Had a little time over the weekend to dig in to the 261 engine I have. First thing I noticed is that the rocker assembly and top of the head are very clean - not sure if this head has been gone though in the past, but I was pleasantly surprised. Push rods in great shape. They have a black coating on them, and look brand new.

Cylinder #1 appeared to be the only cylinder where the Marvel oil didn't seep down. I will be soaking it more over the next week with the acetone/ATF as suggested by a few on here. I noticed that there is no crank bolt on the front of the pulley, and this engine also has what I think to be a custom bellhousing. Therefore using a flyweel turner and/or crank bolt method is out for the time being. Does anyone else have ideas on how to possibly rotate this engine?

Another thing of note would be that cylinder #2 looks to have a little scoring from the valve on top of the piston. Is this normal for its age? Either way the pistons will be coming out - so not necessarily a huge issue.
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Last edited by FRanch53; 08/31/2026 3:22 PM.

1953 Chevy 3100 4 spd