I am at peace with the world.
My 1954 Chevrolet Suburban was put into hibernation in late November - I had changed the oil/filter before hibernation but I failed to put gas treatment into the full tank of gas.
Today, the temperature got up to 67, so it seemed like a good idea to take the Suburban out of hibernation. I pressed the gas pedal to the floor (to set the automatic chokes on the dual Carter-Webers on the 1960 261 engine),turned the key, pressed the floor/foot starter-button, and after about 10 seconds of healthy cranking (to get gas to the carbs?), the engine started and immediately settled at fast idle.
Ain't Life Grand.
I would like to note (to nay-sayer-posters), that the dual-carb linkage uses a universal, bent-fit, throttle rod; and the battery is a 5 year old 6v Optima battery. This is supposedly the unreliable Optima battery (of which I have three that have never failed - one in 5 years and the other two in 3 years). I do not remove the batteries from hibernating vehicles in my unheated garage AND I have never had to charge these batteries after a cold winter sitting in my trucks.
An observation/reality for those who have a hard starting 6v vehicle: if you have the right gauge battery cables (both cables), a good 6v starter, and a good 6v battery, it will crank rapidly every time.
While the truck was warming up (with steady oil pressure and steady charging), I increased the air in the radial tires to 35 psi (6 year old Cooper SRM II LT radials on original wheel - with radial tubes in them).
As soon as the temp gauge started moving, I flicked the gas pedal and the carburetors immediately went to a steady slow idle.
I then drove the Suburban on country roads for about 10 miles at 25-40mph, until I turned onto a 5 miles straight-stretch of smooth country road that had been used for drag racing in the 50s-60s (and, there were no vehicles in sight). The engine was purring quietly and the shake-out cruise had put me at ease (I guess the 4 month old gas is still good).
At present, I have the original three-speed and a 3.55 ring/pinion in the original torque-tube rear-end. The 3-speed is worn out, hard to shift, and pops out of third gear when cruising. It took me a while to get it into first gear, while I was sitting on the straight-away. When it was finally in first, and no cars were around, it seemed a good time to hit the gas and see if it was still in tune for a take-off.
The engine responded nicely as I started off, so I floored it. A few seconds later at 30 mph (in first gear), I shifted to 2nd and floored it. After what seemed like a few seconds later, at 50 mph I shifted to 3rd. It had plenty of torque and reached 70 mph in what seemed like a few more seconds.
This truck cruises smoothly and quietly between 55-65 and still feels good accelerating to 75 (I've had it to 90 but only a few times for short durations).
A few other notes (in response to recent comments in posts about these engines, about the 3.55 conversion, and about the dual-carb set-up): there is a noticeable increase in power with the dual-carb/dual-exhaust setup on a 261 (and, to a lesser extent, on my former 235); and, on flat ground, there is still good high-speed torque in these engine with a 3.55 rear end (both later 235s and 261s).
The poorly-shifting three-speed will soon be replaced with an SM420 torque-tube 4-speed (that has less than 1,000 miles on it). With the 3.55, I might find myself using 1st gear?
If anyone is going to Macungie PA in June, I'll take you for a ride (or, maybe even let you drive).
Life is indeed good.
