The 1956 Chevrolet 235 6 cylinder engine's valve cover was cleaned up and painted using Duplicolor Chevrolet Blue Engine Enamel (see pics). 05I7668F56Z stamped behind the distributor hole tells me: 1) 7668 means this engine was the 6667th engine made that year because unit #'s start with 1001 at each plant; 2) the F means Flint, MI Assembly Plant; 3) the 56 means assembled in 1956; and 4) the Z means regular 235 found in the 150, 210, or Bel Air Cars (not the Corvette).
The fuel filler neck was cleaned up using brake cleaner to remove the hardened tar like undercoating on the outside of the pipe & then the dremel wire brush, belt sander and the palm sander. Then it was cleaned up inside the circular pipe using a long handled wire brush. After cleaning it with acetone it was primered with gray rustoleum (see pics).
I ended up removing the transmission, the 11 inch clutch cover with fingers, the clutch, the 139 teeth flywheel, and the bell housing. Next I cleaned up the original 139 teeth flywheel that came with the 1952 Chevrolet Suburban (see pics). I want to use this flywheel cause it takes the smaller 9.25 inch clutch. Also, something didn't seem right when I put everything together last time. I had to fasten the transmission using bolts as it wasn't flush in position. Anyhow I am starting over & will be using a brand new clutch kit after I buy one soon.
I used a pilot bearing removal tool with a grease gun hooked up to an air compressor to remove the pilot bearing. I never done this before & it came out fairly easy(see the 3 pics). Next I put a new pilot bearing in (last pic). I next put the bell housing on & a different 139 teeth flywheel that uses the 9&1/8 inch smaller clutch. Things are moving slowly along but at least they are moving now in the right direction.
I dragged the front bumper, front bumper brackets, & the partial front bumper splash apron up from the shed (see pics). I'll have to find a front splash apron. I will proceed to clean the bumper & brackets up while I wait for parts to finish mating the transmission to the engine.
I took the front bumper down to bare metal using a hand grinder with 50 grit sand paper. Also cleaned up the bumper brackets with the same tool. I primed both brackets & have one with first coat of black enamel (see pics).
My clutch kit from LMC Truck ($234.55) with shipping from Lenexa,KS to Bel Air, MD arrived within 4 days of placing the order. I was able to install easily & the more difficult part was aligning the throughout bearing. I jammed a small piece of wood between the clutch lever & the bellhousing to hold it in place. I next jacked the transmission at the height required to mate it to the back of the engine. I then was able to shove the transmission flush with the back of the engine (see pics).
The clutch & brake pedals have had rust, leftover rubber material, & 🎨 removed. They then were primed & painted black. New rubber pads were ordered from LMC Truck (Lenexa, KS@ $25 including the emergency brake pad, brake bump stop & shipping). The spare tire holder has been dragged up from the shed where it has been stored for 11 years. It will get cleaned up today (see pics).
Please let me know if the pedal pads fit correctly. The last 2 sets I bought (not from LMC) are slightly too small to properly seat the pad on the pedal. The current set is zip-tied on.
'57 GMC 102, Original 347 V8, HydraMatic, 3.08 rear gear, added A/C, disk front brakes, HEI, AFB carb, '98 Honda Black Currant paint. T-boned and totaled 10/12 '52 GMC 152 Stake Bed, Original 228, SM420, added A/C, HEI, disk front brakes, '67 Chev 3.55 rear gear. Gets used as a real truck.
On the '52 'Burb's spare tire bracketry it consists of 2 rails that attach on the frame underneath the rear plywood floor. And, a 3rd tire holder bracket, which only 1 nut the size of a lug nut for the wheels was removed. That special nut is the most important feature because when you need the spare, you use your tire iron tool to remove it & the tire comes down.
Next I cleaned off the rust, soil, & undercoating using the electric grinder with sand paper discs to find the paintable steel. The undercoating really helped keep rust away from the 71 year old steel. I used acetone to wipe the steel down & rattle canned those unattached rail & tire brackets with black enamel paint. The other 1 rail needs everything done, as I burned daylight pretty quickly messing with this spare tire mechanism (see pics). Hey my TX Stovebolt Brother - will do - let you know how fitment goes on rubber pedal pads on order from LMC Trucks!
