Projects Chevy 235 Inline 6 advice

I don't know of any reports, but what I found out when I heard these rumors and did some digging it's a bunch of half truths and disappointments. Was hoping to find cheap performance upgrades for my own 235 years ago and found nothing of use. Commonality is there was a shared heritage/lineage and even the later 2F still retained the four main bearing design.

Toyota's 'A' I6 is a copy of the early 207ci 30's Stovebolt. Not the 216/235 engines. Parts can be interchanged with those two engines, and that's where it ends.

Toyota 'B' I6 is a metric'd version of the 'A' engine, this lasted til ~'55.

Toyota 'F' I6 is more commonly found ~'50-'92. This engine replaced the 'B' engine. It was an updated version and was more like the GMC 6, but the bottom end is not the same. AFAIK nothing interchanges.
F2 variant was an up date for the 70's for emissions.
F3 variant was another update in the 90's with EFI.

To throw a wrench into the mix Toyota replaced the aging F engine with a 'FZ' engine, DOHC EFI. Not related to the earlier engines. I think some folks think 'JZ' and think they can have a twin turbo 'Supra Engine' in their older GM with few mods. Not the case.

Toyota 2F at a glance looks like a 235 until you note the oil filter bolted onto the block next to the distributor(where the draft tube was), the large cap distributor, and the lumpy valve cover. Even the water pump looks like a SBC pump. 2F even retains the Chevy-esque fuel pump mount. Cylinder head of the 2F is a lovely 12 port unit with closed combustion chambers that resemble the SBCs. Timing gear cover is familiar looking. It also sports the side tin for the pushrods, but uses nuts rather than 'stove bolts'.

At a glance, the 2F looks to be a potential wealth of performance parts for the ole Stovebolts, but they are not. Maybe with some machining some parts may be made to work, but I doubt it would be worth it unless desperate and have the time/equipment to do so.

 

Sweet

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I ended up just cleaning up all the carbon buildup and putting in the new rings, valve adjustment, rebuilding the carburetor, new water pump, cap, rotor, points, alternator. Now it's back together and runs good with strong compression on all 6.
So, now I'm looking for a radiator. This is a 1959 235 but that radiator is kinda big for this Willys truck. I've seen Belair Radiators for the 235 that are a little smaller but would require me to make a couple brackets for mounting.
Any comments or suggestions on a replacement? 2 core, 3 core? I've seem the aluminum ones on Ebay and Amazon for less than $150.
BTW I'm looking for a radiator because the original has lots of leaks.

 

Looks real clean! I like!

 

Very clean looking conversion
Ya did good.
Radiator is just preference.
That’s a light weight application. 2 core would probably work. But if a 3 core will fit the truck and budget, it won’t hurt.
Having a radiator re-cored isn’t cheap these days.
I have heard both good and bad on the e-bay aluminum ones.

 

When weighing the cost of having the original rebuilt remember that it will bolt right back in with no new mounts or brackets. Good radiator shops are hard to find now.

 

Glad to hear it is running well. So many guys scrap these little 235 workhorses because they only have 6 holes, but I think it is perfect for that Willys truck. I did a frame off rebuild (not really a restoration) on a 1948 CJ2A years ago and had a lot of fun dinking around with that old thing. Looking at the transmission and transfer case in your photos brought back old memories of all those stickshifts sticking up through the floorboards. Interested in seeing how your truck turns out!

 

216 & 235 Chevy sixes have moved a lot of stuff all over the world. There is a lot of work built into these old guys. I really like that you are keeping this in your Jeep.

 

The quote for a re-core was $475.
I bought an aluminum one from amazon for $169. And I think it will fit better in that small Willys engine bay. The one I bought was for an early 50's Belair with an 235 engine so I should be good.
I'll post more pics as I progress.

 

I see you did the allthread alternator swap on the stock generator bracket! Mine lasted 85 k miles before it broke. BTW, I have 115 k miles on my '56 235, with the 848 head, pulled 70 mph over the mountain pass on Monday and had her to 82, 83 mph as I made a mistake and had to hurry up and pass before my exit.

Great job! Great engine for that Willys!

 

I'm very interested in what the top speed will be with the 4.27 gears. My son has a 1941 chevy with the same 235 engine and it'll do about 50-55 tops.

 

My old CJ2A with a 20 mph tailwind, downhill, high range, 3rd gear....WFO at about 3800 rpm, 47 mph top speed. Couldn't tell you what the old Dana rear end gears were other than bone stock. That was with the old flathead L134 engine.