Hello everyone, I'm a complete rookie, starting my first rebuild... Stepping outside my box, and comfort zone... but eager for the challenge... Undertaking a 41 Chevy 2 door Town Sedan ... It's in pretty good shape, Picked it up reasonable, and partly dis***embled.... Going to get rid of the 216, try the 235 swap.. picked up a 58-62 engine, already... thought I might put the shift, on the floor... from time to time, I may asked some simple, dumb questions... please be patient... any help of direction will be greatly appreciated... Rick special note , thanks "project 41" for helping me get started,
Alot of good people and information here. Your on the right track. Now get in that garage and start building!!! Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Sounds like you have a great car to start with !! Good luck, and remember ..... no question is stupid....ask away... And yes, we NEED pictures... Cheers......
A later std Chevy trans can be mated to the 235 by using an early Chevy truck bellhousing. Good luck. Be careful. Have fun.
This is good advice,however,you will also need to change your rear end out to an "open" drive as the 41 is a closed drive.
None of us were born with all this knowledge in our heads, we learned just like you, by buying some old car and making every mistake in the book. You will be fine, and you have a huge advantage most of us did not have.................. the internet. Help is only a click away. Let's see those pictures. Don
That sounds like a good plan. It's a swap that has been done many times over the past 50 years and gives you a car that you can drive anywhere. The stock bellhousing, trans and rear end will work if the trans and rear end are in good shape. I'm not sure how easy it is to put a floor shift on that trans though. if you do, spend the money and get a good one as the cheap ones are usually more good for breaking the trans then shifting it. I think there are only really about two issues to worry about on that swap and one is that you will have to rework or change the front mount and the other is that the shaft on the waterpump may or may not be too long and not clear the radiator. The fix for that is to shorten the pump shaft and run a shorter fan/wp pulley. Don't be afraid to ask questions and if they seem too off the wall you can always pm someone instead of posting them on the board. There are a lot of Hambers in your area including one on the top of the island who can figure out a fix for anything if he isn't out towing a boat in or off someplace warm on his bike. Keep us posted on the progress.
Not sure how complete rookie you are? But if you bought a partially dis***embled car it will benefit you to put it back together before anything else. You'll get familiar with the car and see what you're missing while its still grungy and knicks aren't a big deal. HAMBers will help with the rest of the questions
Good luck, and don't get too frustrated when it seems that the thing is just draining your pocket book on the smallest thing.
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