VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc 216 help needed

Hiya,
We are restoring 3 chev's, a 39 pick up, 39 4 dr fastback and a 37 4 dr fastback. At the moment were up to the stage of putting the motor for the pick up back together. The mechanic thats been helping my husband with the motor has told us we need to get 3 gauges, an oil depth gauge, a oil trough depth and connecting rod dipper height gauge and a oil pan target gauge. We are having real trouble tracking these down, have rung all of the Chev clubs in New Zealand. Does anyone know if these are easily available in the States or if they go by a different name? I cant find any info on the net about them and would like to know what they look like so we know what we are looking for. Also are they absolutley essential? One guy has told us if the motor was running when the pick up was parked up 16 yrs ago we shouldnt need to use them? Any advice would be great
Cheers
Maree

Hi guys ,, when I do a 216 engine , I just get the garden hose out and have the water flow thru the main tube at the edge of the sump , so the water comes out the nozzles and squirts against the side of the sump .. Check that they all hit at the same level and in line with the center line of each trough.
The original oil nozzles seem pretty hard to shift and I would expect to see some damage on them if they are actually out of line .

You guys followed me in Nelson one day ,, remember my green '40 ?

I'll agree with Dusty.I have always used his method with no problems.Just keep the pan level as it would be in the engine and if all of the pipes are aimed correctly (and not plugged up) the water streams will hit the same spot on the side of the pan.They don't get out of alignment that eaisly.Also easy to check the dipper scoops.Again-just measure and compare.The '37-39 had the narrow dippers originally.Changing to the later wide mouth dippers can help to give a better chance of it picking up more oil.

I think that I read somewhere that to check the dipper height, you can fill the troughs with greese, put the pan on with a gasket and turn the crankshaft backwards. Then upon removal of the pan, you can see exactly where the dippers were riding. I only did the nozzle check when I had mine apart and I am happy to say that it ran quite well last week when I tried her out.

Thanks so much for the great info, still having no luck tracking one down so will have a go with the hose.
Great to hear from you Dusty, kept meaning to get in touch with you but somehow lost your number so will send you an email when I get a chance. Will send some pics of the truck - getting to the exciting parts now!
Thanks again everyone
Maree

Sure Maree , I saw your local advert for a truck seat ,, I will be going up to Oxford next week and will check the shed for you . There has to be something around that will do the job , are '47 squabs too big ? I know I have some of those.

Hi Dusty
Thanks alot for that, Weve been told that we can look at seats between 39-46, dont know how reliable this info was though, but we are getting really frustrated trying to find this seat - been 2 yrs now and no sign of one.... Also rear guards,we have some but they are pretty rusty and will cost a heap to fix up, otherwise we are all set.
Might be picking up a '26 sedan in the next week or so too :-) going to have to build another garage......
Did you go to the Chevy Auction at Oxford in Feb? We flew down to have a look but most were beyond restoration.

OK ,, I'll take the tape measure and check the seats.
I was at the auction ,, lots of items went real cheap . But they needed to , as it was all Toms' junk ,, the good stuff he has not pulled out of hiding yet .
If it all gets too hard , I could probably build you a seat from scratch . You are bound to need to re-upholster what ever you eventually find . Making a frame and fitting new springs is not that big a job. :)

My 38 shop manual shows design of appropriate tools but does not give any dimensions so not really much use for copying. I will need something similar when I rebuild mine.