Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines 235 head removal questions and more

I'm helping someone install a '60 235 into a 51 Chevy. The motor came out of a running, daily-driven '60 wagon about 3 years ago and has sat in my garage on an engine stand ever since. It has a tag suggesting that it was rebuilt. This motor has to be dead-on reliable and be ready to make a long drive right away (March).

I have a new oil pump and fuel pump. The water pump is good, but I'll replace it, too. I'll replace the valve and side cover gaskets and rear seal. What else should I do??

Should I change the head gasket? Most v8 friend responses have been 'yes' so far.

If I change the head gasket, should I reuse the old head bolts?? Again, conflicting responses, but I checked NAPA, RockAuto, AutoZone, Patricks, and Langdon's and no one lists 235 head bolts. I had my parts guy do a search and he checked Fel Pro, ARP, Clevite, Federal Mogul, and Melling. Nada. He also asked around... nobody knows...

I know that one of the head bolts is "special" so just matching bolts seems like a bad idea.

Thoughts??

BTW, the engine will have a split exhaust, 2x1 intake with fresh Rochester B carbs, and a manual 3 speed trans

Don't take the head off just to replace the gasket, head gasket failure on a 235 is very rare. There should be no special head bolt on a '60 unless a '55-57 head was used in the rebuild. You can reuse the old headbolts as long as they are in good shape and torque up ok, they are not torque to yield bolts.

I agree with 4onthefloor,don't mess with the head
if you really don't have to. Since you think it was rebuilt I would run it on a test stand or in your friends car to check it out before replacing anything. You may not need to replace any pumps or gaskets.

If it was running fine when pulled, I wouldn't worry about pulling the head, unless you plan on doing a valve job on it. Do you know the milage on it since the "rebuild"?

The head bolts shouldn't need replacing. If they hold the 90 ft/lbs. when reinstalling the head, then they are fine...

It won't hurt to replace the pumps, But if the rear main isn't leaking, then I wouldn't screw with it, you could just make it worse...

If this engine has the special drilled head bolt, it should have an "O" marked on the top of the head, and it should be located in the middle passenger side of the head. This bolt is only necessary on 59-62 blocks with the older center groove rocker arms (53-58) and If the block passageway has been pluged (in order to force the oil through this bolt). If the block hasn't been plugged, then the bolt serves no purpose. If its there, then just leave it in.

FYI...
If you are using a 59-62 block, then use 59-62 rocker arms with the offset oiling grooves. If you do this, then there is no need for this special bolt.
53-57 blocks can use either type of arms without any issues.
All 53-62 heads are interchangeable. AGAIN, the issue is NOT the cylinder head, its the combination of blocks and rocker arms that is the real issue.

thanks for clearing that up Gearhead!

I don't know the mileage, but the rebuild tag was from WA and the car came from AZ. I heard it run and it seemed fine... 3 years ago. The main seal is out since I seperated the trans and the motor is up on a stand. I might as well do that now while it's all accessible

anything else? It's tapped for an oil filter, so I'm going to run the lines to a remote, modern filter, or will it really matter one way or the other if i use modern or old original style tractor filters?

No problem.

Since your set on pulling the pan off, tap the two holes in the front main cap for 3/8-16NC and drill out the bottom holes on the timing cover. Doing this will allow you to take off the timing cover in the future without removing the oil pan. Also drill and tap the snout of the crankshaft so you can draw the balancer onto the crank instead of hammering it on.

When installing a timing cover, before bolting it on, use the balancer to center it, or you may end up with an off-center leaky seal...

If by "tapped for an oil filter" you mean the stock 1/8"NPT holes for the bypass filter, since this setup doesn't filter alot due to the small lines, etc... I wouldn't worry about what filter you use. Use whatever you want to. Make sure you don't run too big of lines or you will loose oil pressure at the bearings. If it has been converted to full flow oiling, you will need larger lines and you will need to use a filter that has a bypass built into it, otherwise the pressure drop will end up starving the bearings of oil and you will burn it up. For example, the stock 59-62 261 full flow filters have a bypass valve built into the head of the unit...

swapmeet at Grayslake, IL on Feb. 29...

the pan is off. I'm not going to take the timing cover off, but since the rear main seal is a notoriously leaky bugger, I'm going to install a new one. That's what I meant.

Yes, I meant the bypass oil filter. It had one of those canisters installed when I pulled the motor. Maybe I'll just use that again. Since i don't think I can attach it to the intake again (2x1 Offy), I was thinking of running longer oil lines and attaching the filter to the fender well. I seem to remember discussing this before and it was considered ok, if not better because the oil would cool more that far out... or am i far out? Of course, that means I'd have to find oil lines a lot longer than stock.

Go ahead and reuse the stock canister.

Seems to me the 2x1 Offy has 2 bosses on it for mounting the filter, doesn't it?

yep, but it seems to me that the canister wouldn't fit, like it would interfere with the carbs or something... but it' sbeen awhile since I looked at them together

Whatever it is, it could be resolved by using a spacer or plate to move it over and out of the way...