VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Personalized Modifications Conversion Chevy 1946 Pickup Truck

I have bought a Chevy 1946 truck , it has the 216 motor in it. Truck is not running at present. I want to put a newer model V8 motor and transmission in it. Can someone advise which newer model motor and transmission will fit this truck. And also need an advise on the new braking system as well. I will need better braking system with this new V8 motor. Thanks.

I am not in favor of modifications but a small block chevy would be my best bet. Along with that, a later model rear axle would be needed because you would need an open driveshaft. It would have better brakes.

Iam willing to listen, you mind sharing with me , why would you not do a modification. I was told the 216 is a old motor and will keep giving me trouble. This is my first project so don't know route to take.

Who told you that the 216 would give you trouble. Any idea what is wrong with the 216 now? I have 2 of them, one in my 48 coupe and one in my 46 pickup. No problems I know of. These engines are pretty simple.

Welcome Irfan, you may want to measure the width of the trucks rear end and start there. It may be best to pick up a complete late model drive train of your liking and budget. You probably have room for anything in your engine compartment.
Our old sixes are tried and true. Todays marketplace can provide lots of high performane parts for your 216. Most of us car nuts here are purests. There is tons of knowledge and experience here. Enjoy.

The motor is not working at present. Few machanics told me not to re build the existing 216 , it will keep giving me headaches. Although I wanted to keep it in original condition. I am totally confused now , dont know who to listen and what to do. LOL
But I am loving this forum , looks like you have some friends on your side as well. Thanks to you all.

If your mechanics dont know how to repair a 216 they are not mechanics so go find yourself a real mechanic. Rebabbiting the big ends is about the only real special process in rebuilding the 216 the rest is the same process as rebuilding a modern engine.
Tony

Irfan,

It's hard to provide good advice with so little background info on you and your truck. How old are you? What is your budget? How much mechanical experience do you have? How much free time do you have to put into the truck? Do you have a garage to work in? What is your vision for the truck (show truck, hotrod, everyday driver)? What is the support level you will get from wife, partner, friends, local machine shop, body shop, parts stores? Do you want to drive only locally, seasonally? What speed range will you be comfortably driving, (40mph, 60mph, 70mph, 80mph)? Have you purchased any of the manuals for your truck? Are you familiar with the following web sites:
Jalopy Journal
1946 Chevy Truck Parts
Stovebolt
Craigslist Houston Texas
Craigslist Dallas Texas
Bob's Chevy Trucks

Yes, few mechanics are familiar with 70 year old technology, but anyone with mechanical ability, willing to read a manual, patience, time, attention to detail, and stick-to-it-ness, will enjoy the journey.

Have you tried to start the engine?

Yes, we are committed in the VCCA to historical restoration. The Jalopy Journal website is not.

Welcome and best wishes, Mike

P.S. Seems like your area of Texas would have some good resource people for following whatever vision you have!

For more information go to chevytalk.org. There you will find tons of information about modifing your truck.
This VCCA site is mainly for restoring stock vehicles.

"Although I wanted to keep it in original condition."


Owing to your statement above, I recommend two good options for you. A lot of my recommendation depends on the answer to your answers to Mike's query, also above.

First.

a. Pull the engine.

b. take the engine apart or take it to a competent rebuilder or do it yourself.

c. If doing it yourself, merely clean everything up. Check for cracks. Grind the valves with grinder compound. Hone the cylinders. Plane the head. Use new gaskets. Adjust the rods. Use new rings (regular steel will do), Fluxh the block (or have it and the parts vated. Get a 46 manual. Flush radiator. Use 10w-30 engine oil (no need for synthetic). Get new oil pump and throwout (clutch release) bearing and clutch dixc. Plane pressure plate. Put it back together and run the hell out of it. You will be proud of your own work and be amazed at how tough these old 216s are.

Second option.

Get a 235 or 261 and stick it in. There are lots of advice on mounting those owing to the front mount, etc. But they are a almost direct fit and will give you all the power you need to cruise right along with the big boys. The 261 would be my best option.

I recommend the first option, though.

The huck brakes will stop your truck adequately. There is no difference in the stopping owing solely to the type of engine you run. You can always gear down to help. The biggest downside to huck brakes is their tendancy for piston freeze-up. As long as you use the truck often even that is no problem.

Good luck with your options.

I do not recommend going to no stinkin' V8 and all the changes relevant modifications. If you want speed both the 235 (54 or later) and the 251 will be quite adequate. You can haul [bleeped].

You're welcome,

Charlie

Mike and Charlie have good advise. I suggest seeing if you can get it running with the help of the manual and this website. Unless there is something major wrong with the engine.
Also you might contact Ray Pierson, 284 468 9260 , email ripierson2002@yahoo.com Director of the San Jacinto Region of VCCA in Magnolia TX. They may have someone close to you that could help with the evaluation of the engine.
Good Luck

IRFAN,
We have a San Jacinto Region meeting this coming Monday night at Trader's Village 7979 N. Eldridge Road | Houston, TX 77041. We have a pot luck dinner starting at 6 PM prior to our meeting which starts at 7:30 PM. You are more than welcome to join or just visit. No need to bring anything. You can contact Ray Pierson at two eight one area code; the rest of the number posted above is good. Ray has some experience owning a '52 and '53 Chevy. There are a number of others in the region with knowledge of babbitt bearing six cylinders. As others have told you those engines are fairly robust and reliable. I have many years experience with Chevy sixes including rebuilding several of them. Look in my profile accessed in the box to the left by clicking on my Chat name to see my email address. Or you can opt to send me a PM (personal message).

I can help some, as I am restoring a ”˜46 Chevy 1/2 Ton. Completion is anticipated, hopefully before summers end, after an almost 9 year learning, doing and parts search journey. My ”˜37 Chevy 1/2 Ton was completed in 2007 after the previous owner gave up about 14 years ago. It has a 216 with Huck brakes. As others have noted, the 216 is robust, as in tougher than chewing on an old boot. As for brakes, those Huck systems do require TLC, but they too are tough. All the needed info for working on these trucks is readily available, as Mike Buller pointed out in his list of info resources. I have found the Stovebolt site to be especially helpful, since it is dedicated to Trucks only. Key resources needed/mandatory will be a 1946 Shop Manual, and a Master Parts Catalog, preferably one covering years prior to 1950. There is an invaluable wealth of info in each. I have spent many hours learning from these. There are free online resources for these as well. But, I prefer the hard copy.
It’s all a journey...enjoy the ride. Let me know, if I can help.
Good Luck
37Blue

Langdonsstovebolt.com has some good things to wake up your 6

Mr Charlie, that was exactly what i was looking for. Your advise is an eye opener. Best advise i got in months. I totally agree with you and will keep it in original condition. You are very helpful , and really really appretiate the advise. Thank you so much. I will start the process exactly the way have directed me.

Great, thank you so much , I will contact him for sure.

Mr Mike , thank you so much for a great advise, you and Charlie have given me great advise and so did some of other friends as well. I am blessed I signed up for this forum before I ruined my truck. I will follow your advise and work accordingly This forum is full of some good people and good advise. Thanks again Irfan

Got it thank you so much. I guess you are right. I am going back to the drawing board , finding a new good mechanic.

I work in the insurance industry as a director in a company in SugarLand Texas, Iam 52 years old , and this is a new hobby I want to get into. I love vintage cars and trucks, but not technical , not only that but the language here used for different parts is totally new to me. So I learn things here and then google and ask mechanics what exactly is what . LOL
But I will get there, with the help of advise from friends like you . Thanks

Awesome, I will be there for sure. Will you be there? And I will love to bring a dish to the table, it will be an honor.

Wow, I am impressed, truly a journey. I like your advise , and have decided to keep my 216 motor and original every thing else as well. I really appretiate your help, and I will for sure contact you for an advise since you are doing exactly what I will be doing since we have the same truck. Any idea about how much it costs to rebuild/ Overhaul the 216 motor? And transmission? Thanks a million.

