85lebaront2 Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Got the engine out! Man, was it a struggle! The first pic shows Ian cutting the last thing holding the engine in - the vacuum line, probably to the wipers. The next pic is proof we got it out. But it wasn't as easy as I expected. Even though we'd gotten most things loose/off yesterday there were still several today. The exhaust pipe, the throttle linkage, the clutch linkage, and the gimbal bearing. The latter was a particularly tough nut to crack. I don't have a pipe wrench large enough to get the nut off the back of the bearing housing, the one that goes around the torque tube. And my strap wrench wouldn't do the trick. So I used a chisel in the serrations and walked it off. Will need to dress the burrs, but it is still useable. That got us to the "u-joints" inside the gimbal bearing. There are two bearing caps and they are supposed to have two bolts each. One had only one bolt and the other bolt wasn't tight. The other cap had both bolts but neither were tight. Luckily someone had put the keepers on and that kept the bolts in place. Got the transmission off, but that was a challenge as the top two bolts go through the ears and into the bell housing. But the bottom two bolts come through the bell housing into the transmission. So the flywheel cover comes off and you peer up into the black abyss with the thing dangling on the shop crane . That got us to the bell housing which has the same thing - top two bolts through the ears into the block, but the bottom two bolts are from inside into the block, and the head of the bolts is ~1/4" from the flywheel. So obviously the pressure plate, clutch, and flywheel have to come off to get to those bolts. We quit for the day as we have the front chain wrapped around the crank pulley, so it'll have to be shifted so we can rotate the crank and get to the bolts on the pressure plate and then the flywheel. Welcome to old French vehicles. I thought I explained the torque tube to you, apparently not in enough depth though. On the wipers, when I had my 1958 F100, I found an electric wiper motor that was a replacement for the vacuum one, used the same cable and drive and it oscilated exactly like the vacuum motor did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBrother-84 Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Welcome to old French vehicles. Guys, I’m lost. Why a '50 Chevy is considered as a «French» truck? Citroën, ok. But Chevrolet?  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Welcome to old French vehicles. Guys, I’m lost. Why a '50 Chevy is considered as a «French» truck? Citroën, ok. But Chevrolet? Chevrolet is a French name..  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBrother-84 Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Chevrolet is a French name.. Ah, ok, just 'cause of the name. Nothings to see with the bow tie origin… Pretty sure there was never any Chevy manufactured in France, nor in Europe. But ok, let’s say it’s a French truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Ah, ok, just 'cause of the name. Nothings to see with the bow tie origin… Pretty sure there was never any Chevy manufactured in France, nor in Europe. But ok, let’s say it’s a French truck. Louis Chevrolet and his brothers were Swiss from the French speaking part of Switzerland. They started by making speed parts for Fords. https://www.chevroletbrothers.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 Louis Chevrolet and his brothers were Swiss from the French speaking part of Switzerland. They started by making speed parts for Fords. https://www.chevroletbrothers.com/ Louis was born a very few miles into Switzerland from France. I looked it up before we went to Alsace last year and found that the village is actually Swiss not French. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 Louis was born a very few miles into Switzerland from France. I looked it up before we went to Alsace last year and found that the village is actually Swiss not French. Time for an update, and a bit of advice from my grandbuddy, Ian. The question to Ian is if we should look for an automatic transmission rather than going back with this 3-speed manual? Please read on to understand why I asked the question... The main issue is that the flywheel on the old engine, the 216, will not work with the 12v starter on the new, 235, engine. So if we want to go with a manual transmission I have to find a flywheel for a 235. But, I'll also need to find another bellhousing because I can't get this one off. Remember that I said that some of the bolts holding the bellhousing to the engine are only accessible after pulling the pressure plate, clutch, and flywheel? Well the only way to get to the 6 bolts holding the pressure plate on is by turning the crankshaft on the engine, but I can't get it to turn - in spite of using a very long pry bar/lever. And in spite of you and I squirting PB Blaster oil into the cylinders last spring. This engine is locked up! It is hard to explain how difficult it is to get to the bolts, but the video below might help. I have it set to start at the 6 minute mark where he's taking everything out to get the bellhousing off. Note that he uses a screwdriver to turn the engine to get to the other bolts. I've tried using that large pry bar we had out and even then it will not turn. However, if we go with an automatic transmission we won't need the bellhousing nor the clutch/flywheel/pressure plate combo. Our "new" engine is set up for an automatic, so I think it would be much easier to go that way, although I've not researched it much yet. Comments, please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Time for an update, and a bit of advice from my grandbuddy, Ian. The question to Ian is if we should look for an automatic transmission rather than going back with this 3-speed manual? Please read on to understand why I asked the question... The main issue is that the flywheel on the old engine, the 216, will not work with the 12v starter on the new, 235, engine. So if we want to go with a manual transmission I have to find a flywheel for a 235. But, I'll also need to find another bellhousing because I can't get this one off. Remember that I said that some of the bolts holding the bellhousing to the engine are only accessible after pulling the pressure plate, clutch, and flywheel? Well the only way to get to the 6 bolts holding the pressure plate on is by turning the crankshaft on the engine, but I can't get it to turn - in spite of using a very long pry bar/lever. And in spite of you and I squirting PB Blaster oil into the cylinders last spring. This engine is locked up! It is hard to explain how difficult it is to get to the bolts, but the video below might help. I have it set to start at the 6 minute mark where he's taking everything out to get the bellhousing off. Note that he uses a screwdriver to turn the engine to get to the other bolts. I've tried using that large pry bar we had out and even then it will not turn. However, if we go with an automatic transmission we won't need the bellhousing nor the clutch/flywheel/pressure plate combo. Our "new" engine is set up for an automatic, so I think it would be much easier to go that way, although I've not researched it much yet. Comments, please! If the old engine is shot why not just undo the main caps and whichever rods you can reach? Or just cut the crank at the last journal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 If the old engine is shot why not just undo the main caps and whichever rods you can reach? Or just cut the crank at the last journal? I can, Jim. In fact, Steve/FoxFord33 told me on Sunday that he has recently seen a Youtube where a guy removed the rod caps and main caps and was able to turn the crank enough to get to the bolts. I've not found that video, but I have read on other forums that guys have had trouble executing that procedure. So I wanted to ask the question about the auto tranny. If we want to go back with a manual I'll at least have to source a 235 flywheel. But that doesn't look too hard as here's one at Parts Geek for $88. I'm going to continue with disassembly to see what I can do, but needed to start the conversation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 I can, Jim. In fact, Steve/FoxFord33 told me on Sunday that he has recently seen a Youtube where a guy removed the rod caps and main caps and was able to turn the crank enough to get to the bolts. I've not found that video, but I have read on other forums that guys have had trouble executing that procedure. So I wanted to ask the question about the auto tranny. If we want to go back with a manual I'll at least have to source a 235 flywheel. But that doesn't look too hard as here's one at Parts Geek for $88. I'm going to continue with disassembly to see what I can do, but needed to start the conversation. I know nothing about these old inlines, but it seemed the expedient path forward. I'm really surprised that there isn't a different starter gear you can use with that flywheel, but again I'm not looking at it, and "I know NOTHING!". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts