VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Engine replacement

The engine of my 1930 Chevrolet 4-doors sedan has the serial number 1 658 375.

I have an engine with a serial number 763 368 and a 4 speed gearbox (truck 1929 ?)

My engine is working good but has a lot of leak. Thus I would like to rebuilt the other engine in my free times and change it after.

Could you tell me if these engine are exactly the same and can be replaced one by the other ? Is it better to put the 4 speed gearbox or to keep the original 3 speeds one ?

I don't have the delco on the 763 368 engine, will the other be compatible ?

PS : the car would have be assembled in the belgian factory, are the serial number different ?

Thank you for your help,

not sure the engines are interchangeable directly. mounting, configurations changed each year especially 1929-1932.
probably could make it work with time, effort, and money. easiest way is to rebuild and restore the 1930 engine and transmission.
and if it is a 4 speed then yes it is a from a truck,most likely a 1 1/2 ton. most 1/2 tons were same as the cars, frame, driveline and all.

The 1929 engine is not quite as good as the 1930. Yes they are interchangeable but you should put your money into the 1930 engine. Do not use the truck transmission as the first gear will not be of any use to you.

I respectfully disagree that the truck first gear is not usable. It is very usable for going slowly in parades. The truck tranny's second, third, and fourth gears are equivalent to the car's first, second, and third gears.

I recently drove Lurch (see links below) in a parade and in granny first he crawled along at walking speed. It was very pleasant to drive this way in the parade.

Cheers, Dean

Definitely rebuild the 1930 engine.

You say it runs good, does the engine smoke or use a lot of oil? If not you may be able to check bearing clearances and replace some gaskets to stop the leaks. I agree, repair the 30 engine! The rear main does not have a seal, it has to be at the proper clearance to stop oil from leaking out there.

Thank you for your answers and advices.
The engine does not smoke. I think the leak of oil comes from the rear of the engine. The engine cylinder head is split and has a small water leak, is it a good ideas to use the cylinder head of the 1929 engine on the 1930 engine block ?

Edmond

I suggest that as long as the engine runs well and does not smoke excessively just do what you can to stop the oil leaks without going to a full rebuild.

Obviously the head will need replaced (or repaired if you can find someone to do that work).

The 1929 head has different valves and won't perform as well as a proper 1930 head. You can use it but should look for a 1930 or 1931 head to reinstall.

I respectfully disagree too! Not worth the trouble to put a 4 into a passenger car. Falls into the modified category and probably not what he was expecting. For sure he thought fourth would be like an overdrive.

No. The 1930-31 cylinder head is superior to the 1929 cylinder head, which is a one year application only.

There are places that can repair (weld) a cracked cylinder head. I believe there is one here in Iowa. Also, the leak at the rear of the engine could be a leaky valve cover gasket, a leaky side cover gasket, a leaking rear main bearing, or all of the above.

Thank you again for your advices.
The part number of the engine (at the left of the fuel pump) is 885501, below I have "G 18 0". I think that mean the engine has been built onJuly 18, 1930.
For the truck engine, I have the same part number and below "L 15 8", thus built the December 15, 1928.
Am I right ?

Ed
For the oil leak, I think it's the rear main bearing. Possible to find a new one and to replace it ?

Edmond

You are correct on both dates.

Do a search on the site as there are post describing how to adjust the bearing and also to modify to reduce leakage.

Hello,
I said my engine has "L 15 8" marked on it. Thus made in the end of 1928;
On the cylinder head, I have "B 11 1" and part number 836273, made on February 11, 1931 ?

If the cylinder head is from 1931, isn't it a good idea to use it with my 1930 engine ?

Kind regards,

Edmond

You hadn't previously mentioned the head casting date. Yes use the 31 head on your 30 block. If you were in Canada I would buy the 1929 block.
Regards

If your main bearing is not worn out it can be adjusted to the proper clearance with shims.

Hello cabboy,
I buy a pack of parts for my chevy last year and I only see today that the engine was a 1929 one and the cylinder head a 1931 one.

Both the 1930 cylinder head and the 1931 cylinder head are the exact same cylinder head. Both have a casting number of 836273.

One more question : the 2 engine block "L 15 8" and "G 18 0" have the same part number 885501. Does that mean they are the same and only the cylinder head were improved from 1929 to 1930 or do they made improvement without changing the part number ?

885501 is the cast number, same casting but changes were made

here is a excerpt from the 1930 Chevrolet Features book i have, just the list, there are pages that also explain what, why

one of the books you should grab if you have a 1930

just remember that 1929-1932 there were changes made every year to most components / body each year. 1929 was the first year of the 6, made changes improvements in 1930, some more in 1931, even more in 1932. they are very similar and share parts, but many changes were made to make them different. mainly for improvements. in fact mid 1929 production changes were made to the engine... so you could have an early 1929 or late 1929 :o

???

Did you mean that "1929" was the first year of the 6 cylinder?

yeah, thanks JYDog

I fixed that typo

Thank you all for your information and advices