First Fire: My 1957 Chevrolet 261 Stovebolt engine comes to life.

[@patrickcannell2258]

Beautiful. No horrible plastic covers!

[@ronwalker8863]

That's an absolute work of art. And the emissions system looks bullet proof.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Thanks! 😂

[@terryandrews7271]

I can't even tell you how much that makes my heart feel good

[@pattyoneill91]

Those motors aren't busy great they look fantastic too. Look how square it is and how nice and tidy. They were just so simple, wish they still were today

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Agreed! I love these engines.

[@rubensflorentino548]

That 6x2 header looks neat. Well, just like everything else.

[@craigpennington1251]

My brother had one in his 57 Chevy Belair 210- 3 on the tree. Two door too. It was cool.

[@flyingscrapyard]

Beautiful idle. Not cammed to the eyeballs like so many end up. Nice work and thanks for posting for us who like some smooth 6 cylinder burble.

[@BobSmith-mc7uq]

Looks sweet, sounds smooth! Nice detail job. Can't beat the simplicity of a 6 banger with a carb.

[@theophilhist6455]

Post the finished build. What a clean piece of work. You should be proud.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

This one's just for you... kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4LNh4elnNJ5jJY

[@ronniehall1520]

Great Job that is a great looking motor

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Thanks, man!! I appreciate the love! If you like this go check out my "261 Engine Bay Tour" on my channel. I finished the truck last year.

[@clinteastwood9115]

Straight sixes are great! Always like the simplicity of them !

[@sterlingstreamliner]

Fine job. Loved this video. An inspiration for those of us who have 261 to rebuild. Wish you had videos of entire chassis restoration. You're doing a terrific job. Love your attention to details and stock restoration. Keep up the good work. Cool.

[@NebukedNezzer]

I built a 3 single barrel carb set up for a 55 235. this was 1960. used ordinary rochester single carbs. 2 extra center intake manifold centers. cut off and braze outside ends shut, cut remaining manifolds so when bolted on they almost touch. next 4 large enough stainless hose clamps and 2 pieces of gasoline resistant rubber hose to join the manifolds together. now you have place for 3 carbs but the engine can run on the center alone. now plug idle jets on outboard carbs and leave chokes open. build linkage. mount a rod running along parallel to engine above manifolds(end support bearings). weld nut onto vertical center carb push rod so another vertical rod with stop on will contact half open center carb throttle nut. now 2 end levers and linkage to outboard carbs and half length lever to center operator lever(outboard carbs are closed till half throttle but in last half of throttle travel they will open all the way. plug unwanted vacuum leaks and make up 4 way fitting to distribute gasoline. added 3 air cleaners. Worked great.

[@bigblocklawyer]

Love the heat-absorbing fuel line.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

😆thanks. I get your point, but it’s not a problem.

[@brustar5152]

Those guys were noted for smoothness and reliability - and silence! With stock exhaust you could stand in front of the vehicle and not know it was running. It was also known that people would frequently forget they had started the car/truck and went back to close the house door and then attempted to restart the engine with it already running. Starter pinion gear replacements were frequent with dealerships for that reason.

[@FilmMastersChannel]

Sounds better than a V8 and I love a straight 6!

[@matthewprice3261]

Film Masters nothing sounds better then a powered by Ford 5.8 lieter windsor v8

[@dehoedisc7247]

sounds Better than a V8? hahahahahahahahaha

[@sirlanceem]

Sounds good, but nothing sounds better than a V8

[@dehoedisc7247]

Nothing? You haven't heard a Ferrari or a Porsche V12, then.

[@spartanboss4189]

when these old Chevy straight sixes are built right, they start sounding like a Ferrari 250 GTO V12 here is a vid of a Chevy 250 straight six on a dyno: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZXVc6SciJlqfrc V8´s are so common these days.

[@craigpennington1251]

Great job on the rebuild. It sounds smooth and quiet. Love the color too. Going to be a really nice ride when finished. Glad you kept it standard trans.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Thanks, Craig. This video is old. You can see this truck finished (mostly) on my Instagram account, @castironphilosopher , if you’re interested.

[@wymple09]

Magnificent clean build.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Thank you!

[@Carstuff111]

Looks amazing, sounds amazing.... I do love these engines!

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Thanks, dude!

[@yourbasicguy1098]

Sweet! Thanks!