16 Oct 2023. SUBJECT: HARDWARE & RAIL FOR SPARE TIRE BRACKETRY.
I just finished cleanup of subject items & will move on. Next up is more supplies to gather, i.e., sandpaper, rattle paint, & dremel wire brushes from Harbor Freight, NAPA, & Home Depot. Besides this contraption won't be noticed unless guys & gals want to crawl underneath & find blemishes. See pics.
17 OCTOBER 2023 SUBJECT: VENT COWL COVER REPAIR & FRONT CLIP MODEL
I used jbweld to repair the hole found on the '52 Burb's vent cowl. I am hoping to shoot it using acrylic enamel paint (Windsor Blue) while late afternoon temperatures get above 60 degrees still.
Also, after sitting 6 months.in the garage with a battery tender applied, I fired up the green 1948 Chevrolet 3100 pick-up. I drove it 5 miles to visit my local mechanic. We chatted regarding work being done on my red 2000 Chevrolet C3500 dually. I then proceeded back home & backed the '48 in the garage. I will use it as a model as I assemble the '52 Burb's front clip after I drop the motor in it.
Today pretty much focused on more clean-up of the cowl vent after work. I only had 2 hours of daylight to burn & satisfied what I did get done. See pics.
Nick, are you depending on that "rust stop" primer to prevent that rust from ruining your paint job (eventually). I would have at least dunked that cowl vent in ospho or similar rust treatment first.
BTW, I fixed your photo carryover issue a couple posts back.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Hadn't really given it any thought Kevin. Good point, though. Hey thanks for that. Meaning, fix to photocopy over. Let's try with today's entries tomorrow, as I am exhausted. Thanks .V/r, Nick
20 OCTOBER 2023. MOUNTED SPARE TIRE BRACKETRY & RUBBER PAD FITMENT
I mounted the underneath rails and started test fitting the spare tire. I'll probably end up using some chain to secure the tire & yet to be determined how this ends up. Why? Seems, based on evidence on the rails that the tire kinda fits between the rails & the other hanging piece. We will see. Those LMC pads fit perfect.
Nice color. And I like that trick where you threaded a rope thru the filler to be able to spray the whole thing. I stuck mine on top of a piece of pipe that I propped against my bench.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
26 OCTOBER 2023. ASSESSMENT OF ACQUIRED RUNNING BOARDS
Eight or 10 years ago I bought some running boards because my '52 Burb came without them. They are OEM and came primered. You will see that storing them in my shed resulted in rust spots and deterioration from what they looked like when they were bought. I have moved them up to my garage and will proceed to clean, sand them to bare metal, & prime them. I will paint them and move them into my house now. See pics.
Also, I'm researching vendors whom I will buy rubber for the rear fender attachment to the running board. See pic.
Storage & garage space is always my biggest hurdle with this hobby of bringing stovebolts back to life. Time & $ come a close 2nd. Now let me get busy & see if I can accomplish stuff today! (see pics of damage resulting from lack of storing those running boards properly)
Nick, those bent parts are easily fixable. Way less than I needed to deal with on my running boards.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
These underneath spare tire brackets were meant for not so wide tires based on what I'm experiencing. So be it. My radial spare tire is an Endoro P205/70R15 that will work just fine and further mount securely after I chain it to the frame. You see, to get where I'm at now I used some longer length rod and double nuts. I will hold on to the tee rod that wasn't long enough. You see it next to the rod I used. More to come ...
11 NOV 2023 (VETERANS DAY) PASSENGER SIDE RUNNING BOARD SANDING AND PRIMER APPLIED
Today is 54 degrees with the winds out of the north west at 6mph so I went ahead and cleaned up the running board and applied primer. See pics. Good day, especially to those veterans! You will never be forgotten by myself.
22 NOVEMBER 2023. DRIVER'S SIDE (LEFT) RUNNING BOARD RUST REMOVED/SANDED & FRONT CLIP INNER FENDERS STORED BY BUNGEE CORDING THEM FROM GARAGE CEILING
I have prepared the driver's side running board for primer & paint. I used my electric powered 🤲 sander, the wire wheel drill, & the dremel with the sand paper flapper end. Also, I hung from the garage ceiling with bungee cords my brand new left & right inner fenders. See pics.
