Technical Waking up a sleeping 51 Chevy 235

Well given the fact that when I pulled the car from the field I found it in, I was able to grab the fan and turn it by hand until it started building compression. And after putting in a new set of plugs, points, condenser, coil and a new set of plug wires, and a battery, and rebuilding the carb, the engine runs like a purring kitten. So I don't see the need to go through all those steps. But thanks for your input!




As far as "starting to build the next 235", I already have one built for another project, cuz I'm going to need it. I am, however, going through the gummed up brakes and am replacing the fuel tank and should be ready for a test drive this coming weekend. I will try to re-torque the head to eliminate the seepage of antifreeze on the passenger side of the engine. If that doesn't do the trick, I think a new head gasket probably will.

 

302GMC, you hit the nail on the head. All the wheel cylinders are 100% re-buildable. I soaked them all overnight in parts cleaner and just rinsed them all off. I honed the wheel cylinders and they turned out nice. No grooves or pitting at all. Going to start cleaning up the pistons and re-assembling them. I got a new set of rubber lines coming, as well as an assortment of crush washers to make sure everything seals up good.

 

Brakes are done....just gotta bleed them one more time. Fuel tank and sending unit arrived this week so that is the project for tomorrow. I bought new fuel line but I was able to get a nice clean full stream of gasoline flowing through the original line this evening by running the engine on the IV tank and rigging up some 5/16" rubber fuel line from the fuel pump and basically back flushing the steel line. I'm trying to keep this on the cheap until I decide if I am going to buy it. I'm thinking a road test will happen tomorrow!

 

Hey Rmonty it the pic above you have a 5 spd hooked up to the 235, what adapter did you use and did it align ok and go into the pilot brg with out issues?

 

I got that through Buffalo Enterprises. I had to send him the nose piece off the T5 and he did some machine work to it so that it's a bolt up situation. There are several vendors that are out there for this.

 

RMONTY - you rock - love what you've done - doing and where you're going with this car - Keep on truckin !

 

If it will cool down a bit I'll have this ol car cruisin'...was hoping to have it ready for Cruisin the Coast but just didn't get it done in time. Didn't have time to get it done and shake it down

 

Rmonty, looking at this post again it looks like this car has a 235? Looking at the right side the side plate doesn't look 216? Also I see the the green metal tubing for fuel line. We can get the silver line in Fort Worth. If you want I'll get you some different lengths.

 

Yes Dick it's a Powerglide car. If I'm not mistaken all powerglide cars were 235s. The green fuel is just a short piece I bought to make up a line for the little IV tank. I'm getting ready to head down to Cruisin the Coast in Biloxi next week. You better get that 32 of yours and head on down there for a few days!

 

Finally got the new fuel tank and sending unit bolted under the car, got the brakes bled, and now waiting on someone (anyone!) to drop by and help me get the new brake light switch installed. I am adjusting the brake shoes on all 4 corners this evening, and then I will bolt the wheels and tires back on...and should be ready for the first drive of this ol' car in damn near 25 years. The engine runs like a sewing machine, the fuel gauge, temp gauge, and ammeter all appear to be working. I need to crawl under the dash and try to figure out why none of the dash lights are lighting up. All the exterior lights appear to work except for the driver's high beam, probably a bad headlamp.

I want to do some work on some rust spots but I dont want to mess up the half-decent paint that is on this car. I was talking with a guy when I was at Cruisin the Coast last weekend, (dude had a really cool 1964 Nova Wagon) and he suggested using Ospho to kill the rust in the picture below. I am not sure if Ospho will mess the paint up or not, but I want to kill this rust! Any suggestions on how to begin to treat this rust? I know it eventually needs to be primed and painted, but matching the paint isnt going to be easy. Any suggestions and comments are appreciated!

 

Great thread. These resurrection projects are really interesting. Regarding the no dash lights. Don't know how the dashboard light dimmers work on your car. I drove a 56 Ford around for about 8 months with no dash lights. Could never figure out what was wrong. One day on a lark I turned the headlight knob and the lights dash lights worked. Maybe you can get lucky.

