The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop '53 Corvette engine

'48 235
I was planning after market dual intake and exhaust. They all fit '47-'53 or '54 on.
I have a chance to get a '53-'54 Corvette factory 3 carb and dual exhaust.
Did Corvette keep the '53 engine through '54 or did they start the '54 engine early?
I just want to be sure it will fit.
The '54 vett had the old 2 bolt valve cover.

I believe that 53 was the last year for the two acorn nut valve cover. You can easily put the old style two nut cover on any year 235 or 261 with the addition of two long rocker arm hold down bolts. Maybe someone did that on that 54 corvette. You can check for the four threaded holes on the head where the original four hole cover would have been bolted to originally.

Jim,

See if you can obtain the various casting codes and serial numbers on the head and block. Post them all here.

It looks like you want to use a 235 Corvette manifold assembly and carburetors on a 1948 truck 235 in a 1948 truck - correct?

The Corvette 235 from 53-55 would have intake "manifold" opening that are different from the size of openings on a 1948 235 head. However, there are adapter rings available.

Your bigger problem with the 3-carburetors in a 1948 Chevrolet truck would be, I think, the rearward carburetor and the truck's steering column?

Thanks guys.
I was pretty sure the heads were going to be different.
The stock air cleaners and plumbing were not going to fit, it looked like the rear carb might clear but require "creative" air intake.
Don't see that it is going to be worth it.
Back to the original plan.

The Corvette had a unique cover not used on other Chevrolet engines. The front tapers down a bit to allow for clearance due to the lower hood hight. IIRC (I'll have to check my Corvette references), the '54 Corvette engine is identical to the '53, with the only change being the air filter housings.

Didn't the Corvette's cam change to a 261 cam sometime in 1954, giving 155 vs 150 hp?

Yes, there was a cam change made in '54, but eternally, the engines are essentially identical.

I do believe that to be correct Tim. When I was shopping and studying what cam to put into my 235 car engine, I was informed to use a 60 something 261 cam, mechanical lifters and I'd have the same valve breathing as a 1954 Corvette. If I had the Corvette 3 carb intake and the Corvette split exhaust I would have a 150-155 HP engine. I have only a single Rochester Stock carb and Split Fenton exhaust headers with straight pipes all the way out to a bit behind the rear bumper . It gives me a smooth idling engine that sound and goes like a raped ape when I put my foot thru the carb. I can only dream how it would sound and accelerate with 3 side draft ? carbs feeding the 6 cylinders.
Jerry

Eternally (an interesting miss-type)

Externally identical in 1954 except for the 4 screw valve cover, some of which were chromed?

The air inlets also changed during 1954 (as mentioned above, by Bill)

I have seen both painted and chrome on the covers.

I never knew (until doing the search this evening) that they had both a painted and chromed 4-screw cover. Did those 54 Corvette covers also have a different slope on the front (compared to 54 235 car/truck)?

Those Corvette engines almost appeared to be made from a bunch of spare left over parts. They have had three different air cleaner scenarios from three little skinny ones to three flat round ones, to a couple of bigger flat round ones (with a sheetmetal "manifold") spanning all three carbs. Have never seen a side by side set of pictures to see if perhaps the three distinctive setups were per model year. Same thing with the painted and chrome valve covers, both two bolt and four screw type. I seem to recall in the parts books the 'vette valve covers did have diff numbers from the pass and trucks and I assumed because of the decals and finish only. Never heard of the hood clearance problem needing a "lower" cover, but it sure is possible. (did you know that a '56,'57 hood will fit a '53-'55 vette? who would know by looking at the two bodies? The 'vette triple setup usually requires sawing off the choke linkage on the rear carb when installing it on a lot of say '49 thru'54 pass cars (because of the vertical firewall rib, I put that setup on a '56 Chevy pickup (rear carb had already been modified) without any other problems. They are crude but work just fine with 261s. The old 'vettes were 235 PowerGlides with 3.55 rear gears, but only weighed 2800 pounds-I drove a stock '54 model and it had snappy response even with the PG. Anybody know if they had a definite plan when they were dressing those engines?
Google up a '54 Corvette body number 276-this vette has a three speed stick and a 261 engine with a bunch of McGurk stuff-valvecovers and cam etc, and a '57 hood with the finned aluminum Sting ray wheels and was used and driven maybe 200,000 miles-its a veteran. This is mysterious stuff!
The 150 to 155 hp jump may or may not have been due to the 261 cam addition-I do remember reading that the 155hp engines did have dual valve springs-261s never had dual springs but then with their single carbs they neve reved much either.

Chevrolet documentation indicates the change in cam resulted in the horsepower increase.