The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop 261 Cam

Hi. I read somewhere that a camshaft from a 261 engine will help make more power if installed in a 235. Has anyone else heard about this or am I dreaming again? Thanks.

What year 235?

If you are referring to a high pressure 235, the 261 cam might make a little more power. This topic was recently discussed in another thread.

The only reason to use a 261 cam is if it's in the engine already.
Way too mild to be an improvement if you have to buy one.

Chevy was impressed enough with the power gain of the 261 cam to also use it in the Corvette 6-cylinder engine. It gives a noticeable gain in top-end horsepower without totally ruining torque in the lower-RPM ranges. There are plenty of ridiculously radical cams available if all you want to do is run wide open all the time, without any concern for overall driveability. That's kind of a stupid tradeoff if you ever plan to run on the street.
Jerry

howard cams will grind an assortment of grinds for these, they have 235 cores

Let me quote Frank McGurk: "This cam has proven to be unsatisfactory for modification work".

Is the quote from the "SOUP THAT CHEVY" article?

Y

Hmmmm- - - - -that article was written in 1955- - - -by a guy who was in the business of selling his own brand of CAMSHAFTS! No conflict of interest there, right? I'm always a little suspicious of anyone who's going to solve my problems by peddling something to me, engine parts, service manuals, "How-to-do-it" books, "Get-rich-quick" schemes, etc.!

Read the whole article, instead of cherry-picking quotes, and you'll see that even the guy with a vested interest in selling his cam admitted that the more radical modifications weren't suitable for street-driven engines. The more significant horsepower gains were the result of radical mods- - -bigger bore, multiple carbs, cylinder head milling, porting and polishing, and RPM ranges up to 4,000 where the average stovebolt pickup never runs. If you do all those things to an engine in your restored pickup, all you'll have is a poorly-performing piece of very expensive iron at the engine speeds it's likely to run on the street. Now, if you're drag racing or running the engine on a round track, go for it!
Jerry

I have a 61 engine and it is a wrmed up 216. I use a Clifford Intake, Fenton Headers, a Herbert Roller cam with Roller Rockers too. The HEI is one a friend assembled for me. That Herbert valve train has been a flawless performer for many yars and it still runs great. It will stay up with most small block V-8's too.
Normbc9

1961 216?
You have the only one.

What carburetor are you using?

Where did you find the roller rockers for a 235/261?
I asked Bailey Bros. in Vallejo, and he just kinda looked at me............................

I think there has to be some confusion here. I have never heard of rollers rockers either for an early 6 let alone roller cam and lifters. Surely he must be thinking of a 265 V8 using more common smallblock components.

I use Weber #38's on the manifold. The setup was done for me by [censored] York in Franklin, IN. Good technician and certainly very knowledgeable about setups like this. He sent it to me as a bolt on assembly.
Normbc9

My error. It is a 1947 new out of a military packing crate. It is a 216 and I have converted it to full pressure plus an insert rear main seal.
Normbc9

One could indeed purchase a Herbert Roller Cam for a Chevy six back in the good old days. I recall that the first roller cam kit that Chet Herbert made for a car engine was for a Wayne Horning engine in the late forties. I do not recall ever seeing any roller rocker arms.

Hoyt

A roller rocker system would be difficult, but not impossible to fabricate. It would be necessary to find a Torrington-style bearing that could be installed into the rocker arm, and a reduced-diameter rocker shaft would have to be fabricated, ground to a very smooth finish, and then casehardened. The rocker tip probably couldn't be modified for a roller. The cost would be considerable, and I imagine the small demand for such a system would make it virtually a one-off custom fabrication situation. Bring money!
Jerry

Herbert in southern California. Now they are out in Chino. Chet passed and Bruce is doing the work. Crower still says they'll take a prepaid order too. I'm familar with Bailey's. I used to stop there when I lived in Napa. Good shop and great engine builders.
Normbc9