 

Thanks Mike, that was the first thing I tried but I am thinking it was a problem before the car got parked. The bulbs are all pulled out of the instrument cluster so I need to plug them all back in to make sure they have proper grounds. Then start probing with a test light and volt meter I guess.

I've enjoyed bringing this car back to life. My Sedan Delivery project is going to take awhile and I really just wanted to get this one drivable and cruise it over the winter and spring while getting the body work done on the SD. Lots of good cruising in the winter in North Texas and the car has a heater that looks promising. I think it's an electrical issue. Bunch of wiring loose and I just have had other things to get her running.

 

First thing I'd do is teat the terminal on the light switch itself for power. You should disconect the wire on it to make sure. If the circuit is grounded in itself you won't have power showing while connected up.
Also check the Ground wire from switch to dash board. That ground wire is for dash lights only if I remember right.
The Wizzard

 

Great tip there PNB. I'll check that this evening. Thanks for your input as always. I'll be in touch soon regarding the SD project. Have a few ideas I want to run past you.

 

Any time pal, you know how to find me.

 

Ospho will not hurt the paint, but don't let it sit on there a long time.

 

I too love your resurrection thread and find it very satisfying to discover, hunt, diagnose, fix all the little things that no longer work.

Now that the 235 in my 59 El Camino is also purring like a kitten, I have moved on to find out why the cigarette lighter is not.

 

I have some Prep and Etch I bought at the Orange store. It has phosphoric acid and a few other things in it I believe. Wonder if it's close enough to use? I used it first on a frame I cleaned up for another project, then painted with POR 15 along with the other products they recommended in their "system ".

 

Success! Just took the first drive in this old car. Everything seems about like it should except for one thing. This is a powerglide car...and with the selector in the "D" position, it doesn't start out in low. I know nothing about these transmissions, but I would think it should start out in low. I can put it in low and manually shift to D and everything is fine. Can anyone enlighten me to how to get this thing shifting like I think it should? Maybe a few miles on it will loosen it up? Only drove it about 3 miles or so.

 

If a '50 - '52 Chev/ 'glider moves at all, you got a good one ! They're as bad as Dynaflow the first 3 years. By '53, they start in low & shift ...

 

So it's normal for it to not downshift to low starting off from a dead stop? The way I'm reading this is that I would need to drop it into "L" then move to "D" after getting underway?

 

You have to shift the early power glides.

 

Awesome....something I did not know! Tomorrow she gets a full tank of gas and a good healthy shakedown.

 

Ya, I kind of remember that system also. They really weren't Automatic just yet, just didn't have a Clutch pedal anymore. Best of luck on your next drive.
The Wizzard

 

Its like it has a manual valve body.

 

Just stick it in drive & go ... with stock exhaust, it's a long droning hum to 60 MPH. With duals, it's sometimes quite pleasant, depending on mufflers used.
Years ago I read a short story about a gas station attendant in a small town getting robbed & tied up "by somebody in an airplane" .... the local sheriff used to be a hot rodder, & cleverly deduces that the scofflaw was in a Powerglide '50 Chev with Fenton headers ....

 

Another 30 miles or so on the ol' gal this morning. I stopped by a freind's house and decided to leave it running while we shot the shit. His father lives with him and his father came out and looked the car over and all he kept saying was "well I'll be damned!"....I got more of a kick out of him saying that than he got out of seeing the car I believe. Drove on back to the house and pulled back into the driveway, and killed it. Tried to start it back up immediately and the starter was bogged down really bad. When it didnt start immediately I didnt keep trying to crank it. I am going to replace the ground cable and see if that takes care of that problem. It has a wimpy 12 volt cable for the ground, and it is attached to a bolt on the water neck. I need to find a better place to ground it, and I want to run a braided ground cable to that body somewhere as well. I'm thinking that will take care of that problem.

 

Your on the right track. 6-V systems need a much heavier cable to carry the Amps. I always hooked the Batt. to motor cable right on one Starter to motor bolt. Standard 12-V cables just don't get the job done.
The Wizzard

 

You sure that's a 235? It looks like a 216 and I could have sworn that the 235 didn't come out till '53 anyway. Just wondering if you've run the numbers on the motor.

andy

 

The side plate says it's a 235. But I was thinking that year it should have the large side plate
That went up to the spark plugs.