After getting the freshly revitalized 235 back from Magnolia Center Machine, it was all on my shoulders to get the engine fully assembled. Didn't seem like a huge task at first, but you know how things go-you think you've got everything you need until you realize you don't...and that starts becoming a regular occurrence!
Fortunately, the nickel and dime stuff was just that-small items like miscellaneous hardware, fittings, etc. Thanks to Patrick's Antique Cars & Trucks, Egge, Mooneyes, and Powermaster, the big stuff was handled. And since I'll be using the ignition, fuel pump, and starter from the 235 currently powering my '53, I don't have to worry about that until I actually swap motors.
As you will see, I ordered a new Fenton 2x1 intake along with a set of cast-iron headers (all Jet-Hot coated) from Patrick's. In doing so, Patrick asked what I planned on using for carburetion, and when I told him a pair of Rochester BCs (auto chokes), he said, "Send 'em on out-we'll make those nice and pretty for you!" Another chore out of my hands. When the mailman came knockin' with a package from Casa Grande, Arizona, I found myself staring at a piece of art-Patrick completely went through the carbs, built and polished a stainless fuel rail, and fabbed up a nice linkage system. Plus, the induction unit was completely assembled, so all I really had to do was bolt it on! To complete the Fenton setup, I just needed to bend up some 1/4-inch stainless for the choke stoves and install the 3/8-inch pre-heat tube kit from the headers to the intake.
Since the block is of a later vintage ('59), I had to order the retro-fit water pump kit from Patrick's. With this, you don't have any fan-to-radiator interference as you would when using a stock pump. However, you do need to locate a later fan, which will have to be slightly tweaked to clear the harmonic balancer. Finally, the Wayne finned-aluminum set used on the older 235 will be reused on the fresh motor-of course, not before receiving a good polishing!
Finishing touches included installing a new PowerGen faux-generator alternator from Powermaster. Here's where one of the parts-chasing episodes occurred, as I neglected to retain the 235's generator brackets. A quick trip to a friend's shop to rob the needed parts off a core motor solved that. The GM-styled unit puts out 75 amps (60 at idle), which is more than sufficient for a simple system without too many accessories other than A/C and a radio. The PowerGen is available in a satin black or polished finish and "short" and "long" versions (shown is the long model), both with stock GM mounting provisions.
Before I fully wrapped the engine assembly, I decided to finish off the 235's "finned" theme with a couple of items from Mooneyes: a pair of aluminum two-barrel air cleaners and their new aluminum remote oil filter-all finned (and polished), of course. The air cleaners bolt right on, obviously, but the oil filter will have to wait to be mounted to the firewall, as unlike the stock steel units, the aluminum will absorb engine heat, thus the decision (which isn't mandatory) to mount it away from the intake/exhaust manifolds. Combined with the finned beehive coil from AstroCoil currently in use, I think I've got every possible area covered, don't you?
Hopefully, by the time you read this, the new 235 will be in service powering the '53; if not, it just means the old engine's still holding in or, better yet, I just haven't had the time!
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Last year, Patrick's Antique Cars & Trucks announced the reissue of the long out of produc
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Fresh back from the machine shop, the 235 was ready for final assembly. Since the engine's
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Being that the right-side components are still in use on the old engine, the focus will re
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Just thread the bolts into the cylinder enough to keep the Fenton headers in place-you wan
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Speaking of which, since the exhaust relies somewhat on dowels at each end of the head, in
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With the carburetors removed for handling purposes, the Fenton intake manifold slid right
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The forward-most mounting point appears to need a little massaging, as the cast tab on the
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As for the remaining mounting areas, alignment is dead-on and should look something like t
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...when everything's snugged down tight.
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Regardless what induction you use, make sure your risers are new (and that the "top" point
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Thanks to Patrick's, the Rochester BC single-barrels look better than they did when new. I
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While I probably would have used typical old rubber fuel line with a distribution block of
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The addition of a second carburetor affects throttle linkage, but again, Patrick's solves
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Don't let the handwritten instructions deter you-the linkage system installs in minutes, b
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Loosen the linkage if necessary in order to install the vertical throttle rod. Make sure t
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As mentioned, in order to keep with the 235's finned-aluminum theme, I made a trip down to
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Along with the Wayne rocker cover that was already being used on the existing 235, you can
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Moon was also the source for the engine's finned-aluminum remote oil canister, which will
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If you recall, back when the ignition was swapped over to a Mallory UniLite electronic, we
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And speaking of electronics, Powermaster's new PowerGen alternator was used for its genera
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Next, 1/4-inch stainless choke stove lines were bent and polished. Standard 1/4-inch compr
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Finally, in order to keep the Fenton intake manifold nice and warm during all stages of op
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Patrick's kit uses a laser-cut steel plate for the manifold; make sure the tapped pipe fit
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Simple, but effective. The addition of a butterfly valve (like the stock application) betw
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For the remaining ports, I just found a couple of slotted brass plug fittings to match the
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All the hard work paid off with the resulting work of art-let's just keep our fingers cros