Here is where the intake manifold came from. An Offenhauser 3X1 for a 230-292 Chevy 6 The 153 ChevyII four is 2/3 of a 230 Chevy six. A table saw with a carbide tipped blade Two cuts Get rid of the extra 1/3. TIG it back together Add a plate and fittings for water heat. Done!
Thanks, It is a cheap and easy way to solve the almost nonexistent intake issue on these engines. I found this on eBay last month. I don't know what it fits but can easily be adapted to the 153 or the early Chevy 171 pre '29. I is from Ellis.
Six Ball, you get the chance to call Jim Rodman yet? Nice winter project - get going on it! Subscribed.
Thanks Mike, I can use all the encouragement and prodding you can spare. I haven't called yet. I need to take a fresh look at the subframe wood. I have several goals for this winter and it feels like it's here. It didn't get out of the 30s today. I'm trying to mountain lion proof the shop where the dogs sleep. We had a big feline visitor Wednesday night. The last couple of years it's been bears. I have all of the major components but none of them are ready to use. So I'l be doing a lot of rebuilding. I'd like to have all of that done before I do the initial build. (which may be the only build)
Using a 45 year old 153 Chevy 4 instead of the 94 year old Chevy 4 will give you a useful car that you can drive anywhere. I used 1935 ford wire wheels but had serious handling problems with them. I am much happier with new solid disk wheels. You can get pizza spare wheels for $10 including a new temporary tire from your junkyard. Trailer wheels work well also. Look for your bolt pattern and a diameter that you can find tires for. Felpro makes some extra thick head gaskets in two thicknesses ( up to about 60 thousandths). That may be all you need and will save time. If you can't find a thick gasket, with a "stone"counter top and a sheet of 150 grit sandpaper you can sand the piston down by hand, measure the height carefully as you go. I glue the paper to a chunk of counter top with spray adhesive but just wetting the counter top should work and will keep your wife much happier if you work in your kitchen. Places that cut slabs of stone into counter tops always have chunks of flat stone to give away. If the stone is flat enough and a foot longer than the engine, you can surface a head or block this way. To work with Iron, use 80 grit paper. 80 or 150 grit is ok for aluminum. You should balance the pistons again but little electronic balances are amazing and cheap. One that can measure 1/10 of a gram is best. Less than 45 thousandths inch between the piston crown and the bottom of the head is ideal for knock resistance.
Thank you that is some interesting information. Different view points find different solutions. Sometimes I just make things too hard.
I added a couple of new pieces. I found an aluminum adapter to put a Chevy engine in front of a Studebaker trans. It requires the cast-iron power glide adapter. It all fits great but....... The 153ci uses a 153t tooth fly wheel with a 10.5 clutch package. The 153t starter bolts to the block with two bolts. The power glide adapter has a 3 bolt starter mount but it is for a 168t tooth fly wheel and blocks the 153t starter. The 153t flywheel was balanced with the engine. I'm thinking that the heavy 168t tooth wheel is too much for the 4 banger. I thought if a light weight flywheel but all of those I've seen use 11"-12" clutches. I sure don't need that. There are standard weight 168t flywheels that use the 10.5 clutch. Maybe I can do some cutting on the PG adapter and use the block mounted starter. It's hard to just change one thing. And yes, I do have Chevy trannies that would bolt up but that is just not as cool.
Yes, I need it. I've got to get all these collected parts in and on the engine/trans so I can take some measurements and see how it fits with the body and frame.
Quoted earlier from a list of parts he has - "There is a Borg Warner T-86 three speed OD soon to have a floor shift top plate from a T-90 from a Jeep."
WOAH, You guys are quicker than me! That would be the easiest except for the balance but they are supposed to be zero balance anyway. If the engine didn't like it then I could make the change to a light weight 168 or make whatever change to get the 153 to work. Pulling the engine will be no big deal. Yes, It is a Borg Warner T86 3 speed Overdrive. Not as stout and the T85 but tough enough for a wimpy little four banger in a light car. It is a top loader so I'm going to put a top shift plate from a Jeep T90 on it. It takes a little fitting but will be a nice combo 3 speed over drive floor shift. I'll even be able to build a mount for the stock E-brake handle. Ford used a lot of T86s too. They may have a different bolt pattern and the input shaft is different.
six ball, Looks like I need to start searching for a t85/86! Saw some with ridiculous prices on ebay, but I'm hoping that one of the local spots has a few There's a lot of meat that can be cut from the stock flywheel- at least on the later ones... my '22 490 flywheel has the cone clutch!
The T85 is as close to bulletproof as you'll find and the OD units on them are the tougher R11 but they are side loaders and have to have an aftermarket floor shifter. I have one I may put in my '53 pickup and go back to column shift. 3 on the tree with OD. Ford used a lot of T85 and T86 as well as Studebaker. The Ford 4 speed Rock Crusher relied heavily on the design of the T85. I did a quick starter check yesterday. I put the PG adapter on a spare block and held a mini starter up to it. I think it will work just fine with a little massage of the aluminum starter block. There is a starter stud from the 3 bolt that I need to remove. This is in the shed and it's cold here. I'll try to drag it into the shop and set it up to take some pictures.
I'm sure you know this but notch all your rods for balance I think the reason it's stalled is the 153.... sure it seems like the best course of action but you're draggin yer feet because somewhere deep inside you know that this is begging for a chevvy 4 with an olds head and that ain't easy....your Essex project is the home for the Chevy II/stude maybe it will happen faster because it won't require the same level of perfection....once you get the Essex rolling then the Chevvy roadster will fall together because it was meant to be
Now you are playing on my confused state of mind, not a new condition. No,this is the venue for the 153. The plan is coming together and as soon as I get to the spot where no more planning can be done until actual construction demands a change in plans it will happen pretty fast. The whole reason for the Essex is to use the coolest 4 cylinder I ever owned. It will be a very basic 20s desert racer and a quick build when the rest of the parts are rounded up. 1919-1922 Essex parts are tougher to come by than Ford or even Chevy. Now, the 171 Chevy four may or may not happen. I have a pretty good source for what I need there and a friend who builds them. If it happens it will be an easy swap into the '26 roadster as part of that plan is to make the 153 and 171 as interchangeable as possible including bolting up to the Stude trans and matching mounts. Mostly I want to drive the '26 and maybe sometimes race it at special events. You know drive to TROG with the 171 in a vintage trailer swap engines and race swap engines and drive home.
Boy, I LOVE this 4-springer Chevy stuff...the REAL Chevys! I have a couple of Chevy 4 springer frames, one will have to convert to Ford transverse leaf front ('37 tube axle) but the Chevy rails were meant for a '27 T as well as '28-'29 A body. My bud Danny Medina drove his older bro's '29 roadster to high school in his junior year. The '29 A sat on a '30 Chevy frame, 4 springer, with Chevy front axle and brakes, flathead Ford drive train. Hiboy style, car sat low...it had run at Muroc early on. There was a charm the early Chevys had...
Okay, now you're messing with MY headi I just happen to have a 153 and a 181 head tucked away... looking forward to seeing you flesh this out!!!
Thanks guys. When I first saw my roadster body years ago sitting in a lot I knew it could be something special. Not big buck slick magazine special but real hot rod roots special. It was along time before I got it and it's been a long time in the works. I'm hoping I'm up to the task. There aren't enough of these old Chevy roadsters around to screw one this nice up and it has to be a Chevy!
Totally agree, Chevy hot rods are the rage - but then again, I might be a bit biased... Let's see some progress on your chassis, Six Ball.
Yeah, Chassis progress. I need to get the engine and trans bolted together so I can locate it in the frame. I'll need to at least have the cowl sitting on the frame so I'm sure I clear the firewall. Today I pulled the stud from the PG adapter and tried to locate the mini starter. not as close as I thought. I dug around and found a 153 tooth starter. I could make it work but I'd have to carve on both the PG adapter and the aluminum adapter. Much easier just to use a 168 tooth flywheel. While digging around I found a #3729004 168 tooth flywheel. Those are drilled for the 10.4" clutch like the 153 tooth flywheel. The difference in the flywheel weight will be the only difference since I won't use an 11" clutch. I can not find the weight of either flywheel. The 153 tooth is # 366861N. I guess I could bolt the adapters and trans to an extra bare block to get some measurements.
Yesterday I confirmed a source of venturies for the Zenith 28s I'm using. I have a matched pair that I took from a small port GMC intake. They were most likely on a 270 but possibly a 228 or 248. Their venturies are 30mm. I'm thinking that is too big for a 175ci engine. The venturies are available in 32mm,30mm,29mm, and 24mm. I'm trying to figure this out so I can rebuild the carbs. I'm leaning toward the 24mm because they are sort of inline with what a carb calculator indicated and also because if needed it is easier to open them up than to make them smaller.
The Jalopy Journal
