Technical Small Mills can be Big Fun...

IH 266 c.i. SV V8

IH built a 266 c.i. version of it's popular SV V8 engines. Like the 345 and 392, the 266 was way over built for light truck use. High nickle block, extremely well balanced, heavy duty deep skirted pistons, etc. My first car was a '67 Scout with a 266. Great little motor that pulled that old Scout through any snow, mud, rocks, dirt that Northern Minnesota could throw at it.

One year at the local county fair, my brother decided to enter a late 70's LTD in the demo derby. We decided to use the Scout as a tow rig since it had been a rather wet summer and rumor had it that tractors and Bobcats were going to get swallowed up in the red iron clay / soup. By the end of the night, the Scout was the only tow rig left that wasn't stuck in the mud. Light weight, 35" Mudders, with locking diffs front and back, and I was having the time of my life dragging anything and everything out of the muck with that little 266 singing away through 2.25" duals and a pair of Cherry Bombs.

 

I briefly considered swapping my V8-60 for a BBC..

 

Lately I have mostly played with four cylinder engines. Small enough. But as a much younger person, I did fool with both a V860 and a 241 Dodge. Poor pictures I know. But best I can do.

 

I wouldn't think about it very long . I'd leave it just like it is. If you want a BBC, build another car.

 

Yep, " The Little Engine that Could" Love em'

 

I always like the 2300 in the SVT Mustangs and T- birds, they had enough torque to snap the input shaft on the automatics. That Turbo really worked.

 

Friend had a '62 Pontiac Tempest 4 cyl factory set up with four barrel, 166HP, etc that was very quick - Thanks to Mickey Thompson

Sent from my SM-G930V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Were you planning on sitting on the roof?

 

Yup, they are fun because you can actually floor it and not be 'out of control' or committing felony speeding and enjoy the feel of a car in it's heyday.
How many street cars had 400 plus HP back in the day...uh huh.
Most didn't have 300.

 

Here's a 30 cu.in. V8 with 8 carburetors and 8 sets of points. Pretty small mill.

 

first car was a '47 Crosley wagon(4cyl/44cu"/ 3spd"crash-box"). Could 'hot-rod' the hell out of it & still stay out of trouble with cops & parents. Started my real automotive 'learning curve'(if I couldn't fix it I couldn't go anywhere: when you're 18 that's REAL important! LOL!!) Now that's a small car motor!!

 

The Dodge Red Ram 270 "Baby Hemi"
​

...with a Racer Brown Cam & Ross Racing 10:1 Pistons

High Noon Speed Shop - Baltic, Ohio
My Blog: https://ontheroadtonowhereville.wordpress.com/

 

331 is enough for my street roadster.

 

A friend just sold his Rover V8 (Buick 215ci) and this Daimler Hemi V8 (155ci). Decided he needed something larger for his 57 F100.

.

 

Heck - when I first acquired my 32, it had a stock 59AB in it . . . all 100HP (probably more like 80 - 90). Anyway, thought it would be miserable to drive - but it wasn't . . . was a lot of fun and glad I experienced a 'stocker' for once.


Replaced it with a newly built (and very stout) 284 cube flatty - and that is still a small engine for all practical purposes . . . but a LOT of fun in that stock ch***is - about all it can handle.

 

When I first started getting interested in cars, 300 inches was a BIG motor. 400 was a King Kong Monster motor. Times change.

 

That Falcon sounds like one nasty little ride.

I had a '62 Meteor with a 221 three on the tree that was a lot of fun.

 

The engine is set for my coupe, search the Hofmann dodge thread.

The basic build is a 354 industrial block bored to 4", a 3" forged crank left over from the Indy program, a solid roller cam left over from the....... ne55 heads with a lightened valve train. I'll post picks when the blocks back from the machine shop.

Sent from my SM-G900V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

The engine in my A is a 65 289 I put in it back in 1971. I rebuilt it in 2009, nothing wild.

 

I have turned away from big blocks.... I also have steered away from small blocks. I find a lot of joy in six cylinders and early Hemi's lately. In a light weight car/truck, less equals more. Not only do I achieve some extra distance from the gas tank, the vehicle moves out. If I build a full bodied heavy 400+ pound car, a biggest engine is perfect. Something around 3000 lbs., a modern small block. Anything lighter, a six or nostalgic small displacement V8. I never put a 22re or anything 4 cylinder or smaller in a car for any of my customers. So I have absolutely no authority to comment on that subject. But I will say that I don't oppose it.

As for myself, and my experiences, with building cars for other people.... My 1936 Dodge truck is going to be powered by a Chrysler Firepower 331(with extended bell to keep it nostalgic), my 1937 Dodge ME 32(1.5 Ton Truck) will be powered by a 1954 Chrysler 264 cu in flathead six, and my 1938 Plymouth Truck will receive a 230 cu in Dodge Flathead six.

The last big engine Hemi car I built for someone else, pretty much did nothing but get sideways, and p***ed everything on the road BUT a gas station! LOL. Not for me...

Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

That's 4000+ pound car! Thank you android spell check! Sheesh

Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Please begin a thread on this build! I am very interested in how this turns out.

Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Many decades ago I started with a flathead six in a 53 Stude.Moved up to a 232 V8,and finally to an R1 289 Avanti engine backed by a BW cast iron case 3 speed with electric OD.That would move along pretty good,and got decent gas mileage to boot.Fun driver.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

1961 Studebaker 259 in my A ,sweet sounding little motor.

 

Had a 273 in my '64 Barracuda. Nice little engine, revved higher than I should have taken it and didn't complain. Small block MoPars aren't good breathers, though. Simple to work on.

 

I have a 230 cu.i. Flathead six in my 50 coronet, i have floated the valves so many times. Call it bad but the thing is made out of WW 2 tank armor. And makes a whopping 103 from the factory.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

287 ci in my daily backed by a 5-speed.... Puts out 300 hp...

 

in my coupster i'm thinking an early pinto with the parts to make the overhead conversion look.
then again I do have a 289...

 

remember reading up some interesting facts on that little transactions. turns out that GM made more of those motors in the few years they produced them than the entire 40 year run that Rover and their subsidiaries made them. tells you how really huge GM production was.

 

Well this may be out of order but my everyday driver Power Wagon , has a 239 cu in ***mins Turbo Diesel that gets 24 MPG loaded or empty and will out pull any stock B.B. on the market . Think about them when you want real power for the buck spent .