DEDICATION
The most memorable year for me was 1991 when I was honored to marry the woman of my dreams. My wife, Vietta, is a quiet, reserved wonder who has always supported me in every way, including stopping me from doing stupid things, helping me run a printing business for 28 years, and being there through it all. I am sure there are many of you who feel similarly about your spouse; however, my Vietta takes the prize. This woman helped me put the pieces of my life back together after divorce and helped raise my three children, now in their 30s, Kelly, Jesse, and Kasey. To my family, I love you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deve Krehbiel is a vintage Chevy pickup enthusiast who spends his free time writing how-to articles and designing add-on kits for vintage Chevy engines. Deve’s Technical Network (DTN) was created to help bring other enthusiasts together to brainstorm ideas and solutions and to help everyone obtain a better understanding of this wonderful pastime. For every kit Deve creates, he makes sure to document how you can make that same kit yourself without any money changing hands. This honest approach has proven to work out better in the long run, providing for a happier clientele whom he refers to as his friends. Deve realizes the satisfaction of accomplishment and the feeling of pride when anyone tackles something that is hard and actually pulls it off! Check out www.devestechnet.com and let him know what you think.
PREFACE
The year was 1978. I was driving down a two-lane road near Waco, Texas, and I saw an old pickup with a tree growing through it. The farmer who owned it let me have it for $75. After much ado, I hitched it behind my 1973 Gremlin X and hauled it back home to Hesston, Kansas. I had no idea of the engine’s condition, but the truck was in relatively good shape, considering. It was a 1954 Chevrolet 3100 pickup. The only remaining picture of it is with me in front of Airman Housing at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, during my Air Force Technical School days.
I will never forget that truck. After a few parts changes, the engine started right up. The entire truck was mostly serviceable, and I used it all over the country. I drove that truck during Christmas break from Biloxi, Mississippi, to see my new wife at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1,200 miles! No engine overhaul, no maintenance other than the usual (after removing the tree).
Even at the age of 20, I knew that Chevrolet made an outstanding product in the 6-cylinder Stovebolt engine. They are the most resilient engines that I have ever had the pleasure to work with. To this day, if you can find them, you can take a 1950s farm truck that hasn’t been started in more than 40 years, free it up, start it, and run it most of the time without much trouble. Although my marriage didn’t last, the old truck just kept right on!
That truck was my first foray into vehicle restoration, and I didn’t do much with it, but years later I began new frame-up restorations focusing on 1950 Chevy pickups. I decided to write down every aspect of these restorations in careful detail and create a website so my experiences were documented for others. It is a labor of love, and it documents all the mistakes I made along the way and, more important, how to fix what is broken. One system after another, careful documentation, lots of pictures, and a deep desire to succeed drove my work.
As you use this book with your own project, be sure that you follow accepted safety procedures and clearly understand the dangers of machinery, equipment, etc., as well as how to mitigate the dangers by being cognizant and diligent while operating machinery. Please use your common sense. And don’t forget to have fun!
A young and inexperienced Deve in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1978. Sir. Yes, sir!
The 1954 235 was a combination of old style and new styles. With slits in the valve cover and older bottom-end engine parts, it was a unique year for the 235. It was the first truck engine to have insert bearings and full-pressure oiling.
This 1954 235 has the oil bath air filter, bypass oil filter cannister, and mounted horn. After this year, General Motors stopped drilling the intake manifold for mounting the horn but left the boss in that location.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Even though I did the writing and all the physical labor, the component that makes this book a guaranteed success is the people who gave their time and knowledge to help keep each procedure exacting and precise.
This was my strategy: I asked at least three professionals the same question. If all three agreed and it made common sense, it went in the document. If two agreed, I solicited a fourth person’s perspective, always keeping the odds well in the favor of precision. This was done at every step using Chevy documentation, outside sources, and tapping the expertise of some of the best engine rebuilders from all over the world. Some of these people were notable because of their giving attitude and the fact that they were always just a phone call away.
You do not get where you are going without the influence of others, and this journey was no different. I was lucky enough to find Dave Folsom, a respected mechanic and shop owner, who specialized in this vintage of Chevrolet. His father taught him the business, and his knowledge is impeccable. There is nothing this man doesn’t know and no problem he hasn’t run across. Although this is true for a lot of people in a lot of professions, the thing that sets Dave apart is his willingness to share everything he knows.
Along with my long-distance friends, a few local people were of major influence. My dad taught me to “always have common sense in your back pocket”; he was invaluable to me and is sorely missed. The late John Erb was known around these parts as the expert on this vintage, and I was honored to have spent many hours in salvage yards all over Kansas helping him salvage parts for vendors. This was an amazing learning experience that I will never forget. Another great man, Gene Swartzendruber, taught me how to weld, how to view things as a mechanical engineer, and how to work with metal. His influence can be seen all over my shop. I am so grateful for the influence of these great men. Nathan Hall, Jeff Pohlar, Jeff Nelson, Allen Jones, and the list goes on and on, you know who you are. Thank you all!
Left to Right: My dad, me, John Erb, and Gene Swartzendruber solving all the world’s problems.
INTRODUCTION
Chevrolet introduced the first overhead valve 6-cylinder engine, affectionately called the Stovebolt,
