Let's Build a 265 Chevy V8!!!!!

Slobber, slobber drool....Are those original 2x4 carbs, or did you get other carbs and modify them? I know the 270 hp carbs have much lighter power piston springs, but that can be dealt with.

 

They look like early '60s 283/327 carbs, due to the low mounted choke assemblies.

 

I haven't run any numbers on anything. The intake itself is suppose to be '59 Vette. The guy I bought it from knows what he's talking about so I don't question that. Will removing the one choke suffice? I don't really care if it is completely "correct." It will be going on a non Vette 283 anyway, most likely.

 

Something you'll want to be mindful of when converting everyday WCFBs for dual quad use is the weighted air valves for the secondaries. The true dual quad carbs had much lighter counterweights, since they only had half the vacuum passing through each carb. Without modifying your weights, the rear barrels may never get any airflow.

 

Me either, thats why I asked. And yes, as Heathen says, the counterwieghts are also much heavier. Aside from the power piston spring, counterwieghts, and jetting of course, anything else we need to be thinking about? How about buick carbs? Is the throttle arm the same?

 

All of the Buick WCFBs I've seen had the really small bolt pattern, and wouldn't bolt up to the Chevy intake. Olds went to the larger Chevy sized bolt pattern in '54, but both Buick and Cadillac waited until '57, at which point neither one used WCFBs any more. For what it's worth, I also think the real dual quad carbs had smaller venturis than the singe WCFBs did.

 

Thanks again Heathen.
My learning curve on the WCFB's is going to be pretty steep, I have never played with a set before.

 

Cactus, keep me up-dated on how this goes once you get it going. I'd be interested in hearing about any tuning issues re: making thes carbs work.

 

Way back when, Carter made a strip kit for them like they did for the AFBs, but I'm sure that they're tough to find today. I've got a factory dual quad intake, and I'm going to try using a '57 283 carb for the rear and a factory secondary WCFB from a Chrysler product that I was lucky enough to pick up reasonable for the front.

 

By the way, I have seen a kit on Ebay that has all of the jets and metering rods in the correct sizes for the factory dual quad carbs---might be worth the $$$ in the long run.

 

I found re-popped throttle linkage and '56/'57 aircleaners on one of the Corvette sites. Good info Heathen. I guess I am on the hunt for a pair of WCFB's now. I figured this system was out of reach ($$), but it is looking like it is do-able.

 

So bottom line here, I am hunting for chevy, mopar or '54-'57 Olds WCFB's, Preferably fifties models with the high choke thermostat housing? I am guessing the throttle arm on the Mopar versions is different, which would make using the re-pop corvette linkage difficult?

 

Assuming we're just going with choke on air horn style WCFBS, you've got:


'55-'58 Chevy
'54-'55 Olds
'55-? Studebaker (don't know when they went with lower choke, but they used WCFBs through '62)
'55-'56 Pontiac
'55-'56 Packard
'56-'61 Mopar (Chrysler hemis used a WCFB with vacuum secondaries, but Dodge and Plymouth were mechanical like the Chevy carbs)

Nothing's got a Chevy style throttle arm except a Chevy, although the early Corvette specialists sold repro primary throttle shaft/arm assemblies the last I knew.

 

Excellent. I will check on the repro primary throttle arms. Almost wondering if this part of the thread should go into the tech section. A lot of good info here. Now all I gotta do is find an intake.

Your right heathen,Danchuk makes a whack of stuff for this set-up, including new throttle shafts/arms. If a guy works at it, he could put a pretty authentic looking set-up together.
http://www.danchuk.com/Danchuk1.aspx?Category=1b7fe67f-2dba-4ed7-8ce7-a45f764b955f

air cleaners,
http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll?Parta~PartSort~A2~cadefibx~~~~A10~A1
For some reason this link doesnt work right. Click on "ar cleaners" on the left, it'll take you there.
Jetting kits,
http://www.chucksmithandco.com/?page_id=13
check out part #2017 on pg 2, 270hp power piston springs.

Pretty much everything you need to convert the carbs is out there. How far you want to go depends on whether you just want them work right, or if you want it to look right too, but you could piece something together that would look like you just dumped a complete 270HP 283 in your hot rod, until someone actually started checking numbers.

 

My dads 302 chevy used the 265 block. He used 283 crank and puched the block to 4" (+.125). Camel hump heads too. True vintage SBC.

Its like a LS2 but from 1962.

 

Thats a 1/4" over..... Sure it wasnt a 283 block instead??

 

Chevy made a replacement 265/283 Block, they had a differant casting # than a 265 or 283. The 265 and 283 shared the same stroke and the cranks are interchangeable. So it is a possability.

