a 6cy which had two studs/nuts..rubber washers attaching the valve cover to the head. I was told that this was not the original 216 but an early 235. An oil line ran from block to the head on the outside. The break/clutch pedal assembly attaches to the bell housing. I want to keep this design as it appears original as is the enclosed driveline. Putting a '57chevy motor on.

The original 1935 bellhousing was attached to a 206.8 CID engine and would not fit on a 216 or a 235/261. The bellhousing presently in the truck probably came from a late thirties/early forties truck if you don't have a 206 engine. As red58 said, the bellhousing doesn't determine the drive line, the output of the transmission does. On ton and a half trucks, the rearend became open drive in mid 1940, but it still had torque tube from the transmission to the carrier bearing (split drive line).

A 206 engine will have a wider spacing between no. 3 and no. 4 spark plugs than between the other plugs; the 216-up engines had even plug spacing.

I'm not sure when the changed happened, but I think the 2 studs holding the valve cover would be a 216, and I also can't say if the 216 and later 235 fit the same bell housing, but I'd expect them to ... OTOH you said 35 in the first post, you must mean 53

Bill

sounds to me like someone replaced the 206 with the 216. The 216 came out in 1937....I think.

John Boy it sounds like you need to check your casting number with the Inliners list and you should be able to find out what engine and head your taking out and what your planning on putting in. It sounds like you might have a early 40's or 50's 216 or 235. It is very difficult to visually tell the difference in a early 216 and 235. And that would explain why you said your rear crossmember had alrady been modified.
Thats what makes these old trucks and cars so much fun because you don't know what previous owners have done.

The info on the "bolt" is beyond anyting available. You folks....fellow "bolters" make my tiny porject something I so look forward to every morning.
My dad drove this rig in "37 as I eluded to on an earlier post. It my goal to recreate this piece of history in the same form as it was when he drove it to his first fire.
It is obvious with your help that the PU has been modified to fit the agencies needs.
Now, I am not sure if the apparatus was stock with the exception of the Viking Pump or someone change the bellhousing/motor to accomidate the Pump system.
My goal is to geter on the road. I have a '57 235 that I now find out I am going to have to overhaul. After this excercise, I think I will be able to use the bellhousing that keeps the originan brake/clutch pedals assembly and not have to hack anything.
I am strugling with the front brakes as I have had new lining put on. Now I can not get the right front drum installed because there is not engough adjustment to back off the core.

It is good to know that my experience is not you folks first rodeo.

You should be able to take the brake shoes back to the people that installed the lining and have it dressed down.

I have discovered that the "S" cam is not in the horizontial position....therefore not letting the brakes release enough. Hope I get the shop manual I purchase off of E-Bay soon. This is driving me to drink!