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260 dome top pistons

A

alpinegt

Donation Time
I am looking for a vendor for 260 dome top pistons. I looked at several websites and all have 289 up but not one 260 so far. I am rebuilding my 260 over the holidays and I am going to try for another 100 or so horsepower. To achieve this I need a higher compression ratio. I don't want to mill the heads.

Any help would be appreciated.

Russ
 
M

mikephillips

Donation Time
10 years ago when I did my 260 the machine shop told me that even standard 260 pistons were getting hard to find. You may need to talk to one of the companies that makes custom pistons, or perhaps someone who supplies racing stuff like JEGS.
 
V

V6 JOSE

Donation Time
alpinegt said:
I am looking for a vendor for 260 dome top pistons. I looked at several websites and all have 289 up but not one 260 so far. I am rebuilding my 260 over the holidays and I am going to try for another 100 or so horsepower. To achieve this I need a higher compression ratio. I don't want to mill the heads.

Any help would be appreciated.

Russ
Click to expand...
Hi Russ,

I doubt that you will find pistons off the shelf, due to the fact that the 260 is obsolete, and not much call for parts. You will need to order a custom set from Venolia or other piston manufacturer, and you probably wont get them in time for the holidays. It usually takes at least a month for them to make you a set, and be prepared to pay about $500/$600 for the set.

Another thing. Youll need to do the math yourself to determine the compression you want, and how much of a pop up youll need to get it, because Venolia says they dont do the math, so youll need to do it yourself.

Jose :)
 
J

jmthehermit

Donation Time
Russ, if you haven't started any machining on the 260 yet, consider a pre 1965 289 5 bolt bell housing block to rebuild. You'll have lots of options for more and easier gained horses. You could go stock to stroker and still use a lot of the exterior parts off the 260. Jeff
 
64beam

64beam

Donation Time
Hi Guys,

What was the difference in bore size between the 260 and 289? As was previously mentioned, an upsize may be cheaper as the parts are more readily available.

Regards, Robin.
 
A

alpinegt

Donation Time
Thanks for all the input guys. My car is so original with so many factory options, I wanted to run the original block. It is looking more and more like problems with obtaining performance parts is going to make this impossible.

I'll will likely go with a 5.0 roller engine although it probably would be suicide for me. At 65 I still like to hear the engine scream.

Thanks,

Russ
 
C

Chuck Ingram

Donation Time
alpinegt said:
Thanks for all the input guys.

I'll will likely go with a 5.0 roller engine although it probably would be suicide for me. At 65 I still like to hear the engine scream.

Thanks,

Russ
Click to expand...

And whats wrong with that and I'm 69.You just need to remember what you are doing. My 62 has the 302 with Ford Racing roller cam and tappets.The better pistons.(can't remember what they are).Stage 3 heads ported and polished.Balanced and blue printed.Early performance intake with and a Edelbrock carb and a MSD electronic distributor
HP is around the 330 mark according to the speed shop that built it.
 
Ken Ellis

Ken Ellis

Donation Time
Russ,
There have been a few 60s era 260s for sale here around Columbus on craigslist recently -- like within the past month. Engines out of Mustangs, Falcons, etc. Search columbus.craigslist.org for details. If there's something that interests you, I could make a quick run to take pictures, etc. if it'll help. (not likely to be able to take pix of the pistons, but overall condition, etc.) Let me know here or by PM if you need.

Ken in Columbus, OH
 
V_Mad

V_Mad

Donation Time
alpinegt said:
I am looking for a vendor for 260 dome top pistons. I looked at several websites and all have 289 up but not one 260 so far. I am rebuilding my 260 over the holidays and I am going to try for another 100 or so horsepower. To achieve this I need a higher compression ratio. I don't want to mill the heads.

Any help would be appreciated.

Russ
Click to expand...

The Tiger engine produces 258 ft.lbf at 2200 rev/min. but the torque drops to about 195 at 4,400 rev/min.

If you change the cam, and use a better carb, and if you can improve on the gas flow at high revs (porting, gas flowing, bigger valves etc), and still get 258 ft.lbf of torque at 5400 rev/min, then theoretically the engine will make 265 HP without even raising compression ratio!! Any comments?
 
