VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 206 engine

Is it possible to use a 216 head on a 206 engine? I'm also wanting to know the correct colors for the engine. 34 chev master 206.

No,the 206 engine is a completely different engine.The 1934 engines use the same gray (blue gray) engine paint as all U.S. 1929-53 Chevrolet engines.Are Canadian different???? The '34 head has a 837230 casting number under the valve cover ...also see previous thread.

I suspect some Canadian engines were black, but I have no proof because you don't know if the engines are original or rebuilt.

I know of a VERY original 1935 Master and it looks like the engine is grey. It even has the original decals on the valve cover stating the valve clearances.

There were some major differences between US and Canadian 216s though. Mid year 1951 Canadian 216s changed over to the 235 Powerglide style of block and head, but still 216 cid....short side cover. I believe these engines used the 235 gasket set.

In 1953, Canadian 235s with standard transmissions were different than US. They used full pressure lubrication, insert type rod bearings and aluminum pistons, the same as Powerglide engines but without the hydralic valve lifters. This meant they had 60 psi oil pressure gauges. US 235s with standard transmissions used the babbited rods, dippers and cast iron pistons. This information comes from comparing the US and Canadian shop manuals.

I have my Canadian 1951 216 engine apart right now and mine has the short side cover but still has the 216 displacement. If there are any details that you would like me to describe, please let me know. I find the discussion on this site to be very informative.

old216,As we have mentioned before its strange that this low side cover 216 engine would have been made for just GMC.If this engine was used in Chevrolet cars also was it also Shared with Pontiac???Pontiac tried to use a slightly UP-SCALE version of the Chev. engine and perhaps this was it in the early 50s.There is next to no Canadian GM info. available in this country. (at least not in printed form).

When I received my GM restoration package, all the Engineering material was US based. I guess the Canadian division got rid of all their records!

There is a sort of short explanation for this wierd practise of making cars with a different twist in one of my Cars and Parts magazines. I will try and dig it up. Apparently before the trade agreements involving the Car industry, the Big Three all made different versions in Canada.

I had the engine gray paint matched back in July at the Dupont Automotive paint store.The paint number is 6334A,it matched my 36 Chev.Coupe engine perfectly and blended in without a trace,very satisfied!!! I have learned how to scan pix of my coupe and would like to post a couple for all to see,any special procedure required to to this :confused:

Re the 1951 Canadian 216s....The switch over to the short side cover engine was not just on GMCs. The Chev cars, and I am assuming trucks, had it too. I guess it saved GM Canada from casting two different blocks and heads, like they were doing in the US.

Re the Canadian Pontiacs, 6 cylinder Pontiacs from 1940 thru 1954 used the Pontiac flathead engine. From 1937 to 1939, some of the 6s were 216s and some were 224cid. The 224 was a 216 with a 1/16 overbore and aluminum pistons.

From 1955 through 1962 the 6 cyl Canadian Pontiac used a 261 cid engine, which was also a truck engine. It was a essentiallly a bored out 235. The Pontiac version probably didn't have the heavy duty truck stuff like valve rotators and full flow filters that some of the larger trucks used.

In 1963 they went with the new 230 cid 6 cyl and used pretty well the same engines as Chevs from then on.