On another thread "Henry Rifle" told you that the motors were the same from 37-53, in all Chevy products. The only thing I will add is that the 53 with an automatic trans had the new 235. It is a better motor. I put one in my 53 Chevy with stick shift, replacing the 216. The only thing I had to do was drill some new holes in the motor mount brackets. These motors were the same until the early sixties, and were much better. If you are going to keep the car, put the 235 in it. If you want to keep it original to sell, go with the 216.