Right now the 260 is sitting on the floor of my garage, the result of a
bad throwout bearing. It is amazing that such a tiny little part can be
the cause of so much work. Any way while the motor is out I am going to
try some minor work to the motor to improve performance, but more
importantly to increase durability and efficiency.
The plans are thus.
1. Screw in rocker studs.
2. New valve seats for unleaded gas.
3. Bronze valve guides.
4. Roller rockers. (Probably CompCams Magnums, maybe promagnums but
most people have said this would be over kill.
5. Custom Ground roller camshaft that is basically a reproduction of
the 289 hp cam. It will have the same firing order as the 260 and
should provide a nice hp boost without killing the low end torque.
CompCams will custom grind it for about $300.
6. Crane drop in roller lifters. (no modification to the block
required.)
7. F4B and Holley 1848.
8. Centerforce Clutch.
9. Roller Timing Chain
I am quite happy with the performance of the car with the 260. I seems
to me the real limitation of the Tiger is traction. Even if you put 400
hp out of the tailshaft, you just can't get it to the ground without
doing some major mods to the bodywork. Who knows though, I've only had
the car for a year, so maybe in a few I'll get bored and throw a blown,
347 stroker in there, backed up by a Richardson 6 speed, I mean if your
gonna go for gears why not have a few more than four.
I should have it all back together by the end of the month so I'll let
you know how it comes out.
Scott
-----Original Message-----
From: Doug & Rett Leithauser [mailto:dleit@worldnet.att.net]
Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2003 8:35 AM
To: gharlowe@comcast.net; shutchin@netjets.com
Cc: tigers@autox.team.net
Subject: Subject: 289/302 Conversions - My own biased opinion
Graham,
The 260 responds pretty well to normal tweaks such as cam
replacement
(stock cam is VERY mild) , 4bbl carb & manifold & exhaust headers, and
cylinder head porting. If the engine is already disassembled for
rebuilding,
some addditional compression is available through milling the cylinder
heads
and decking the block. Do not overlook piston to valve clearance, it
may be
necessary to cut valve reliefs in the pistons. It should not be
difficult
to get 200-225 hp without major modification.
The toploader transmission is very strong & durable. Usually the
ratios
are too close, but wide ratio gears are available, or are standard on
late
model Tigers. With the 260 and toploader you have a car that is original
&
period correct.
Of course, there is another side to the coin, AKA, the report from
the
devils advocate.
You can purchase a good running 302 with 5 speed for less than it will
cost
for a good rebuild of the original engine. Any decent 302 will put out
more
power than most of the modified 260s, and if that is not enough, there
are
all kinds of hot rod parts for the 302 that will get you up to 400 hp if
your wallet is big enough, while a 260 rarely sees 250 hp. You are
looking
at modification ot the transmission tunnel, mount & driveshaft, but what
the
heck, at this point one has already decided that modification is
acceptable
in pursuit of power & driveability. The 5 speed gives more versitile
ratios,
and of course, there is no substitute for cubic inches. Of course, you
will
have to remove the engine to install that 5 speed, so why not do it all
at
once?
So what will it be, an original powertrain, something that is
getting
rare in the Tigers, or that hot rod 302/5 speed combination?
Personally, I feel you should keep it stock, or at least period
correct,
but you are the one that has to live with the decision.
Happy Motoring
Doug Leithauser
Subject: 289/302 Conversions
The last post got me wondering how many folks installed 6-bolt 289s or
302s,
but kept their 5-bolt 4 speed. I'm close to pulling my 260 as part of
the
resto teardown. I would rebuild it, but the devil has me thinking that
if
the money's going to be spent, should it really be spent on a 140 hp
260?
>From the cyl head id discussion, it sounds like tweaks to the 260 are
limited other than going the F4B/4bbl and header route. Pls correct me
if
I'm wrong.
I'm SURE this has been covered, but can the list describe some of the
challenges to a 289/302 conversion? Adapter plates are available (cost?
sources?)...but if you install the adapter plate, what else needs to be
modified? How rare are 5-bolt 289s?
Is that same devil going to be whispering, "Get a T5"?
Thanks for your thoughts...
- - Graham
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