Warming Up A 260

tiger260

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If you had a stock 260 engine and you fancied warming up it's performance without spending a fortune, how would you go about doing it?

Let's suppose that it was going to have a rebuild so it is going to be in bits anyway.

Thanks.
 

michael-king

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Clean up portsband chambers in head, larger valves, threaded rocker studs instead of the push ons, and add a can.
 

0neoffive

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It's Only Money

If you had a stock 260 engine and you fancied warming up it's performance without spending a fortune, how would you go about doing it?

Let's suppose that it was going to have a rebuild so it is going to be in bits anyway.

Thanks.

There are more options than we could all list here (ask Duke & Buck). Built more than a few from mild to ridiculous. Keep in mind that each thing you change only moves the weak link along the chain.
 

kbecker

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260

When I got my Tiger it had a dual point dist. low rise Tiger
manifold 4 barrel carb, Stock exhaust manifolds. Heads,
manifold were port matched and exhaust was cleaned up.
No problem with early Corvettes and 80's Mustangs. I have
64 heads with 184/160 valves that I'm porting to same specs
Worked great for me could send what specs I have,
 

tiger260

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There are more options than we could all list here (ask Duke & Buck). Built more than a few from mild to ridiculous. Keep in mind that each thing you change only moves the weak link along the chain.

I'm erring towards mild rather than wild for reliability reasons.
I don't fancy it going boom on me.
Any suggestions gratefully accepted.




When I got my Tiger it had a dual point dist. low rise Tiger
manifold 4 barrel carb, Stock exhaust manifolds. Heads,
manifold were port matched and exhaust was cleaned up.
No problem with early Corvettes and 80's Mustangs. I have
64 heads with 184/160 valves that I'm porting to same specs
Worked great for me could send what specs I have,

Yes please! Thanks.
 

tiger260

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425
Clean up portsband chambers in head, larger valves, threaded rocker studs instead of the push ons, and add a can.

Thanks Michael.
Talking of valves, I've heard of people fitting a 289 head.
Would that have the same effect valves wise?
 

Duke Mk1a

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The 260 heads have really small valves and runners. 289 heads are a good option. Make sure to pay attention to combustion chambers size to keep or raise the compression ratio. The more air that can pass through the heads, the more power it will make. Port match the intake to the heads.

My rebuilt 260 with .030 over pistons and larger valves in the stock heads made just over 150 RWHP. (183 at the crank)

260dyno.jpg
 

Maliburevue

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Gearing

Convert your close ratio gearbox to a wide ratio setup and put in a 2.90 first gear. That's a 25% lower first gear for better off the line performance, while keeping the stock 2.88 rearend ratio for highway cruise. New wide ratio gears will cost you ~$450 and you can sell the old close gears (assuming they are in good used condition) for ~$200-$250 on ebay.

IMHO it's the best bang for the buck.

Gary
 

Warren

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F4b

I had the 289 heads on my MK1a I had driven several cars. The difference is pretty decent. The period correct Edelbrock F4b can still found for 100 to 200 bucks if you shop Mustang guys, put Tiger next to it and its 300 to 350...
 

Doug C

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I had the 289 heads on my MK1a I had driven several cars. The difference is pretty decent. The period correct Edelbrock F4b can still found for 100 to 200 bucks if you shop Mustang guys, put Tiger next to it and its 300 to 350...

Warren - You are correct under 200 without wanting it for a Tiger; mention Tiger and it jumps to 350-400.
 
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Forrest39

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I can vouch for this gearing arrangement... Gary helped set up my car and it's really something to behold. At cruise, it feels like an overdrive.

Are you looking to keep the stock 260 for a reason? I would lean to building a warmed up 302 or even building a mild 331 or 347 stroker. That way, if you somehow blow it up, you have the stock 260 to go back to. For me, if I had a 260 I would leave it in case you wanted to go back to bone stock some day.

My .02...

-Kevin

Convert your close ratio gearbox to a wide ratio setup and put in a 2.90 first gear. That's a 25% lower first gear for better off the line performance, while keeping the stock 2.88 rearend ratio for highway cruise. New wide ratio gears will cost you ~$450 and you can sell the old close gears (assuming they are in good used condition) for ~$200-$250 on ebay.

IMHO it's the best bang for the buck.

Gary
 

Jeff F

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As was mentioned before, is there a reason that you really want the 260? My opinion is that for the most cost effective solution, find a 86-93 Mustang 302. They are cheap and plentiful, and for less than the cost of a rebuild and modifications to your 260 you will have a roller cam engine with decent heads that starts out with a 100hp advantage. There will be the expense of the 6-bolt conversion and some other bits, but it will be far more cost effective than throwing money at the 260. You'd have to spend a lot on the 260 to get it to that power level.

If you really want a 260, destroke the 302 to 2.6" and spin it to 8000RPM: D
 

Warren

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UK

Not to respond for our member but he is in the U.K.

On a related response guys ask me all the time what kind of motor I have at for fun drive in shows and they ask "does it have the 260"? when I say no, a lot of them say too bad. I suspect that a lot of guys watch the TV auctions and get drawn in by the matching numbers talk.

The lower first gear has a lot of merit in my book having had a warmed 260 and driving it about local too dam fast So Cal. Only 1/2 of the Prius drivers drive like they buy gas by the Litre:D

My P.O. made it easy he gave away the 260 that came in my car to a restorer in the bay area.
 

Forrest39

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Why does it feel like an overdrive when it still has the same 1:1 4th gear?

You are absolutely correct. My point was that it cruises at such a low RPM and that I don't even shift into 4th until I am well into highway cruise speed. I was thinking about a 5-speed conversion, but it feels like what I have would be really hard to improve upon without blowing a big stack of cash.

Cheers, -Kevin
 

Duke Mk1a

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I agree that trying to get any performance out of the 260 is not the best option. My 260 ran great when pulled. It looks awesome as a OEM restored display engine. Still hunting parts for it.

Going from 156 RWHP to 386 RWHP is the best option. :cool:

engine%20260_zpsaalsnxx1.jpg
 

0neoffive

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No Nipple ?

I agree that trying to get any performance out of the 260 is not the best option. My 260 ran great when pulled. It looks awesome as a OEM restored display engine. Still hunting parts for it.

Going from 156 RWHP to 386 RWHP is the best option. :cool:

engine%20260_zpsaalsnxx1.jpg

Hey: Where did you get the original no-nipple vacuum advance? Gut annuder?
 

tiger260

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There are 2 reasons why I want to keep the 260.

One is that I'd like to keep the car pretty original and the other, silly that it may sound, is that I haven't got the room to have a spare engine hanging about.
My garage is the size of a postage stamp and I don't have anywhere else to put it.
There. I told you it was silly.

Some of you guys are so lucky having these enormous garages and having petrol for like 10 cents a gallon.
 
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