The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 1957 235

I must be doing something wrong.

BD,

I think you need to stop and go back to the basics.

Get #1 piston at TDC by taking out the plugs and turning the engine over by hand with your thumb over the hole (or with a drinking straw in the hole).

When your thumb is blown off the hole or the straw goes up to its highest point, look at the position of the distributor rotor. It should be pointing at the plug wire that is going to #1 cylinder. If it isn't move whatever wire is connected to #1 plug to that dizzy position.

After that, make sure all the other plug wires follow the firing order and that all are going to the correct cylinders.

Now your engine will be properly timed to the factory baseline. Set the octane selector on the dizzy to zero. Start the engine and see how it runs. With your timing light you can advance or retard the timing as required.

You are too kind RonR!

Jim Linder at Bubba’s Ignition was rebuilding my distributors. Bubba retired and was having a few health issues. So I purchased and rebuilt a Sun machine and Jim Linder walked me through the basics. He unfortunately passed away in December 2023. He was a really good guy. So now I rebuild my distributors myself.

After having gone through quite a few distributors now, I have a new appreciation of what a difference a correctly functioning distributor can make.

Idle set timing 14 degrees. All is as good. Runs good. Starts right up.
Simple is right. Thats where the engine runs the best.

Indulge me just a bit, how did you get to the 14 degrees btdc?

When I build up a stovebolt engine, I fabricate a pointer and file a TDC reference line on the crankshaft balancer. Then I can use my Innova delay flash timing light to check spark advance and set the initial timing. I've got a Sun distributor tester like the one in the above picture that needs a good rebuild. The xenon flash tubes for the Sun testers are no longer available, so I use the same delay flash timing light to check the advance curve.
Jerry

I`ve had enough time to set the engine various different ways and drive it.
There is a very short turn one or the other CW/CCW with the DIST to have the motor sounding and running smoothly
at idle. Having tried most every mark in that narrow sweet spot. It turns out with my timing light scrolled to
14 and at idle the pointer lines up. Then went to the air mixture and found its spot with the VAC gauge where
it started losing + got it back to that point and backed off 1/8 of a turn.
I can get to 52mph let off the ACCEL and then tap the ACCEL with my foot and it`ll respond. The engine is what it is and
like what was said before ..I`d bet only 100-110hp.

Then you are where you ought to be! Well done!

Jerry, get to Mark at the Paramount Distributor website.

Mark has recap kits to get the electronics up to par, and if yours is old enough to use a battery, he has a conversion kit for that. He also has belts, rubber parts, all kinds of stuff.

He also has a led conversion for the flash tube and sells used but working tubes when available.

http://paramountd.com/parts.html

Update on the 1957 235. I pulled the engine and we took it apart. CYL walls are worn.
#5 piston had a split ring. Thats what caused it not to get compression, All pistons have slop there with the rings.
I`ll have some questions about the next size up pistons I can use. Everything is getting cleaned.
Running that mix of marvel mystery oil and engine oil really cleaned the engine for disassembly.

Your engine guy sure has a lot of nice old equipment.

. these guys are really slow. I would not use them again

Looks pretty good, really. Crank looks pretty shiny, bearings not ridiculously shot, no excessive contamination. For as old as it is, not worn too badly. Must have been taken decent care of, for the most part.

amazing I got 60mph+ on 5 limping underperforming CYL`s.
#5 had a split ring.
That 60/40 mix of oil and MM oil cleaned things up great. Running at a mid RPM for 20 min.

getting there.

How much did they take off on the deck?

Could not tell ya. whatever they had to I guess

Just a suggestion, but there have been recent post on the topic of decking the engine as it may affect other aspects of the engine rebuild/reassembly. At a minimum, you probably want a record of the details of the machine work, amount decked, amount over bored, etc. to keep handy for when it gets to the reassembly stage.

Are you planning to do the reassembly, or is the shop on that task?

shop will reassemble

Block decking is usually only a shallow skim cut to assure good head gasket sealing. Head milling is more complicated, as it can result in intake valve burning and altered rocker arm geometry if too much material is removed from the head.
Jerry

Thanks Jerry!! Im expecting this to be a high quality build. .
Parts are coming in now. We know specs. I`ll get it. Paint it and install. Best part is the rest of the truck is
ready to go. Titled and tagged. This is my first off frame.

and Jerry one of the best guys to talk with. Extremely knowledgeable. Good man.

Question??? Does a person HAVE to have the info of the amount of shaving was done from
BOTH head and block? If they don't have that information, what can be done to ensure the head and block can be married correctly?

S2

It's a simple matter of measuring everything- - - - -intake valve seating, piston-to-deck clearance, crankshaft journal dimensions, connecting rod specs, cam timing, pushrod length, and about half a dozen less critical dimensions that can stack up to either work well together- - - -or not. The newest stovebolt six engines are over 50 years old, and the basic design goes back to the late 1930s. There's no telling how much they've been whittled on during that time- - - -some have been "rebuilt" several times, so the specifications our resident number crunchers like to quote as if they came down from Mt. Sinai chiseled in stone are SWAGs at best. Just like Sun Electric Co. used to say- - - - -"We Test, Not Guess!"
Jerry

well these guys have the engine. nudging might help.>

I`m finding mabbco....+ S and J

BD - Is this the "mabbco" you are asking about??? Same question for "S and J"???

I don't have any personal experience with this "mabbco", but I would highly suggest checking/reading their BBB (Better Business Bureau) web report. The one I saw would make me disinclined to consider them IMHO.

Same lack of personal experience with "S and J", but at least they are rated by the BBB as A+ and their very short list of customer complaints would make this one possibly a better choice, again just IMHO.

Have you asked fellow Great Lakes Bolters for possible better area rebuild shops or closer to you engine suppliers?

I think some of our fellow Bolters should have some insights and suggestions for you.

PM sent

guides and liners upgraded to bronze. its moving along.

Latest pics ......

Don't let the machine shop talk you into installing "hard valve seats". They're not needed, and the procedure sometimes causes the head to crack. Use stainless steel exhaust valves for a small block Chevy V8 instead. (Costs less, too!)
Jerry

Yep!!

Your 235 is keeping some good company there Lots of Toys in the background... Its coming together

Back home safe a sound. Paint then install.

2 coats primer....3 coats blue and 2 coats clear. Flywheel and clutch next. Just have to install.
Then set in place.

engine back in the truck.

oil pump primed and engine ran 30 minutes at 2000 rpm. I`ll change the oil very soon but wanted to get
some road miles...maybe 20 miles or so at 45 mph does this seem like a good approach?

Sounds like the motor will purrrrrrr at 45 mph.

You need to do some wide open throttle acceleration / closed throttle deceleration at road speed to seat the piston rings.