 

One more question for Heathen on the WCFB's. I assume the carbs we are looking for share the rochester 4GC 3 3/4 X 3 7/8 bolt pattern? I am doing a old school auto wrecker crawl in a couple months (its over 200 miles away) will be looking for carbs, among other things.

 

No, the Chevy pattern (and the carbs I listed yesterday) is actually larger. The pattern you listed is the original 4 bbl pattern that the '52-'53 Olds and '52-'56 Cadillac used. I'll give you the measurement later---I don't happen to have a Chevy WCFB on me today.

 

Thanks Heathen. I'd be kinda pissed if I drove 250 some-odd miles, and came back with 3-4 useless carbs. Wouldn't be the first time I did something like that. Course I guess I could always go out and buy a 331 cad to go with the carbs...

 

Good stuff here. Thanks Heathen and Falcongeorge.

 

----------------------
Now that would be a definite
solution!

Mart3406
===========

 

Tell you what, if I run across an early cad motor on this trip, I'll be heading right back up there with a pick-up, carbs or no carbs!

 

Hmm?? Just ta' drive ya' crazyD) - if
you do happen to run across an early
ohv Cad V8 on your boneyard
carb-hunting expedition, in '55, '56
and 57, Cadillac offered a factory
dual-quad WCFB option too - for
the Eldorados. So along with finding
parts for your Chevy dual-quad
set-up, if you drag a Caddy engine
home too, you could start trying to
piece together a factory Cadillac
dual-quad set-up as well! Back in
the early-'70's, (you could hardly
give early-Caddy 'hot-rod' stuff
away back then!) I bought a
complete, 1956 factory Caddy
dual-quad set-up in a boneyard,
that had just been pulled of a
running car. I got the whole shooting
match - everything - the manifold,
the twin-WCFB carbs, with the
I.D tags still attached and still
hooked up and working 'hot-tube'
choke assemblies, the throttle linkage
and the triangular 'dual-pot' air-cleaner
assembly - all for $50! I dragged that
set-up (Damn, it was heavy!) around to
one swap-meet after another for nearly
3 years trying to unload it! I thought
I was gonna die with it, before I finally,
very happily, sold it for a $120 to guy
who had just put a 365 Caddy into a
'54 Ford pick-up. Nowadays, I've seen
complete, original set-ups like that sell
for upwards of 3Gs and sure wish I still
had it!

 

I traded it away for a 4 wheeler and two Kalashnikovs. THe 4 wheels runs at least.

 

Okay, the bolt pattern that will fit a factory dual quad intake is roughly 4 1/4 by 5 5/8 center to center. The Rochester 4GCs WILL NOT work on this intake, as the fuel bowls run into each other if you try; it's got to be WCFBs.

 

Oh I DEFINATELY wasnt even CONSIDERING running two 4GC's, was just thinking they were the same bolt pattern. What you have listed there is the same as the early AFB bolt pattern. Seems logical it would carry over when they came out with the newer carb.

 

I'm a little late to this thread, but I did build a 265 way back in 1959.

A good bore size is 1/16 (.0625) or .060 over for 274 cid. I ran 13.0:1 Jahns pistons, but that a little much for modern gas. BTW I never saw a 1956 265 block that didn't have an oil filter boss.

Most people then were running 1957 FI heads in the late '50s. Mine were ported by Gene Sheldon (Ed Fletchall's cousin).

A lot of people were using the early Duntov on the street (why not? they were made for street driven Chevys). I first ran a Potvin flat tappet, and later a Brown Roller.

I used both a Harmon & Collins mag (Moon Front Cover drive) and a W&H Du-Coil (hard to find, but they looked good and worked even better). No reason a 270 HP ignition wouldn't work.

The first manifokd was an Edelbrock 6 carb (97s) that was replaced by a 270 HP dual WCFB set-up. The difference was night-and-day, with the dual fours we started putting out record setting horsepower.

SCTA C Street Roadster 1/2 Mile Record and El Mirage Record. The 274 was also in Jerry Kugel's 1940 Ford coupe for a week. We cruised Whirley's and then took it to Pomona for a 115 MPH pass in D/Gas.

If I were to build a 265 today, I'd use modern parts (AFR aluminum heads, single quad manifold with TBI, hydraulic roller, etc) and would have a street drivable engine that would make more HP than my race engine. YMMV.

 

I built a 283 and it didn't have any balls. I can't imagine what a 265 would be like. They really don't look that different from the outside if dressed properly. I am not sure I would go out of my way to do this.

 

Really you just didnt have the stones to turn it high enough, or didnt build it enough, Really the biggest mistake everyone makes with a short stroke motor is not Zinging it up to where it starts pumping good air. Part for part a 283 will over rev a 350 or 383 all to hell because the shorter stroke puts less strain on the rods and crank.