Posted by Matt Wilson [172.69.67.43] on Monday, August 14, 2023 at 14:46:34 :
In Reply to: Re: Torvald - Questions about your 265 setup posted by Torvald [172.68.174.181] on Monday, August 14, 2023 at 00:50:22 :
Thanks for the detailed info, Torvald. I will definitely take a look at your Facebook photos. I do have a Facebook account, so I won't have to worry about whether I can access them.
It sounds like you really did go through a LOT of work to get the radiator, fan, pump pulley situation sorted out. I really don't want to go through that much work and also run the risk of ruining a good stock 230 radiator. I have the complete 251 setup consisting of the water pump, the casting that goes between the pump and engine block, the fan, the water pump/fan pulley, the crankshaft pulley, etc. I just don't have the 251 radiator, radiator mount and fan shroud. I had thought about whether I could use those parts, as it would lower the fan to where it might not interfere with the upper radiator tank, but those pieces add another 2" (at least) to the length of the engine, in addition to the 2 or 2-1/4" in length that the 251/265 engine block itself adds. So I believe altogether, if I were to use the 251 parts, the fan would be pushed forward about 4 - 5" compared to the original 230 fan position. So I don't see how that will work, unless I'm missing something....and please tell me if I am.
Also, it sounds like you did not use a rubberized pulley (i.e., harmonic balancer)?
I'm glad to hear you like the power output of the 265. I'm hoping to benefit from this as well. Was your previous engine a worn-out 230? It's hard to replace more cubic inches. And of course, if your the 230 you removed was old and worn-out, and your 265 has been recently rebuilt, then that would explain some of the power gain too. In my case, I plan to install the 265 and to upgrade it with some goodies to hopefully get even more power, as listed below:
*Nicson dual-carb intake manifold that I purchased off Ebay about 5 years ago.
*Two progressive Carter/Weber carbs that I purchased from Tom Langdon at Langdon's Stovebolt parts.
*A split stock exhaust manifold (George Asche split my stock 251 manifold). I also have a set of Langdon's cast iron headers that are nice-looking, but they get in the way of adjusting the valves. I still might install them at some point but not sure.
*Langdon's HEI distributor. I will be sending this out to a shop to have the advance curve re-worked for better power.
*I am reusing the head from the 251 engine that I'm converting to a 265. I believe that head had never been milled when I acquired the engine and I've only had it milled minimally to restore its flatness (about 0.015" I believe), so it still has virtually all of the flow capability that it would have had when new, but now that's going onto a larger displacement engine, it will produce a compression ratio of about 8:1 instead of the original 7.2:1 that the 251 had.
*Custom forged pistons with modern ring package (I mostly did this when I found out the first machinist had messed up the bores and I could no longer use the cast Sealed Power pistons I had purchased, and I couldn't find any replacements short of a few NOS parts, presumably due to supply chain issues).
*Camshaft reground by Demitri (Dema) Elgin at D. Elgin Cams in Santa Rosa California (not to be confused with the other Elgin engine parts company in Ohio, I think?). He ground the cam for a little more power, at a little higher RPM range, and to fit with the rest of the parts I'm installing, described above.
*Some kind of relatively free-flowing exhaust. I don't know what muffler I'm going to use, but I don't want anything too loud - just a low-moderate rumble with free flow, if that's possible.
I already have 4.89 differential gears and 11.00 x 16 tires, so I think I will be all set for road speed but still capable of some occasional work. I've just been hampered by a lack of time, combined with having to get a lot of the machine work re-done, since the original machine shop didn't do such a good job on some things. Also, I tend to be pretty picky about every step, so that adds time.
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