The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop what i get for bragging...

some of you may have seen my post a few weeks ago about how after going through the valves on the original 216 in my truck, i was happy to discover that everything was within factory specs.

this morning, something definately fell out of factory specs. near as i can tell the cam let go. i pulled the valve cover off and slowly rotated the engine via the crank tool i made to see what was going on. only one rocker arm moved. the strange part is that it was not at the front but in the middle of the engine. how is that possible?

i also removed the distributor cap and the rotor does not rotate so that seems to strongly indidcate that the cam is at least broken in front of that gear.

now i am faced with a dilema. this truck is not only a piece of rolling family history, it is also my daily driver that i use for my business. i want to keep it original (stock) but am not opposed to upgrading the internals of the engine if i have to break it all down (i.e. upgrade from babbitts and all that that intales).

anyone else done this? if so, how much did it roughly cost and what kind of down time should i expect?

the truck is a 1950 chevy 3/4 ton.

Bummer! It might not be as bad as it seems. I'd pull the harmonic balancer and the timing cover and take a look at the timing gears. You might have just sheered a few teeth off and only need a gear set replacement.

The good news is that parts are readily available since that family of engines are common in farm trucks across the country. The bad news is you'll probably drop around $2500 for a complete rebuild. You can get overhaul kits from most all of the vendors for similar prices. Kanter has a lifetime warranty on theirs.

thanks guys.

i'm feeling pretty bummed out about the whole thing. this truck has been rock solid other than some electrical/charging issues, so for it to go away on me like this is dissapointing. not to mention the timing couldn't have been worse.

putting a parts list together tonight to see what i am potentially up against in a worst case scenario and will go from there.

I would drop the pan and timing cover. My money is on a broken cam gear, which is not to big of a deal if it happened from age. If something caused it to break, that's another story.

I have some aluminum cam gears if your fiber gear took a crap on you. Thats usually the case. Happened to me in my 50 chev.
Let me know,
Marty

i am planning on dropping the pan to do an initial inspection, then on to the timing gear cover if i can't see what has happened.

maybe get to it this weekend...work takes priority.

thanks for the advice guys!

PJ

Any follow-up on this? What's the scoop? I hope it's not too bad. I wish I was brave enough to use my 50 3/4-ton as my daily... Good luck and keep us informed.

yeah, it was the ego villain at work. i am there to. i said i was done and now if the power back flush does not work it means another new radiator. good luck. ron

You have to remember that if it has Tits or wheels, sooner or later it's going to give you some trouble. And life makes sure that it's always at the worst time.
At least it seems that way until you get through it and look back on it and realize it wasn't really too bad.
Good luck on getting it back to work.
Tramp

i am currently exploring some options after this weekends initial investigation.

my friend jack and i tore into it a little and have decided that this engine just needs to come out and be rebuilt. it is definitely the timing gear and the reason the one rocker arm moves is because the piston just touches the valve on t.d.c. on that cylinder.

i am inquiring about how directly a 235 bolts up to the transmission and motor mounts to see if that is an option. i would want to keep the original engine and at a later time rebuild it and return it to the truck. i just need this truck back on the road as soon as possible and thought this might be another option.

still would have to find a rebuilt 235 but i thought i would call patrick's out in casa grande and see what he has or if he has any leads.

if anyone knows about the compatibility of a 235 matched up to a 4 speed 1950 3/4 ton pickup let me know.

thanks!

Any 235 or 261 can be swapped into your 50 pickup but the 55-1st and earlier will be the most direct. Some car engines will have side motor mounts and the front cover plate where it turns out horizontal may not be drilled for the front center mount. The 55 car and 55-2nd truck and later engines have the low-style water pump: this is not too big of a deal. Adapter plates to use a 216 pump, and short-shaft pumps are available. If your truck is still 6 volt you will want to retain your starter, flywheel, bellhousing, clutch, generator, etc. The starter and ring gear on flywheel must match. And they made a change in the bellhousing; how it mounts on the crossmember in 54.

How was the engine running prior to this episode? Was it smoking or using too much oil? Running rough or lacked power? You might consider replacing the timing gear(s) and putting it back in service. That one valve striking the piston does need to be corrected... The cam may be stuck in a bad position holding that valve open. Any bent pushrods? Have you pulled the head to inspect cylinders, pistons and valves? Your motor might not be too bad. Good luck!!

it was running as smooth as it always has. it has never smoked and the only dramatic oil consumption was from gasket leaks not burning oil.

none of the push rods appear to be bent, but i have not taken the head off to see if there is valve or piston damage.

thanks for the info about the engine swap. really appreciate any input.