April begins

Great weather on Friday made it possible to borrow Dick's pickup and bring the 235 home.  I had previously replaced the hydraulic cylinder on the engine hoist borrowed from a friend of Mitch and it worked like a champ.  I was able to unload the engine from the back of the truck with no problem.  Parked it on the engine stand and, once I returned the pickup, spent the afternoon clearing all the parts out of the garage that were not going back on the 41.

 My wife and daughter went to a wedding in Chicago on Saturday so I had the entire day to myself.  A quick trip to Home Depot provided the wood necessary to build another engine cradle.  Figured that would be easier than trying to swap the 216 and 235 to use the engine cradle as a fixture when I need to install the clutch and bell housing. Plus, the second cradle will provide a fixture to support the 54 engine when I bring it home.  Installed the necessary oil, water, and fuel fittings to adapt the 235 to the 41.  Installed the generator to align the brackets and check the belt alignment.  Made a list of additional parts needed and spent the rest of the day trying to make the stock gas pedal and rod assembly work with the Holley 4bbl carb.  Finally decided it was easier to purchase a new Lokar gas pedal than attempting to overcome all the obstacles of using the stock pedal.  First off, the 216 bell crank pivot location is 3.5" farther forward than the location on the 235.  This would necessitate making a new rod.  Second, the stock rod is unsupported as it comes thru the floor panel and uses a stop which rests against part of the stock column sifter.  Since the shifter has been removed, that stop has nothing to contact any more.  Third, the Mr. Gasket bellcrank kit I purchased comes in contact with one of the remote oil filter lines where it comes out of the block.  It will be tough enough to install dual exhaust pipes and the remote filter lines on the driver's side of the engine without adding the bellcrank, rod and throttle cable assembly to the mix.  Hopefully, the 24" cable kit I bought will be long enough to reach the floor mounted gas pedal and won't have interference with the bell housing or starter equipment.  If it's too short, I'll have to pop for the 36" kit and cut the cable to fit.  One good thing is how the gas pedal will mount in the car.  The stock pedal is mounted on the removable transmission/bell housing cover.  The new pedal should install in the same location and this will prevent having to cut any holes in the stock floor.  So far, I've been able to hold to my plan to not cut or remove anything from the car that can't be reinstalled to put it back to its original condition.  Here's a couple pictures of the engine on the stand with some accessories added.  Notice the carb is mounted backwards in an attempt to configure the throttle cable.

Here's the tight quarters in the bellcrank area.