[@Reroy55]

You did a beautiful job on this Chevy !

[@IronClad292]

That's a beautiful sight !!! Sounds great too :-)

[@pappabob29]

Looks "AWESOME"!!! Particularly like your fuel and brake lines. Very nice work !!!

[@walterfigueroa3069]

Six in line beautiful

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Thanks!

[@rollingstopp]

somebody's proud

[@richardfettig5974]

motor sounds great!

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Thanks!

[@cdthorpe2733]

That engine came out here in Brazil on the Chevrolet 3100 which in the case was the displacement of it after 3800 that went out in the opal Chevrolet in 68 in 72 and Chevrolet launched the 4,100 or 250s, it came out to 292 only that truck but a great very reliable engine I have one. Chevrolet opala 4100 I am restoring, here also came that engine in the omega Chevrolet but with electronic injection and some improvements to increase the torque of it at low revs, They are wonderful engines

[@CharlesPanhead1951]

Perfect engine!!!

[@HenauderTitzauf]

Heck Mike you never want to put Chevy parts in or on a Ford, slows the Ford down. Brahaha, but seriously, been a fan of all kinds of 6s and straight 8s all my life. Got a jeep in 242/4 ltr, Chrysler van with 3.9 ltr. Would love to put this 3.9 in my jeep. Great engine, one ad cam, great gas Milage, lots of pep. Y'all keem'em rolling.

[@marcodeleon426]

LOOKS AND SOUNDS BEAUTIFUL VERY WELL DONE.

[@idaho2ndgens240]

Very nice engine and work! I just started mine in a '53 3100 a couple of weeks ago. It has two Rochester one barrels on a Offy intake, Fenton headers, solid lifters with a Howard Cam and a Mallory SS Distributor. I converted it over to a full pressure oil system. I could not tell what you did on yours. Mine was originally a partial flow. Also put the cooling water plate on the intake with carb spacers. The throttle response is very nice. Now to shake it down on the road.

[@timpope1221]

My project is a 59 chevy Apahce 3100, same set up and I'm trying to find out if I need to heat my intake via exhaust or fluid from radiator, I have dual exhaust via Fenton manifold and a dual Rochester on a Offy intake. I'm in North Carolina so we have winter temps that range from 25 to 60 degrees and summer temps from 75 to 98 any input will be greatly appreciated !

[@garylangley4502]

Wow! Runs great!!

[@ronfields1513]

Good looking setup

[@foreverwood1963]

Man that looks so good. Please show how it looks today

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

I've been meaning to do this. It will be coming soon.

[@aztecahernandez6539]

Oh. You got a dent on the oil breather cap. Beautiful restoration buddy.

[@jf8461]

Nice and clean! Are those steel-packed mufflers?

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Yes, those are Porter Mufflers and they are steel-packed. I have another video where you can hear them. Obviously the mufflers aren’t connected in this video.

[@WD4MIC]

thank you for your response.

[@stephenandloriyoung5716]

Very nice. My 55 Canadian Pontiac had the 261. After getting familiar with its good torque, I test drove a 55 Chev six cylinder, probably 235, and its grunt suffered badly by comparison.

[@RJDCR]

looks great

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Here's a video of me starting my Chevy 261 for the first time-well, first day, second time. No one wants to wait for fuel delivery.

[@claiborneeastjr4129]

Great looking engine. I've always wondered why they were called stovebolts. Really nice looking exhaust system.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Thank you!

[@rogerclyde2720]

Valve clatter should have a nice smooth sound.

[@gmioco]

very nice!

[@jeffstone7912]

Sweet!

[@sonyhk3824]

Awesome

[@barryismygod]

Needs dual carbs it'll have a little more oomph when you put your foot in it plus it'll actually get better mileage because that single carb has to feed 6 cylinders

[@mathman1923]

she is a beauty

[@Tinkerman.45.]

Nice job! But don't see a oil filter? The way they were designed may work just as well.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

You are correct. I chose not to modify the block for full flow oil filtering. This engine is a 57, Chevrolet went full flow in 58. And the accessory oil filter (when not full flow) is a joke, functionally speaking.

[@ironcladranchandforge7292]

Beautiful work!! Does that have hydraulic lifters or mechanical? It seems really quiet for mechanical lifters. They should clatter a little bit and if they don't they're too tight on the adjustment, for mechanical lifters I mean. Everything you've done there is excellent!!

