anyone that logs onto this board ever heard of an inline 6 cylinder chevrolet engine 261? TWO HUNDRED SIXTY ONE CUBIC INCHES? What vehicle were they used in? what years? I believe some has transposed their numbers and is speaking of the old babbitt rod 216 chevrolet inline 6 please educate me
I have a 261 chevy inline six in my garage. So yes they are out there.. Mine is from a Chevrolet truck 6500 from 1955.
ahhh isee there was a 261...after 1949 im thinking mostly commercial engine maybe? but yes there is such a beast..so have them clear it up for you..what is it in? what year? and was it originally in the car/truck? or was it a transplant? but to answer your question straight out 261 C.I. inline 6 was a chevy engine.
a fella is trying to trade me a 50 chevy that he says has been changed to a 261, but I want to be sure that it has the better oiling system like a 54 and up 235/250/or230, I guess it is safe to ***ume that if it is a 55 or up truck engine that it will have the better oiling system? anyone knows different let me know.
Same improved oiling as late 235s, plus beefier rods & wrist pins, and the same cam as the early I-6 Corvettes. I think the head has slightly larger valves as well.
anyone know about the motor mount location on these? no chance they're in the same spot as 53/54 car engines eh?
Got a 261 (from a 54 Wi. school bus) in my 41 Pick up.Single front mount and 2 rears on the box.Beauty of Chevie inliners is their interchangability.Mix n match to suit.I think that we only had them down here in 58 Ponti cars.
261s were available in medium duty trucks from 1954-62. The '54 engine is the holy grail, as it's the only year with the early style water pump, but don't turn down any 261 these days. If all you can come up with is a block and set of rods, new pistons are still available and the rest can be robbed from a full pressure 235. The '55-'57 blocks have up front mount bosses like a same year p***enger car, but the '58-'62 blocks have bosses in the right spot for '52-'54 car mounts if an adapter plate is fabricated.
I have one from the last year (1962), its out of a 1 1/2 ton. Keep thinking the right car or truck will come along. Change to a 235 head and do a little porting and they are hot.
I'm going to be building a 261 to replace my 235 w/ a 700R4 behind it. 6inarow (HAMBer) has been very helpful and is very knowledgable on all the Cev 6er's. Drop him a kite.
Bought one thinkin it was a 235 once,turned out to be a Canadian Pontiac motor,261.Check Inliners International for more info.
261 is a medium truck engine, used only in the 6000/60 series trucks (except 54-55 when it was in 5000s also). built from 54-62. Oiling system was different from the 235 in that you can hook up a full flow oil filter to it (larger oil p***ages where the filter connects) Other than that, yeah, what HEATHEN said. And the oddball Canadian stuff....hard to keep up with them, eh?
hit these sites www.stovebolt.com or www.inlinners.org , www.oldgmctrucks.com for tons of info on those engines.
Or do a HAMB search. There's alot of info right here, someone even posted a link a while back about souping them up, straight from a 50's mag... I have it on hard copy but don't have the link. Or PM DIRTYT about fitting one in his Honda Civic, WITH a cherry picker too! Jay
Here is the link to the famous 261 article by Frank McGurk for Hot Rod magazine in 1955.... http://www.selectric.org/55chevy/soup.html I'm about to drop in my new 261 with 848 head, 60 over pistons, cast iron headers and dual intake into my 48 coupe. The 261 is basically a larger bore 235 with heavier duty rods and full pressure oil filter. The biggest of the 37-62 chevy 6s. All the later 235 parts are the same for the 261, except rods and pistons and the byp*** thermostat housing. If you use the 'high compression' 848 head from a 235, you have to drill the steam holes using the 261 head gasket as a guide.
I think if you look very very closely, I think squirrel stole a 261 from my garage and put it in his 55 and then photographed the results - it is his avatar picture....
261 is a great engine- grab it. My dad has had one since it was new & has held onto it like a jealous lover!
Nice to meet the hero who is providing this article... Thank You! You must be getting a lot of hits on this link. I first saved this link many years ago and keep seeing it on the above mentioned websites all the time. It's all about sharing info and knowledge on the old chevy iron. There isn't another motor quite like it.
My first 261 came out of a '58 Pontiac Pathfinder. The only down side is that it had the same byp*** oil filter as a 235.
Got one out of a 58 2 ton truck. Has a ported head clifford cam 3x1 intake and fenton header. Runs like stink and sounds cool.
Don't forget to look for GMC's; late 50's had a 270 that looks like the the 235 & 261. This one is a 59 one-ton model 250.
The motor is most likely a 270, but a 1-ton GMC is a 250. Its the model designation, not the motor size. I own a GMC 250 with the earlier 248 under the hood, and a GMC 100 with a 270 under the hood. Though physically a little bigger, the GMC motors actually look more like an early 235 or 216 with the two studs holding the valve cover on. The '54 through '62 235 and 261 Chevy motors have four small bolts around the lip on the valve cover.
Here's some more background source info on "the forgotten 261" http://www.97330.com/Chevy_261/261_6.html
235's have a 3 9/16" bore, where the 261 has a 3 3/4" bore. The introduction of a extra steam hole, full flow oil, and beefier conn rods are the differences between these and the 235's of the era. mine came out of a Canadian pontiac 55-7 and 58-62.
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