Does the engine have the "captain's bars" casting, two vertical bars cast into the block just above the starter area? Those marks, along with a similar pair of bars cast into the block on the opposite side of the engine, and the big oil ports in the latest-model 261 are all ways to distinguish the 261 from the similar-looking 235's. The absolutely positive way to identify a 261 is to pull the cylinder head and measure the bore size. 235's have a 3 9/16" bore- - - -261's are 3 3/4". Both engines run the same crankshaft- - - -a 3 15/16" stroke.
Jerry
Jerry,
The engine does indeed have the Captain's Bars on the passenger side.
The oil ports are present, on the driver side. The port nearest the 'pin' has a pipe plug in it. The further back has the mechanical oil sensor installed in it.
It's difficult to photograph due to the exhaust setup, but attached is a photograph attempting to show both ports.
In removing the valve cover I had a bit of a sinking feeling as I saw a mess of little brass/bronze looking pieces. I scratched my head for quite a while trying to identify them and/or figure out from where they could be coming. I picked all of them out that I could see and rolled the engine over by hand many times to see if anything appeared out of the ordinary. Not seeing anything, and I am hardly qualified to know if I am seeing anything, I decided to button it up and solve that mystery on another day. As I went to put the valve cover back on I noticed the same exact pieces stuffed in the valve cover cap. It appears it is/was the filter media of choice for the valve cover cap. To this end, would there be sufficient negative pressure in the valve cover to suck those in or are they just falling out of the cap? It seems like a guy should find a new/different cap, but perhaps there is no harm in them being in the valve train?
Take Care,
Joshua L. Coder
