Does anyone have a bare 235 block sitting around- - - - -one that's drilled for an oil passage for hydraulic lifters? I'm wondering what the diameter of that passage is- - - - -and whether it's drilled all the way from front to back? I've seen some juice lifter blocks (not necessarily Chevy) that have the gallery drilled from both ends without meeting in the middle. I'm thinking of fabricating a deep hole drill jig to bore that passageway in early blocks that were not drilled for hydraulics originally. That modification would be used in combination with sleeves in the lifter bores that would allow later design, more reliable AMC/Ford/MOPAR lifters to be run in a stovebolt block. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
My block is currently at the machine shop. If it gets back in a reasonable amount of time I will check. I talked to Tom Langdon the other day about an unrelated subject and we got to the subject of hydraulic lifters. He said most of the lifter issues on these engines were due to inferior oil pumps introducing air into the system. So should oil pump be updated too?
Was Tom referring to original oil pumps or aftermarket modern pumps?
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
That's what I figured. All of this modern stuff is inferior garbage. I'd stick with your original pump. Are they rebuildable?
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
Yes, oil pumps are rebuildable- - - -as long as the main body and the base plate aren't badly scored. It's also possible to adapt a pump for the 194/230/250/292 engines to work on a stovebolt engine, but it takes some pretty creative machining. Melling still makes a good quality aftermarket oil pump- - - -M-29 for the 54/55 engines, and the M-45, I believe, for the later 56-62 engines. Air in the oil stream isn't caused by the pump- - - -the pickup screen and associated parts usually create that problem. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
OK, thanks! Almost 5/8" (Or almost exactly 15MM). I'm planning to build a deep hole drill jig that will guide a long drill bit to make that passage in an earlier block. I'll probably start out at about 1/4" and step-drill up with a few passes. It's basically the same process that's used to make a rifle barrel. There are a couple of designs of hydraulic roller lifters that would be a close fit to a stovebolt block, if I ever get around to fabricating a roller cam. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
You have to be careful. If you just stick your tool in the back side without paying attention, you'll wind up inside the galley plug and you'll get a measurement of about 3/8"...but if you then slide a small 1/4 inch socket measuring 3/8" in there it will slide right through the drilled holes. Honestly it always seemed to me that hole could have been smaller. I'll be curious as to how that goes.
~ Jon 1952 1/2 ton with 1959 235 | T5 with 3.07 rear end
The tricky part will be finding a place to tap for the oil supply. Probably a piece of tubing coming up from the oil pump output near the center of the block to keep the front/rear volume approximately equal. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
You may recall a few years ago I altered the pump output to run it out, connect it to a spin-on filter device and then back in (all through the old fuel pump mount I don't need (electric pump since 1997). You could easily come off that line to supply it.
~ Jon 1952 1/2 ton with 1959 235 | T5 with 3.07 rear end
Good idea- - - - -I'm also working on a roller bearing setup for the rocker arms- - - - - -grind the rocker shafts down to 18MM diameter and run two Torrington needle bearings in each rocker with a narrow gap between them that aligns with the lube hole in the bottom of the shaft.
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Hi Jerry- This is a new topic for me and I am curious. Where does the drilling for an oil passage take place? Is it just a counterdrill feature in the lifter bore? I feel stupid asking, but I can't picture anywhere that a 19/32" diameter would occur. Thanks for helping me learn! (I actually have an extra block sitting around, so I want to go and check)
The hydraulic lifter blocks have an oil passage drilled from front to rear through all the lifter bores that supply oil to keep the lifters filled. Early blocks and ones intended for solid lifters only do not have that passage. By about 1956 or so, I think all the 235 passenger car blocks had hydraulic lifters, so they would have that passage in the block. It will be connected directly to the main oil pump output for maximum volume so all the lifters stay pumped up. Spray-oiler 235s from 1950-53 with automatic transmissions also had hydraulic lifters. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
On my 59 235 the oil galley that feeds the lifters is fed from the front and rear cam bearings. It is also a full pressure rocker arm upgrade for 59. the rockers weep hole does not line up with the oil holes in the rocker shaft. I have hydraulic lifters that are old stock. It works perfectly and is nice and quiet.
