The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 216 or 235

I need some help to determine which engine i have. Upon searching the casting number i cannot find my numbers anywhere this is a Canadian built truck. Casting numbers are head 3695451 block 3835814 is this a full pressure 235? Can someone help me determine what this engine is? It has the triangle plate on the drivers side with the oil line they say is a babbit ponder but it also only has 2 stubs on the valve cover so it makes me think it may be a 235 full pressure engine. I have also found a 261 out of a 55 chevy, what is the difference in horsepower forn the 235 to the 261? I also got a 4 speed trans from the 55 to change out my 3 speed. What would you guys recommend for rear end gears to give me a little more speed keeping in mind i am staying with original brakes. My truck now does 45 mph I would like to do about 60 mph is this do-able or im i grasping at straws.

If I remember it correctly: A 235 comes with 140 hp and a 261 came with 148 hp.

Thats not a whole lot of hp change not worth the effort if mine is a 235 full pressure is it?

Typically the two studs on the valve cover indicate either a 216 or 235 splash engine. Some later engines are dolled up to look like the earlier 216s by doing that. The 216 will have a side cover that extends all the way up and through the spark plug holes until it hits the valve cover. Some of the 49-53 trucks had splash 235s that had the shorter covers used on the later engines (thanks Tim!).

From my understanding, you can feel the difference when stepping up to the 261, but I dont have that experience.

I dont know about canadian casting numbers, but hopefully that helps to sort out the mess.

Jeff

The Canadian trucks of that era had 216s with the short side cover. If your engine is original and the truck is anywhere from a 1/2 Ton to a 1 Ton, it will be a 216. The 235s of that era had somewhere around 100 hp. It was only when the compression started to climb around 1954 did the hp start to go up. The 140 hp probably refers to a 1958 235 or later, definirely not 1952.

Thanks to Tim Lederman's wonderful website, we can see that from the performance curves for the 235 and 261 1954 truck engines there is about a 10% or better increase in torque at all engine speeds, and a 20% increase in peak HP for the 261 over the 235. The 10% increase in torque at the lower engine speeds is consistent with the 11% increase in displacement, and the 261 camshaft helps the higher speeds. I remember back in 1958 when i replaced the 235 in my '53 Chevy with a 261 the performance improvement was really noticeable.

Hoyt

Welcome. I never found any Canadian block nunbers either and I've looked a long time.

In summary:

261 in Canadian Pontiacs rated 148 hp.

American Corvette 235 w/ 3 carbs, dual exhaust, high lift camshaft,etc rated 150 hp.

As said many times before there's no replacement for displacement. Try to wear out the splash oiler while you build a hot 261. Have fun.

Thanks for the info I have started to strip her out for her ground up restoration. I will be swapping the engine for the 55 261 and 4 speed trans. What would you guys recommend for a set of gears? I also would like to drop the truck 4 inches in the rear and 3 inches in the front. Rear drop blocks no problem what do you recommend for the front drop axel or ?.

gregs 52,
I missed something in your original post. That head number is the same as the number on the head of my 1951 GMC. I have a 216 motor. here is a site that lists the vehicles that youe negine appeared in:

www.gmhistorian.btinternet.co.uk/canadianchevdatabase.doc

Fred

Greg, I pulled out my old 235 splash oiler for a 261 out of a '58 - 60 Canadian Pontiac. I believe the old engine was just under 100 hp and the 261 is around 150 hp with higher torque as well. I changed my rear end 4.11's for a 3.55 setup from Patrick's in Arizona. When I tore the old gears out, I found that they were badly worn, I feel good about the new gears but it's not mobile yet.

1953 Panel,
did you find a source for the spider gears?

Fred

Yes I did, a guy from this forum who lives 20 minutes away had a complete axle/torque tube set up that he hadn't had the ambition to bring to the scrap yard yet. All the insides were like new.