Also I was once talking to this really experienced mechanic in California, who according to him spend all his life working on 216 and 235 engines. He told me to talk to good mechanic who while over hauling the 216 motor put a 235 crank shaft which fits exactly where its supposed to without any alterations, by doing this the 216 motor will have full pressure. Does it make sense what I am talking about. is it do able?

Irfan,

I would be in no hurry to take the engine out for a rebuild. The first thing I would do is document the condition of your truck. You do this by taking a lot of pictures or videotaping with narration your truck. I have had my car for 15 years now and have 46 narrated videotapes of the work I have done and thousands of pictures. Like you, I had no experience or knowledge about my car and no mechanical training except for being mechanically inclined (I liked to fix things around my house and maintain my cars). I do favor videotaping over pictures because it forces you to learn the names of the parts as you narrate what you are looking at. I do have an old video camera that I bought used on ebay for my taping, but with today's telephones and cameras they all will take pictures and make movies.

A lot of times I feel foolish talking about a car part or for example, where the generator is on my engine, so I erase what I have just said and learned the name of the part and what it is suppose to do from my manual. I zoom in to show bolts and other fasteners like nuts so I remember what they looked like and their position before I take them off. I store all my pictures on my computer in folders arranged by the name of the parts and backup my videos on DVDs. Someday, I will save the videos also on my computer. A notebook that you write in is also handy for remembering part names, information of people you can count on for help, or businesses locally to get parts. I could see you crawling under your truck while it is on jack stands. (Harbor Freight Jack Stands ) Make sure the stands are oversized 6 ton or 12 ton for safety purposes NO 3 ton. The larger stands allow the truck to be jacked up higher for you to work under your vehicle more comfortably.

Will you be doing any of the work on your car yourself?

Now a little about expenses I have somewhere around $60,000 invested in my car. I bought it off of ebay for $3,500 in 2003 after investing $50,000 in a garage in my back yard. Over the years I tried to work on the car winters and drive it the rest of the year. I would spend at least $3,000 a year in repairs, most that I learned to do myself. My largest expenses were having the engine rebuilt at a regional CarQuest machine shop 5 years ago for $5,000 and having the body painted 2 years ago for $11,000. It took me over a year to put the car back together after having the body parts painted. Mine was a complete frame off restoration where I did most of the work myself. When I see a restored vehicle like the one near Dallas for sale for $29,000 I think it financially is a good deal. But on the other hand, my spending the last 15 years restoring my 41 is one of the top 10-20 accomplishments in my life, and the experience was priceless. I am mentioning all this to give you a realistic look at the financial commitment you are making.

If the engine is not seized up and has no sign of a cracked block I would not take the engine out of the car until I had tried to get it running. You need to come up with a plan that meets your financial commitment, and your role in the restoration. Most/many restoration attempts are fraught with the best of intentions, but end with a vehicle partially disassembled and abandoned and sold. On the other hand there are very few experiences in life like the pleasure of driving an old car be it not all restored or restored.

Good Luck, Mike

P.S. It is also of great value to get as much info from the previous OWNERS on the condition and repairs made through the years. When was the last brake job, what engine work has been done, what is still original on the truck, when was the truck last driven?

Got it , thanks Mike.

I agree with Mike about not pulling the engine for a rebuild without trying to get it running first.

As my online name suggests, I like original survivors and therefore I would do everything possible to get it running, make it safe, and drive it for a while before making the decision about restoration or not. You would be surprised how many folks at car shows just LOVE an old beater that still moves under its own power.

I think the first thing to do is squirt some automatic transmission fluid into the spark plug holes to lubricate the cylinders and free up the rings. While that is soaking in, take a look at this checklist I wrote for another thread. Although it is for a much older vehicle, I think the main ideas apply to your truck: Bringing something back from the dead

Cheers, Dean