A

alpinegt

Donation Time
Ken,

Thanks for the link to craigslist. I will look it over. However I haven't even torn my engine down yet and I have no idea if the cylinders are standard or are oversize already.

I never thought my original posting would get this much response. It is really encouraging. This spot on the forum will go days without a post. I love my Alpines (I have two). I also love my Tigers ( I also have two). I know there a lot of Tiger owners out there who could take advantage of this spot on the forum and maybe one day this section will become more active.

Thanks,

Russ
 
64beam

64beam

Donation Time
Hi Russ,

It is always good to post a thread that is popular which keeps us all busily typing away. I think out of all the forums, this one is by far the most popular. I think you will find the Tiger section will only grow in popularity as there is alot of interest in Tigers and V8 conversions. Keep us informed on your progress with your upgrade.

Kind Regards, Robin.
 
64beam

64beam

Donation Time
Hi Russ,

I'm not sure which direction you are wanting to go with your Tiger upgrade, but I have been reading the Mike Taylor book (Tiger - The making of a sports car). I don't know if you have rad this book or not but gives some pointers on upgrading the engine (mainly for racing, but still good pointers). If you have a copy or can borrow a new edition with the extra chapters, it may be worth a look.

Regards, Robin.
 
AlsPine

AlsPine

Donation Time
Hi Russ,
Don't even think about building up a 260. it is a very weak engine. If you want to keep your 260, you could pick up some easy horse power by getting a 289 crank, short rods and a set of stock pistons. You will get about 272 cid. But buy the time that you build this up, you could pick up a 302 short block for less $$.
Your best choice would be to use a 302 short block with a roller cam and 351w heads. You can use a 6 bolt scatter shield bell housing for safety and a set of headers. I think that Tom Hall at STOA has clutch slave cylinder mounting brackets for 6 bolt engines for sale. You would have a lot of power with the stock 302 cam, but I recommend a mild roller cam from Ford or crane cams. You will also need a set of traction masters to keep the rear tires on the ground.
Although I'm using a Boss 302 block and steel crank, Ford lamans rods with TRW pistons with GT40 351W heads in my Tiger, I'm thinking about putting in the 331CID stroker kit and Ford SVO aluminum heads on just for fun. But then, I have so much power now, don't really need it. But then..... Mo power is nice, but its hard on the rear tires! :eek::)
Good luck with your project.
Al
 
A

alpinegt

Donation Time
Al,

Thanks for the input. My 302 crank assy. is out for balancing now. I am using a 68 302 block which I have had for 20+ years. Crank is standard, cylinders are bored .60 over. Cam is Crane moderate grind, 6000 rpm max. The whole valve train is crane. Heads have been cleaned up to the max with 54cc chambers. Valves are .160 exhaust, .194 intake. Intake is Edelbrock Performer, haven't decided on a carb as yet.

This car was bought new in Berkley California and came from the dealer with traction bars. I just fully restored the car inside and outside. Took me 15 months (finished in May 07)

It still has the original black & Yellow tag that came on it. The car was owned for two decades by Russ Dahler in California. When we stripped the car, it had absolutely 0 Rust. Never owned another Sunbeam I could say that about.

Thanks for the interest,

Russ
 
AlsPine

AlsPine

Donation Time
Hi Russ,
Sounds like you are on top of it.
Picked up my Tiger from the original owner in 1971. He bought it from Jay's imports in San Leandro Ca. The reason he sold it to me was he liked to snow ski in the sierra, but snow chains wouldn't clear the rear finders. It was my lucky day when I found the for sale add in the news paper.
My 302 block is a '68 also. Is it a boss block with 4 bolt mains. It was a great find when I located it laying outside in back of a speed shop all rusty. Got it for $100 back in '72.
Next month will be putting in a T5 5 speed transmission from Tom Hall. He redesigned the rear tail housing so the shifter comes out in the same place as stock. He had an outfit in LA cast them for him.
Are you in Calif? STOA member? They have a lot of good info available to members.
Regards
Al
 
A

alpinegt

Donation Time
Al,

I do not live in sunny California. Presently I am freezing my _ _ _ off in N.W. Georgia (12 degrees this morning). The only other club that I belong to is Tigers East/Alpines East. If you were lucky enough to find a boss 302, you had one fine day indeed.

Thanks guys, (also for the small block link)

Russ
 
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