The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Youtube Videos? Need help installing a 235 into a 1952 1 Ton

Hi there!

I currently have my grandpas 1952 9430/3800 (I believe) and I am wanting to get it drivable again. I've recently bought a rebuilt 235 for it that I hope to drop in. But I am hoping to get some guidance throughout the process of getting it all together as I would like to have it driving for my wedding in the spring.

I have some mechanical knowledge and experience but I am very much an amateur in it all. Does anyone know of any youtube channels or videos that do a good job walking through some of the tasks? Or would there be any other suggested resources that I should look into that would help in this?

Thanks for your help!

Ryan - Since your topic is primarily about help with installing the rebuilt 235, the thread has been moved to the Engine Shop forum as the best place for continued help and conversation.

BTW - I added a bit to your title to better define the thread topic.

Is the old 216 still in the truck .It should go in the same as the 216 is sitting ,but there are a few things to check here are a few that come to mind .Depending on the 235 and what it was in prior the front bracket were the front mount goes may need to be drilled ,two holes for the motor mount.The 235 will be longer requiring a adapter to put the older waterpump on making it fit without moving the radiator as well as cantering the fan to the rad like the 216/was origional.(unless the 235 is a 1954/55 model that has the older waterpump.There are videos of the adapter plate if you look as well as tech tips within this site and many discussions.You will also need to check clutch when you make the swap .Hope you meet your deadline for your wedding congrats will be a cool wedding with your grandpas truck.

The 235 is longer than a 216?
That’s new to me
I did that swap but into a 1950

I took everything from the 216 and swapped it to the 235
And it dropped right in perfect
No drilling
No modifying parts
All plug and play like it was meant to work together because it was

The 235 is perfectly the same length as the 216
If it wasn’t the front motor mount wouldn’t have lined up
But it did

I used the bell housing and flywheel from the 216
I kept the timing cover and front mount on my 235 because it was identical to the 216
I swapped the harmonic balancer for the older larger belt pulley
The intake and exhaust manifolds I took from the 216 onto the 235 because they were in better shape and my old 216 carburetor was in perfect condition so I wanted to use it even tho it is a bit small for the 235 the bolt holes required the 216 manifolds
I transferred the starter and generator as well
And my 235 already had the same water pump as my 216 except the pulley was the wrong belt size so I swapped the water pumps too, I should have just swapped the pulleys in hind sight since I have the special tools for that in my water pump rebuilding box of goodies.

My 235 is the full pressure type not the older one with the rod dippers
It came from a 53 truck which would make it similar to the 54 USA truck engine
-s

The 235 is the same length as the 216 but the newer 235 have a newer casting with a different waterpump that makes the water pump longer. In my 54 gmc 9300 when I ordered a short block to replace the original the block came was newer and had the newer design water pump so I.to make the engine fit without the fan gouging the rad the rad had to be moved to the outside of the rad support about 2 inches ,this allowed about a half inch for the fan between the rad . This worked okay until I was in a line up of traffic in the middle of august we’re it was hot and the truck was close to overheating .The better fix is to use the adapter plate and use a older style waterpump as the newer pumps that are longer are also lower and not centered to the rad .Your 235 as I mentioned is the older style that had the same waterpump used on the 216 ,I think in 54 the pumps for the trucks had the 3/8 fan belt .

Here is a little more of what I was trying to show/say .first picture is newer 235 you can see the newer bird leg front motor mount but if you look at the front were the older front mount is located there are no holes .second picture is the two older and newer style waterpump pump.

Ah Yes i see what you mean
It would be a lot of work to swap that front mount part vs just drilling it
And the newer blocks have that different water pump yes
I remember hearing about that

Around my area the older 235 with the high pump is very common and plentiful engine
Many trucks had been swapped out in the past for that 235 so even picking up a 1947-52 truck is likely to already have the 235 full pressure engine in it

I suppose that’s less common to find the right 235 for this swap in many parts but worth it for the simplicity and end results.
-s

Yes I found out after my core was gone in the eighty’s .I am still learning in that your truck having a 53 235 full pressure .If I am correct it would have been from a 53 car with a auto transmission .Does your 235 have the older looking valve cover and does it have the captains bars that some of the 235 s had .Your don’t see much left of the older trucks in Ontario . Nice that there are still some hiding in Saskatchewan.

Do you know what year your rebuilt 235 is?
It will simplify how we can guide you along with getting the engine in your truck before Spring.
WIthout knowing what year the engine is, all you are going to get is a bunch of information, much of which will not apply to your specific situation.

Post photos of all the identifying numbers on your engine here. We like to follow Ronald Reagan's policy of Trust, but Verify.

Otto is correct -- get us the casting code AND the date code.

Our experience with the 261 rebuild may give you some insight into why this is all so important. The lessons learned on the 261 apply to the 235 as well.261 Rebuild Article -- Engine ID

If you are exceptionally lucky, your 235 is out of the 1954 mold (built for the last of the AD trucks)-- that way it will be a direct bolt in no mods or water pump adapter plates needed.

