Hey Fellas!! Its been awhile. I've been "away" for just a bit. But I'm out and kinda ready ,(money wise atleast) to start re-doing the '53. I got someone to re-build me a 261 and do the swap. But I'm thinkin that before I can GO!! I should make sure that I'll be able to STOP! Right? Well, Been EYEING ChevyDuty's Disc Brakes, think I'm going for disc's all the way around. Next supension. But keep in mind, that I'm going with AIRBAGS. Hey, How 'bout the 261 with STRAIGHT-PIPES? Yeah!! Or just some tight GlassPaks? Gotta be a HEARTY sound. Body and paint will come here and there ( no worries on that, I got that part). If someone thinks I'm going the wrong way, I mean starting in the wrong part, let me know, sh-t, we're all bro.'s in here anyways, right? well, let me know. Check you guys out later. lazy
Lazy, you might want to decide on which suspension you want to use first. It would be a shame to change palns mid stream, and not be able to use the brakes you already installed. The brakes you use will be a specific lug bolt pattern also, so rim choice is important too. I used the Chevy Duty front discs, with the 5 bolt pattern. It uses Camaro brakes and rotors, and upgrades the wheel bearing to tapered style. Works well with the power booster setup, and straight axle. As for the exhaust, straight pipes are sweet, but they are loud! I have seen a few with glass packs added, and it is still a nice sound. Just my thoughts. It's smart that you are doing research before digging in, as it will help you avoid doing things twice. Good luck....Mike
RE: 261 & Straight Pipes Oh contrair , mon frere ; I've been running open pipes since 1976 or so and they're _not_ raspy nor offensive (I can drive Beverly Hills sans hassles) , running them all the way to the back bumper helps and adding a crossover will eliminate the crackling noise . The Chevy inlne 6 banger engine makes a fairly ' musical ' exhaust note unless you do something to screw it up . Remember , loud pipes may sound cool the day you install them but they'll wear you out will all the noise and pi$$ off the locals and cops too . Simply deleting the mufflers will increase power (a little) and give you a nice sound... -Nate
