Posted by Matt Wilson on Sunday, February 24, 2002 at 3:08PM :
In Reply to: Repowering from 230 to 265 Spitfire.... posted by J-Gilly on Saturday, February 23, 2002 at 11:27PM :
I do not personally have experience with this, but I do know that the 265 shares the same block with the 251, so in order to install it you need to make the same mods to your truck that you would have to make in order to install a 251 engine. Many people on this forum have installed 251's in place of their original 230's. I don't know all the details, but I know you need to buy a later PW bellhousing, NP420 transmission, and motor mounts, different grill (or modify existing grill, since bigger engine is longer). Also, I think you may need to get a different set of bumper extensions, if you have a winch.
Maybe others here can fill in other details. From what I've seen and heard, it's not too hard to do such a conversion.
Good luck!
Matt