Thanks everyone for responding!

Unfortunately the photos I thought I had I seem to have deleted at some point.

I believe that the original motor was the earlier rendition of the 235 but it was a splasher. Which led me to trying to find a full pressure.

The motor I did buy is a 55. It currently is sitting in the engine bay, but I haven’t invested too much time yet into getting it lined up and installed. I do have the entire front clip dissembled so I wasn’t able to visually see what kind of distance I would have from the rad at the time.

Still, take some more photos of the ID numbers. Just because someone told you it's a 55 doesn't make it so.

Otto
I definitely understand. Unfortunately I won't be able to take any photos until the next time I am working on it as its all stored about 5hrs from where I live at the moment.

Unfortunately the photos I have are limited right now, and I know that doesn't help anyone. But I have a photo of the 235 sitting in place but I haven't attempted to secure it in place yet. I also figured I'd just share the other photo of the truck just for the heck of it.

I was able to get out and do some work on the truck. I got what I understood to be the casting number.
GM 5843350

I just did a quick search and couldn't find that casting number on two different source websites, and also nothing on gmpartswiki.

Not disputing you read it correctly, but a little puzzled. Can you find the date code back by the starter? It would be an alpha character indicating month, a one or two digit number for the day of the month, and a single digit indicating the last digit of the year.

Maybe post a few more pictures of the engine. That might help ID it. The water pump position as mentioned above is a tell-tale sign.

That casting number is the most common 235 of that time period in Canada
I have several of them in a few trucks up here
My post earlier in this thread about swapping out 216 for a 235 is based on that exact 235 block
1950 216 out and the 235 went in its place perfect
Hope that helps
-s

That will help like Kevin said if you take a picture of the front of the engine and the waterpump to determine if you have the older style waterpump.It looks like you have a unique casting number maybe a Canadian thing eh .also include in your picture the plate below the timing gear to see if it has the provisions for the motor mount .I am going to guess that it looks to me that it will bolt in without altering anything .

What year(s) does that casting number cover? You said above that yours was from a 54 with the high water pump, but with pressure oiling to the rods. I just checked the 54 Truck Service manual and apparently 235's from that year had insert bearings and full pressure oiling.
I did another search on a site that said were Canadian engine casting numbers and didn't find that number there.

my notes only say: "block casting 5843350 is found in Canadian full pressure 235 53 (low side cover)”

that 5843350 block as far as i know was for canadian 1953 model year at least probably for 54 as well and a dealer option replacement engine for previous years, it was the first 235 full pressure with insert bearings
i’m sure i’ve see it in the 1954 trucks as well but do not have examples to prove that at the moment, just from what i saw at the junk yards, the 54 still has the high water pump location.
many older trucks (52 and older) got that canadian block when they needed a new replacement engine, so they got an upgrade while replacing the blown out engine


i have 2 examples of that block serial matching the door tag (below) so it’s confirmed example for 1 GMC and 1 Chevy in my collection.
(in Canada, the door tag has both a vehicle serial, and the engine serial number - from next to the distributor -, so you can confirm if the engine is matching to the truck)


1953 "rusted truck" - 1434 1 Ton
serial: 3143407950
engine: XC670790
body serial: 562 trim: 394 paint: 339 GVWR 8800 LBS
block: 5843350 head: 3701887


1953 "GMC truck" - 9430 1 Ton
serial: 3943304301
engine: XC665877
body serial: 217 trim: 394 paint: 339 GVWR 8800 LBS
block: 5843350 head: 3701887

Here's a resource I've used before to try and help ID some Canadian Chevy/GMC engines. The screenshot below is showing the engine block casting# 5843350 as found in 10 different 1953 Canadian built vehicles or stand alone engines.

Dates codes of those blocks with that casting number (where available) are listed from Dec 1952 through Feb 1953, all falling into the 1953 model year range.

Look for the engine block "date" casting codes mentioned by klhansen above and we can confirm when the block was cast.

If that old 1-ton is as straight on the other side as the profile photo, I would not restore the body. Some folks put a coat of clear over the rust to stop it and preserve the petina. They are only original once. You might have to use some rust converter first. Guys who do this would know.

It’s seems as though the general consensus is that it’s likely a 53 then maybe 54?
The motor is currently sitting in the engine bay and has everything lined up for mounting, which is exactly what I was looking for. I’m not sure about the orientation of the water pump, but I don’t anticipate that I’ll have an issue with it?
My next question is what this piece is at the top of the engine is for. Is it for the oil pressure gauge?
Not sure if it’s clear what I’m asking about but the nut like piece next to the valve cover.

Absolutely! I have no plans to do anything on the exterior. I might have to address the cab corner because they are starting to have some holes but I haven’t figured out how to address that just yet. Not a top priority at this stage

Not oil pressure. It is for coolant temp gauge bulb (if mechanical gauge) or sending unit (if electric gauge).