Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines no oil filter for my 261

I am almost finished with my 261 swap into my 40 sedan. My 261 is a 62 model and came with the large full-flow oil filter can hanging on the manifold. I do not have room for it with the engine in the 40. It looks like I will have to fabricate a hose from the outlet on the block back to the inlet so the oil can circulate. I know the ports cannot be just plugged.I wish I could use the 235 filter , but it only has 1/8" pipe inlets and outlets and could not handle the volume of oil .

There are a lot of remote filter mount adapters available.

You can indeed plug the large full flow oil in and outlets, as long as you push the pin, above the output, in the outward position, which has to be done from the inside.

The pin pushed in or out regulates the oil flow from or to the outlet.

Pushed in ... the oil flow goes to the outlet

Pushed out ... the oil flow diverts internally directly to the inlet and both outlet and inlet must be plugged.

I was able to mount the filter on the front part of the manifold after sawing off the cast part where horns were mounted on some vehicles. I made hoses to and from the block to the filter. I found conflicting info when checking to see which was the inlet and outlet on my engine. Some sites said that the front port was the outlet on 261s but others said that the rear was the outlet on 235s. I know 235s were partial flow filters and 261s like mine are full flow setups. Is it reversed between partial and full flow oilers? I turned my oil pump and found that oil, a lot of oil actually, came out the front hole on mine so I connected that to the "IN" port on my filter. Curious about the difference in info though.

The Outlet to the filter is where the pin is, closer to the front of the engine.
The Inlet from the filter is closer to the rear of the engine.
This is also where you want to connect the engine oil pressure gauge.

Take it from a daily driver of the past 10 years that connected the filter this way.
You can see photos of my setup in my link in the signature below.
I also added a bypass filter in parallel with the in and out of the full flow filter.

235s have the bypass filter connection the other way around.

I started the engine finally, after 15 months of working on it in my "spare time". It has 60+ lbs of oil pressure and sounds good. It did not run well at first due to the 15 month old gas in the tank. I have a temporary tank under the hood with fresh gas in it but I plan to remove the old stuff from the tank tomorrow so I can drive it. I used an adapter to mount the '54 235 water pump onto the '62 261 engine. I hope to drive the car to the Shades of the Past rod run next Friday. It's a 3 hour drive for us.

Anybody else with a '40 Chevy notice how photos taken from an angle causes the grill to look like a beat up p.o.s.? My grill is a NOS perfectly straight one, but look at it in the photo.

Congratulations, It's fun time. You earned it.

KOOL!! Enjoy it!!

I was rejoicing a little too soon. My manifolds were leaking. All the exhaust ports blew the gaskets out at the bottom an the center intake port appeared to be leaking. I replaced the gaskets and made sure all three intake rings were in place but it still leaks. I had used the '54 235 manifolds on the 261 head after examining the ports to be sure they were the same shape and size. I knew they would be the same because the gaskets for a 235 and 261 are the same. Now I have drilled out the broken exhaust studs , freed up the stuck heat riser valve , and cleaned the surfaces where the gaskets must seal on the 261 manifold. I will install it and see if that fixes my problem. Although this is my first 261 I have removed , installed , and switched manifolds on 235s for 35+ years and never had a problem with leakage.Looks like I won't be driving it to Pigeon Forge on Friday.

One improvement that I am making this time is to replace the two center bolts that attach the manifolds to the head with studs and nuts. Those two bolts are difficult for old fingers to start.

Today , I removed the 235 manifold. I can see no reason for it not to pull up tightly against the head. I intend to clean the intake ports in the head and the manifold with a wire cup brush in a drill again. If the intake rings were not seated well I suppose they would hold the manifold off but I don't think that was the problem. Any suggestions?

Its not uncommon for the manifolds to be warped. Lay a straight edge across the flange surfaces and check it out.

I took the 261 manifold to work today and checked it with a straightedge. It checked out good.

Use a rimflex gasket. Helps solve a multitude of problems. I use them on my 261 motor.

http://remflexexhaustgaskets.carshopinc.com/product_info.php/products_id/154182/2027

This evening I installed the 261 manifolds. Before I did I filed the edges of the intake rings smooth. After the initial finger tightening of the bolts , when I first put a wrench on them I felt and heard the manifold pull into place. All seems good now . The engine idles and I hear no exhaust leak.