Hello folks! Glad this place exists to say the least! I need your help restoring my 58' Delray. It's not the super one(2door). Just a 4 door all original top to bottom. 235ci straight 6...3 on the tree. First, I need to know what cars I could possibly take brake system parts from for converting the drums to discs. 2nd. I want some get up and go sooo I'm pondering either triple carbs with dual exhausts and a pair of nice 70s mufflers. Is this the best route? 3rd should I drop a bbc in it instead of the hastle with the 235? I'm all for nostalgia but I salivate thinking of a 454 or better under the hood...any recommendations? Lastly, Do I have to upgrade to another engine for power steering? I'm in Texas so AC is a must!!! Please forgive my post as Im a newbie to mechanic stuff lol.
Hi & welcome. The 235's are good engines. If it is going to be a daily driver as compared to a drag car it s enough engine. Most use the 2 carb setup with the 235's as you can over carb them unless you do a bunch inside the engine. My avatar shows my 1957 Chevy 235 engine in my 46 Chevy Coupe. It is bored 0.060 with a Clifford 268 grind cam, Clifford dual water heated intake (for heat risers for auto chokes), two 2 barrell Weber carbs, dual shorty headers by Clifford which are needed to clear that extra thick intake, HEI ignition & converted to 12 volts. Original 3 on the tree. Recently added a new Vintage A/C unit and that 235 is not overloading or over heating with it. If you do a bit of engine upgrades A/C & or power steering will be ok. I am still running with the original steering and it is only hard to steer when the car is not moving. When rolling it steers ok but I am rolling on those old style very narrow 16" tires. Your 58 will have much better suspension than my 46 has. The Coupe originally had 411 rear gears so I changed them to 355 ring & pinion and new tires from Coker. 600R15 front and 700R16 rear Classic bias look alike radials. Now it will get down the Hwy with the traffic and just hums at 65 MPH. This setup could be driven much faster except I still have the original 1946 suspension, steering, shocks etc under it and that was not engineered for high speeds. I have rebuilt the original drum brakes and it stops just fine. In the very near future I will upgrade the shocks. If you are going to just drive it around town your drum brakes should be fine if you just rebuild them. However companies like Speedway & others offer the disc brake kits for your car. Not much offered in this for my 46 as it has 6 lug spindles hubs & wheels. I have bought many replacement parts from the following - Chevs of the 40s, The filling station, Clifford engineering, Langdon's stove bolt 6, etc. Do not order from Patricks as they have gone rogue and are taking money and not delivering. I have hear that Tom Langdon is retiring & shutting down but cannot confirm this. If he is still in business he has great 235 hop up stuff. Where are you in Texas as I am in Yoakum. There are several groups of inline 6 guys here in Texas. I am with the bunch that is mostly around San Antonia, Seguin, new Braufels. Also a group in Hempstad and another around Dallas.
The Jalopy Journal