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Thanks! They’re mechanical. The audio quality on this video sucks. You can hear them. Check out my “short” where I drive the truck out of my garage for the first time… you can hear them ticking.

[@budlambert2849]

Nice conversion. Did you use the original 57 truck bell housing and original 49 engine rear cross member? What type of rear engine motor mount cushions were used? Going to install a 57 261 in my 52 3100 and any tips would be appriciated.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

I used the original truck bell housing if I remember correctly. The motor mounts are also standard. Nothing was cut or manipulated to drop this set-up into the 49 frame which was my intention. Later R10 3-speed OD transmissions have a trans mount landing on the tail housing, this 57 vintage did not.

[@waltersmart1824]

Sounds sweet! It looks like the 235 L6 that was my 57 truck! What's that rattling noise when you raced her up?

[@jamessanchez5567]

Great looking motor! What size are the Flex hoses?

[@taxi0512]

Läuft fantastisch leise!

[@JeremiahJohnson-rx3re]

Where the hell is the oil filter on this engine? I just got a 52 chevy as a new project, and it has this same engine in it. I'm going over it and learning the layout of it. I'm more familiar with the Ford inline 6, but they are pretty similar. I just can't find the oil filter.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Jeremiah Johnson -These engines did not have full flow oil filtering until 1958. The bolt-on oil filter canister was an accessory. They only filtered a small portion of the oil. If you don’t see an oil filter you most likely do not have one. You can modify these pre-`58 stovebolts for full flow oil filtering (where all the oil must flow through the filter before lubricating the engine.) but it will require some engine block modifications.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

www.inliners.org/tech/fullflow1.html

[@jeffmckie7300]

Had a 57 235 never heard of a 261. Is it bored? Was it truck engine?

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

It was a heavy duty truck engine. They were available between 1954-1962. Check out this rad article from 1955 discussing the 261... www.selectric.org/55chevy/soup.html

[@istvantoth3951]

Sounds great, what kind of transmission do you have?

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Chevy R10 3-speed w/Borg Warner Overdrive

[@stevestock2439]

Did you go with the solid lifters? It is hard to hear with open exhausts. Nice looking setup for sure.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Steve Stock -Solid lifters.

[@stevestock2439]

Like your painted Captain's Bars.

[@hotball49]

Does the engine still have solid lifters? Sounds great!!

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Yes it does.

[@thenunnbush5]

Hey I forgot to ask you what transmission and rear end you used here? Looks great.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

1957 Chevy 3-speed OD and 6-lug rear end out of a 1957 3100.

[@thisoldchevy2371]

It’ll need a valve adjustment, i don’t hear any valve noise, which means they’re too tight.

[@markjohnson9495]

That's what i was thinking. It's too quiet.

[@EVILDR235]

It probably has hydraulic lifters. Some 261 blocks can use hydraulic lifters and some cant

[@fabiorocha9497]

Muito top

[@gabrielsandoval4994]

Very cool engine. I just found out my recently purchased 46 Chevy has one of these. I'm wondering if they respond well to a dual carb setup or would that be too much gas? Very nice job on your pickup.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

+Gabriel Sandoval - Thank you. These engines do well with dual carb set-ups. The best carb option (in my opinion) is a pair of Stromberg BXOV-2 model carburetors. They have a smaller carb base/carb stud spread and fit the earlier 216/235 dual carb intakes that are readily available. I had a NOS McGurk 2x1 "Standard" intake and a pair of BXOV-2's to put on this engine but I ended up going with a more subtle look.

[@gabrielsandoval4994]

Excellent job on that engine. I'm sure your enjoying it.

[@timpope1221]

Awesome...the short connection pipe from the fenton manifold to the cast iron intake is that to heat up the intake ?

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Tim Pope Yes, it is.

[@timpope1221]

@@CastIronPhilosopher does the exhaust return via another pipe that I cannot see in the video ?

[@tycehenderson1508]

Hey what type of yellow engine pain did you use there? Super nice!

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Tyce Henderson - Thanks. I used Dupli•Color Engine Enamel, Daytona Yellow, #DE1642

[@tycehenderson1508]

@@CastIronPhilosopher Thanks man! Hey did you do any primer at all or just spray it? You've inspired me by the way to paint my 261 with that awesome yellow!

