I guess I'll tear it down and check everything, as I don't know the history.
in case someone else is working on this year engine, here is some pertanant info-I did locate the captains bars, I thought I had read that they were 261 id's, and I located the block castings, they are just above the oil pan flange, quite a bit lower than the older 235's, and covered with years of grease. Also the date code was behind the starter, had to take the starter off to see it, H253 means built Feb.1953 I take it.
I'm a little concerned about hydraulic lifters, that technology was pretty new back then
Thanks again for the help
