Hay guys how's it going out their ?.......So I brought this 49 fleetline home over the weekend.I was just wondering if I could get some questions answered about the motor,IM TOTALLY LOST.I plan on leaving everything stock....It seems to run good .Ok so its a 216 one barrel carter carb all stock that I know of. No oil filter ? Really.....can I put a remote oil filter ? Should I ? How often do I change the oil ? What wieght ? Beat the piss out of the motor ? Or treat it like a lady ?........hehehehe.......Sorry if I asked a lot of question I just know nothing about this motor.Any help would be greatly appreciated .Thanks guys.
Low oil pressure motor with splash oiling from dippers, treat it like a lady. There are remote oil filters available but I believe they do little as they filter a small percentage of the oil. change oil frequently. I would run 30 weight oil, perhaps 40 if it is hot where you are, or 20 if it gets real cold.
All you can easily do for a OF is one of the byp*** types. Change the oil every 1000 or oftener if you do not drive it much. Straight 30 is fine. Don't lug it or wind the piss out of it and the old 216 in good condition will run a looong time. Hit ebay and pick up a "Motor's" mauual that cover you cars year up to 55 pub date will do it.
I would start looking for a good used full pressure 235, I had a 216 and while cruising at a lower rpm threw a rod!!! It's an easy swap and can be done on the cheap!!!
My experience from 1958 on a 1950 216 stick motor. Potential weak points were babbit rod bearings and splash/dipper oiling, fiber cam gear on p***enger cars (aluminum on trucks) and solid bendable push rods. No sense on winding these motors like nuts, accomplishes nothing. Agree with post #3.
I have the same car & motor, a 1949 4 door Fleetline with the original 216. My car has 70,000 miles and still runs good even though the head needs to be re-done due to bad exhaust valves from the unleaded gas. These engines have solid lifters so you should either run a oil with Zink in it or add a Zink additive to the oil. I use Valvoline VR-1 oil as it is one of the few oils that has the Zink in it. Just ask Patrick, he is one of the old Chevy six cylinder gurus. You may want to add lead subs***ute to the gas as well. Both of these can be bought at any AutoZone or most any other auto parts store. Another thing you can do to make the car more derivable on today's roads is to find a rear end out of a 1950-54 Chevy car that originally came with the Powerglide automatic transmission. This will take your rear end gear ratio from a 4.11 to a 3.55. With this rear end change you can comfortably run down the road at 65 mph instead of 50. Petronix makes a electronic ignition that fits under your original distributor cap for about $85.00 that will get rid of the points and condenser and make the car run a little smoother. For parts check out these sites. http://www.patricksantiquecars.com/ https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/index.l***o http://www.nationalchevy***oc.com/index.php
Drive it until it uses more oil than gas, then replace with a later full pressure 235. That said, if you treat it right like the previous people have said, it may surprise you and go for a loooooooong time.
Lots of mythology about these old engines. Baby it and it may last a long time. Don't drive over 60, ever. 50 is better. The oiling system won't stand it. They had a byp*** filter available as an add on accessory. Contrary to popular myth, byp*** filters filter ALL the oil, and they filter it finer than a full flow filter. But it takes about 15 minutes to a half hour for all the oil to go through. An oil filter will protect your engine, even a byp***. They made lots of them and the cartridges are still available. If you can find one they are not hard to add to the engine. Chances are it has never used anything but 10W30 oil. That is what everyone used in the fifties sixties and seventies. No filter, change every 1000 - 2000 miles. With filter, 2000 - 3000.
By the way, in the early '80s, I drove a '53 Chevy stick shift car (235 babbit rod engine) back and forth to work every day, 35 miles one way, at highway speeds. I did this for a year and a half before experiencing a failure, and then it was the fiber cam gear that shucked half a dozen teeth.
in the 60's I had a 216 run it 85 MPHG but I killed it after while that was a 47 chev run on gravel no tags or DL old days on the farm roads
I have no idea what region you live in but I would run 20-50 in the warm months and 10-40 in the cool months change oil regularly don't worry about zinc or lead at this stage. Your valve spring tension is light and there is enough varnish coating the lifters to last for years. Avoid high rpm and lugging but those heavy old pistons and the long stroke can let you drive pretty slow in high gear and still accelerate quite nicely. Those old babbit pounders are often criticised but are generally very reliable motors.
I grew up with the 216. In my Dads gravel business they had some trucks with 216. They never had rod problems, nor did I in my 49 Chev car. Or a 39 chev 216 dirt track race car. They were really not a splash system like a Model A or Model T. They had oil coming out of tubes aimed at the rod dippers under pressure. The mains were pressure. They did have trouble with the timing gears on the cars. Best to go with a alum truck gear. We used to run the trucks over 50 with the low gears they had. They would go around 100,000 miles before over haul. But they were taken care of. Oil changed regular. They also ran oil filters.
The 216 motor had a reputation for reliability, Cherolet and the 216 outsold Ford every year that they were produced! 1937-1952.
As has been stated before in other threads, the durability problem really wasn't the oiling system; it was the babbit bearings combined with heavy cast iron pistons. Ditch the stock pistons in favor of some aftermarket aluminum slugs and you'll do it a real service. Dig up some rods that were converted for insert rod bearings that all of the engine parts companies used to sell and you'll do it another.
Wow thanks guys a lot of good info.......I think I will stick with this motor till it poops out then switch to the 235........Again thanks I don't have a clue about this car.
Drive it until it blows up.....but in the meantime, talk to Bob K......as he seems to have good luck with the 6 he has tons and tons of miles on!
I was wondering what transmission would be the best for a 216 that is able to go fast but still have the low end power ow and it need to be 4x4 capable, it is going in a 1960s cj5 jeep thanks
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