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

I just completed swapping a perfectly good 216 for a 235 into a 41 Chevy coupe, the job went okay, but it was not the slam dunk i expected. The 235 had been removed from a 55 truck and it has hydraulic lifters. which is the substance for my first question. were the hydraulic lifters often used in the trucks i thought only power glide equipped cars had them.
I made sure that all the parts were reinstalled on the engine swap, but for one. how can that little sheet metal cover be installed on the bell housing without pulling the trans back.
The results of the swap was a substantial gain in peformance and the engine noise is greatly reduced. One item in particular that made the job easier and neater looking was a plate for the water pump to be mounted on. i was able to retain stock location and use original water pump.I believe they are available from a member of this forum.

All 216/235/261 truck engines had mechanical (solid) lifters.

Hydraulic lifters were used in all Powerglide engines, starting in 1950 (I think).

All passenger car 235 engines from 1956-62 had hydraulic lifters.

Canadian Pontiac 261 engines had hydraulic lifters.

All 1958-1962 235/261 truck blocks could be converted to use hydraulic lifters.

tclederman, thanks for the detailed infomation on hyd lifters. untill i saw this engine i would have believed it. But this engine sure enough came from a 55 Chev truck,I am familiar with it. i had to change the front plate to get away from the side motor mounts. and the lifters are hydraulic i'm sure because i took them all apart for cleaning.
After freshening up the engine and installing it, I find it to be smoother than the 216 was.
strange that it doesn't fit the catagory.

Believe it. The info tclederman offered is definately correct so yours had to be changed somewhere along the line or the engine is from something other than a 55 truck. Have you checked the engine numbers?