The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop What's a 235CI T56X?

Okay, I'm mystified. Our 1950 AD pickup, which is titled as a 51 and is probably a 1953, has what appears to be a 55-57 pressure-oiled 235.

The casting number is 3837004. In the casting number pages, where most engines have the years listed, some have this casting as a 55-57, others as a T56X.

Google does not know what a T56X is.

To further muddy the water, on the serial number boss, it has F40IH. Possibly one, but probably "eye" in the 4th position. I'm pretty sure the third digit is a zero.

There does not seem to be any more serial number than this, and it doesn't fit with any serial number guides.

Any ideas?

For the T56X serial:

T = built at Tonawanda
56 = 1956 model year
X = regular production 235 from a 31-3200 series truck.

The X is only one of several possible suffixes for a 235 with that casting number, which could have been built at Flint or Tonawanda.

For the F401H serial:

F = built at Flint
401 = engine build date = April 1
H = Thriftmaster 235, used in the 31-32-36-3800 series trucks.

Though this serial number format (which changed in '57) doesn't give the year, the H suffix was only used for a 235 in '57.

What's your truck's serial number?

:confused:

Unknown. As I jokingly referred to above, the PO thought it was a 50, the title we got is for a 51, the serial number plate is missing, and my dad told me it's a 53. Dad was right (as dads often are), at least going by the identification guides posted here and elsewhere.

Oh, and thanks for the explanation. Several casting number/serial number sites got me close to this information, but yours is the clearest explanation.

So why doesn't this work for my engine? I have a very similar setup with a 1950 3100 and what I think to be a 235. The number that I found on the engine is in front of the starter and is F0528B. That would be built in Flint on what day of October? I guess I need to dig around to find the casting number to figure out what year the engine was built.

Thanks for any information.

Canyon, I have a similar situation. I have '54 GMC with a Chevy 235 in it. Block casting # is 3837004 as well, the boss behind the distributor reads "F8I4H" and the I is definitely an "eye" not a 1. I have been as baffled as you. I know the truck was manufactured it California, and I purchased it here (in CA). It was the 9th one off the assembly line that year.

RedGreen:

The B suffix was used for the '57-'62 passenger car 235 with powerglide. The 0528 is the build date, which translates to May 28. As I mentioned above, this serial number format does not give the year, but I can tell you it is a '60 or later, since the month is given as two digits (05) instead of one digit (5), which was a format change made in '60. You could pinpoint the year by looking for the block casting date code (a letter followed by 2 or 3 numbers) cast in the block probably by the starter. The last number in this code is the last number of the year.

Incidentally, the B suffix was also used in '63 and '64 for the passenger car 230 with powerglide.

tlorber:

You have the same engine that Canyon has. Even though the middle digit in the serial number might be an I, it would still be translated as a 1 (I guess it depended on who stamped it), so the build date would have been 8/14, or August 14. It could have been cast and built in '56 for the '57 model year, or it could have been built late in the '57 model run. The date code would tell. The 3837004 block was used '55-'57 according to Inliners.

Good call, Xram53. I finally dug enough junk off the side of the engine to get the casting number. 3769716. It's a '58-'62 235. Thanks for the info.