I have a complete 265 in fairly good shape. I want to rebuild it and add a hotter cam and run gear drive timing and different pistons. What are the differences between the 265 and say a pre'86 350 besides the obvious stroke and cylinder differences. What should I know when I goto order parts? Are they the same? Thanks alot, Jess
If you don't know than don't make a dumbass reply I'm looking for help not people who don't know shit.
it wasn't a dumass reply, you really do need to order parts for a 57 265, pretty much everything is different from a 350.
One of the biggest difference with 265's is how the rocker arms are oiled. All 283's and up have full pressure to the rockers. 265's have the oil metered to the rocker arms. This is done with a flat spot cut into the rear journal of the cam shaft. I'm not sure if the rear cam bearings are different or not. (they may be the same), but the rear cam journal is different. Hope this is of some help.
I'm not sure, I.ve never worked on many 265's before, but if you have the old cam from the 265, compare it to a new one and see how much of a difference there is. As far as other parts, some things have changed during the life of the small blocks, but they happened later. For example, main and rod bearing sizes changed about 1967 or 1968. The timing marks on the harmonic balancers was moved at some time too (also in the late 60's I think).
Torkwrench, Actually post 265 SBC's do not have full oil pressure to the rockers. It's metered through the lifter by having the inlet hole subjected to full oil pressure only when it's at the bottom of it's travel and further metered by a reed valve inside the lifter. It's further restricted by the oil hole in the rocker only lining up with the hole in the pushrod when the lifter is on the heel of the cam. Big difference from "full pressure" oiling. Frank
A lot of parts are can be used on the earlier engines, but also a lot of internal parts changed. Get some books on the small block, spend a day or two reading, the history is pretty interesting. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140121043430 would be a start.
One other thing. Some 265's must of had the later, (1957 and newer 283,327,350,etc.), style oiling. I've seen one 265 that did, anyway. However it was a factory replacement block, with a casting date of 1967.
actually a 57 265 is just left over inventory from 56. if memory is correct the oil/cam deal was 55 only. but i could be mistaken. power robbing gear drives are so yesterday. no self respecting engine builder uses them. you will need valves and seats for unleaded gas. when all said and done you will spend a lot of money with very little to show for it in the way of power.
Yes, you can just mill or even grind the oiling groove. Here is a gen-you-wine '55 265 cam that I saved just so I'd know where the groove goes when I decide to build it up. Even Pontiac guys have some old Chevy parts in their stash. The groove is 1.200" wide across the journal, .520" long down the cam centerline and .275" deep, the cut was made with a large radiused cutter so it's a bit deeper than it would be if you just ran a regular end mill across it. Clearly the actual groove dimensions are not as critical as getting it in the correct location. I bought a new cam from Racer Brown back in '82 for a '57 283 I was putting together, the groove was in the same place but not as wide nor was it cut as deep. All of the small blocks used this groove all the way through the 1957 model year. Note the position of the last cam lobe and the oil holes on the very end of the cam in relation to the groove. The power of the HAMB.
Yes, most of the parts will interchange but the main thing is the groove in the rear of the cam journal as stated above. The stroke is a lot shorter and the bore is smaller. It also has a draft tube and canister under the intake for crankcase ventilation. The starter mounts to the powerglide adaptor instead of on the block, so you will hafta drill and tap the block for a starter, but it is no big deal. They are a good motor but it depends on what you are wanting to do with it.
I do know, I've owned and rebuilt several '57 265s. You'll find that they're all by themselves in a lot of ways. They are basically a small bore 283. Don't need the cam with a notch - that's for '55/'56. The cam bearings change after '63. The oil pan, front cover, timing set, intake manifolds, cam, lifters, pushrods , rockers and some of the gaskets will interchange. Pretty much everything else is different. Valve covers have the staggered bolt pattern. Sorry about the dumbass reply, obviously you've already got all the dumbass you need.
The cam pictured by one of the other posters is a hydraulic cam. The solid lifter cams used a smaller notch, because they needed less oiling. I've got a couple solid cams if you need dimensions.
Did I forget to mention '57s DON'T have the notch in the rear cam journal? '57 to '87 cams interchange. The notch is '55 and '56 265.
You had to of misread the casting date as there were no 265 replacement blocks cast in 1967. 1957 maybe, but not 1967. Frank
In my earlier small block Chevy days, the 55-57 265's don't have the bolt holes for side motor mounts. Also, the distributers had a flat spot milled on their housing which lines up with the lifter bores. Running a newer distributer in an older block is a problem.
I don't remember the exact casting date, but it had the clock dial casting along with the casting date. Wasn't the clock casting used only after about 1962? That's why I thought it was dated 1967. The deck wasn't stamped either, (had not been decked, so that was why I figured it was a replacement block). Didn't G.M. used to have a policy of ensureing the supply of replacement parts for 10 years after production ended?
Not on something like a replacement engine. If your '57 265 crapped out in 1964, they'd just sell you a 283. It was a 100 per cent bolt in, and in '64, who gave a shit about originality? Most guys were just happy that you could upgrade your '55-'57 with a newer, more powerful engine without having to do any fabricating.
this is new posting that discusses alot of what you need to know on the 265 stroker rebuild. It gets a little technical but you can see the differences that you will be dealing with. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181361&highlight=stroker
The Jalopy Journal
