Just bought a new project. Actually found a real barn find. A 35 Chevy 1 1/2 ton truck parked in a dry well kept concrete floored barn parked in 1969. Super excited, has the original title! Lotsa work to get this one going, but its going to go perfect with my all original 27 chevy AA i got from my grandpa last fall. But down to brass tacks. Engine was slightly stuck, no biggie, little pb and moves smooth. oil is clean, problem is the exhaust manifold rusted out severely and the pressure it applied to the intake cracked the intake. Some of the valves are stuck and are trying to bend the pushrods, but I'll get her to move smooth with a little patience. But I'm not sure how to identify which engine this is. Online research has indicated this could be a 180, 194 or 216. How do I tell what it is? Also, what is the interchangeability with other chevrolet sixes. I have the original 216 out of my 41 chevy sedan. Can I drop this engine in the truck? Starter, trans, bellhousing, clutch, flywheel....what kind of problems will I run into? Can I steal parts from this engine to fix my original back up? Any and ALL input will be greatly appreciated. Also, any input on the brakes on this thing? Looks like one helluva mess- linkages and rods, suspect a total nightmare to keep the brakes functioning well. Don't want to hotrod the ol girl. But safety first. A conversion of some sort sounds in order. I want to keep the truck as original as possible, but don't want to "brake" the bank. Plan on using the truck regularly, it was built to work.
Some of your questions will be answered by the info pack that Chevy has for download here http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits.html We need pictures, of course....
I don't know if it will help, but I had a 36 pickup for a while.At some point someone had swapped in a motor from a 55 Chevy. For what I knew at the time everything looked like it belonged. It was pretty ratty and I got tired of push starting it,electrical problems.I think it was six volt.
Oh yeah, just gotta get them uploaded. I took a pic the first minute I saw it in that dark old barn. Ran to the truck and grabbed the maglite and camera instantly. Had to preserve the history. Anyone can get online a buy a barn find that someone else found. But when you find one, and get it out yourself, when you are the first one to wipe your finger through 43 year old dust, the first person to open the door in 43 years, watching it rise up when you put air into those old tires, yep, you cant buy that. You gotta go find 'em. So many barns, so little time.
When I bought my daughters 36 Chev PU, twenty some years ago, it had a '41 216 CI in it. It fit fine and was bolted up to the 36 transmission (maybe, or a later one; which was hooked up to the original rear end).
The original engine for the '35 will have been the 207. All parts are particular to it. I strongly recommend you pull the head, remove the valves and clean up the valve stems , lap the seats in , lube them and refit with new seals, then you will know it is right and will be good for ages. The old fuel will surely have left a nasty sticky varnish on the stems causing the valves to hang up and bend push rods and fail to seat correctly. Good luck with a cool truck. ps, dunno what a 180 is.
Sorry, got that info off wikipedia. And I misread, they show a 181 straight six. Are the gaskets the same as a 216? I'm beginning to think that with a broken intake and exhaust manifold, Just might as well drop that 216 into it.
The 207 has 3 main bearings, the 216 has four. Big difference...nothing interchanges, not even gaskets.
Going to keep the truck as original as possible. Plenty of incomplete cabs/trucks and partials out there to build hotrods with. I have a 27 AA 100% original that was my grandpas. It is in excellent shape and an absolute blast to take the kids to dairy queen in. You don't get there very fast, and when you brake down, it's always an adventure. I found a '36 207 only 2 1/2 hours away that runs. Picking it up tomorrow. I'll drop'er in and get the truck moveable, save the original to put back in later.
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