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Tyce Henderson - No primer, the block was completely clean. The block had just been baked and shot blasted. I’ve had great luck with this paint. I use it on everything. It holds up really well when you do good prep work. And hey, remember, the 261 was only yellow for the 1957 production year.

[@CharlesPanhead1951]

Perfect!!! What cam have you put?

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

It's the stock 261 cam which is more aggressive than the standard 235. And, from what I understand, it's the same cam found in the 1953-55 Corvette Blue Flame 235 which sported 3x1 side-draft carbs.

[@ninja63639]

Does having only one Fenton heat riser tube help? I was under the impression that both were needed for sort of a push/pull effect

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

My understanding is you just need to heat up the intake plane. The heat tube/plate kit only contained enough parts to do one tube and the other manifold wasn't tapped and threaded. I really didn't put too much thought into it. It seems to work well enough so far-the true test would be a cold winter day.

[@ninja63639]

The front header wasn't tapped for another fitting to screw in? I didn't realize that

[@WD4MIC]

where did you get your split exhaust manifold I am trying to find on for a 1978 ford pickup 300 inline 6 cylinder.

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

These particular Fenton split manifolds are being reproduced and are readily available. I believe I got mine from Patrick's Antique Cars in AZ. I have no idea about your particular model. Good luck.

[@wellery]

Hey man, search for Chevrolet Opala (Brazilian car) he have this engine! Brazil!

[@Berserkr01]

The Opala uses the 250 engine (it's the following generation to this one) which has higher compression ratio and seven crankshaft bearings! By the way, the Opala is a Opel Rekord but modified to look like the Chevrolet Nova 1968! The Nova was also produced in Argentina as "Chevy" (from 1969 to 1978), but oddly not in Brazil! The GM straight 6 is a third worlders' HotRod engine, but popular (economic) in the USA!

[@trinity12317]

I have a 55 or 56 261 I want to put in my 1951 chev truck, did you have to move the rad ahead to have enough clearance for the water pump ?

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

I just ran a short water pump from Patrick’s Antique Auto, and bolted-up an aftermarket, thin, flex fan. The water pump/fan assembly will be oriented lower on the radiator, but the radiator itself won’t need to be moved. It’s pretty straightforward. Good luck with the lower radiator hose, though. I had to custom cut mine by sectioning a hose from a later year.

[@trinity12317]

I wonder if running a electric fan in front of the rad and shortening the water pump pulley shaft would keep the engine cool ? Might be more a pain in the ass. @@CastIronPhilosopher

[@istvantoth3091]

what kind of transmission do you have on it???

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

1957 Chevy 3-speed w/ Overdrive (Borg Warner R10)

[@dennistennyson4540]

Single barrel carb, you gotta be kidding me.

[@NebukedNezzer]

HEI distributor?

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Yup. From Langdon's Stovebolt.

[@mykelbaurle5758]

Do you still have the truck?

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Yes. 👍🏼I’ve got videos of it on my channel.

[@mykelbaurle5758]

@@CastIronPhilosopher I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

[@oldcars5547720]

Doesn't sound much different from my 235 that used to have a split manifold and cherry bomb mufflers.

[@TheRoguelement]

I'm kinda stuck wondering why you wasted the time money & effort when ANY 283 would have given you so much more ..

[@CastIronPhilosopher]

Perhaps you’re only seeing it from one angle-performance. My choices are anchored in style and aesthetic. I do love the SBC- the 283 in particular-but the small block is so boring. The inline six is native to the Advance Design platform. You are looking at art. If you do not understand it then it just isn’t your thing. That’s okay. This build accurately represents my style preference. I did not compromise. I was not on a budget. I have no regrets. Everything was intentional and selected precisely for what it was. Have you seen the truck completed? Check it out on Instagram @CastIronPhilosopher The entire picture might help you see what I was trying to accomplish. Every element was premeditated, curated, and built by myself-machine work and all.

[@ironcladranchandforge7292]

​@@CastIronPhilosopher -- You're absolutely RIGHT!! The SBC swap is old and boring. To me, nothing more beautiful than a Chevy straight 6 engine in a truck. My 1960 Chevy Apache is still running a 235, and always will. By the way, these engines have many options for speed upgrades if a person wanted to. I chose not to myself.