24 NOVEMBER 2023. PRIMERED DRIVER'S SIDE (LEFT) RUNNING BOARD & CONSUMED A THANKSGIVING FEAST
Today I was able to apply primer to a running board in the late afternoon Maryland sun. Then my wife, as always, cooks up a turkey with all the essential side dishes. Happy Thanksgiving! See pics.
30 NOVEMBER 2023. BALTIMORE VENDER FOR AUTO ELECTRIC 🛺
Imagine going into an old time shop facility that repairs auto-electric components, like starters, generators, alternators, & what not. I FOUND ONE!
It took only a week after dropping a 6 volt starter (that uses the foot stomp)off at P&H Dynathrust Auto-Electric to get it back repaired. It cost $100.69. See pics.
18 DECEMBER 2023. STARTER TO ENGINE WITH FOOT STOMP HARDWARE
The rebuilt starter was mounted to the 1956 235 6 cylinder engine with hardware (spring & triangle metal item) bought from Carter's (Independance, MO). See pics.
20 DECEMBER 2023. ENGINE MOUNTED WITHIN ENGINE BAY OF THE 1952 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN
The engine has now been placed in the Suburban. I used a 5000lb capacity engine hoist & I had help of a friend whom likes to work on vehicles. See pics.
Great continued progress Nick. Glad you have a friend that enjoys the work and is willing to help!
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
21 DECEMBER 2023. FOOT STARTER AND ROD SEAL INSTALL
A new rod seal was bought from LMC (Lenexa, KS). After threading the rod through the seal and attaching it to the half moon rod mechanism on the engine, you then attach the seal to the floor. The seal fits on the floor hole in a way that has rubber underneath and above on the floor's metal (see pics). And I thank Dan for encouraging words. Some work does require an extra set of hands! My "motorhead" friend also lives in the same town I do and it's rather a convenient short drive when I call on him to lend a hand.
18 MAY 2024 FRONT BRAKE LINES WITH TEE Today I worked on the front brake lines from the brass tee on the passenger side frame rail. The tee was $36 from Chevies of the Forties & 3/16 to 1/4 adapters were $5 each from my local FLAPS. I had bought the pre bent lines and rubber hoses years ago from Carters. I will run things differently so that I can purchase a dual master cylinder and have the front brakes separate from the back brakes. See pics.
Today I was able to mount the front hood by myself very carefully not to scratch the firewall. I am missing the right front passenger hood spring and will be searching for one. I remember buying this project that had the hood strapped to a poorly rusted 1954 front clip. See pics.
Today I put the original cardboard pad with its insulation backing in its place. It was in remarkably good condition only somewhat dirty. I will paint it black to help the cardboard stay decent. See pics.
2 JUN 2024 INTERIOR FIREWALL PAINTED BLACK AND ALUMINUM RADIATOR MOUNTED TO ITS BRACKET AND TO FRAME
Continued today making progress on mounting radiator bracket to frame with 1/4 inch rubber spacers underneath. Then mounted radiator in the bracket. Also painted the interior firewall pad black using some heavy thick chalkboard paint. See pics.
16 JUNE 2024 INSTALLED RADIATOR HOSES AND COLUMN SHIFT LINKAGE
Today I put new hoses on the bottom and upper radiator except, while the lower had the correct diameter for the 235 engine, it had to be jammed on at the radiator using some lube. Forget the upper one the diameter was way small. Jim Carter's advertised those hoses were the correct fit and they weren't at least for this engine radiator combo. I ended up going to my FLAPS for the upper radiator hose. I also attached the shift column linkage and need to tweak it once I get some help and after the clutch pedal is attached. See pics.
Today I was able to fully install the clutch pedal to include the spring. I used LMC Trucks ($47 with shipping) to buy a clutch linkage rod and a clutch offset rod. I partially installed the brake pedal to include the light switch. I still need to source a dual brake master cylinder. See pics.
4 JUL 2024 FOOT OPERATED HIGH BEAM SWITCH INSTALLED ON FIREWALL
The original foot operated delco-remy high beam switch was tested (worked) and then I proceeded to clean the rust, dirt, and road tar off of it. I polished it up and mounted it to the firewall. See pics! Happy 4rh of July everyone!
Nick, You continue to make excellent progress. Nice work and a very Happy 4th of July to you too!!!
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
