More power for minimum fuss

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vkxbob
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 6:24 pm
Location: Cheshire

More power for minimum fuss

Post by vkxbob » Wed May 02, 2012 2:36 pm

Hi everyone

Could do with some assstance/guidance if possible. Quite new to Tigering and have a 1965 Mk 1 with standard 260 and original carb etc... Am quite keen to get more power out of her BUT I would still like her to be nice & docile & friendly around town. I have been told that a Holley carb & Edelbrock manifold would give me a lot more power with very little effort. Could anyone confirm that; plus, is there a recommended outlet for buying & setting these things up? At the moment, I'm not looking to uprate the brakes or the suspension or the cooling etc..., just trying to establish what's the most I can get away with whilst still being able to drive her to the shops.

Any help / suggestions / ideas / links to websites or previous articles etc... would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Bob

tigerguy2
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Location: Chicago, USA

Post by tigerguy2 » Wed May 02, 2012 3:37 pm

Hi Bob,

First of all, welcome to our corner of the classic sports car world!

It looks Like I will be jumping in first here, but I am sure others will be contributing as well.

The danger in making any upgrades is the domino effect. Everything is pretty interdependent so when you change one thing, you often need to change something else to get the maximum benefit from it.

Are you looking to keep the car "correct" from a concours perspective? If so, the Edelbrock F4B manifold was an LAT option and would fit that requirement. If you are less concerned about that, I recommend an Edelbrock Performer 289 manifold instead. It has smaller runners than the F4B and thus is a little better at producing power at the lower and mid range rpms you will be operating at. At least until the foot gets heavier and heavier!

Also do not over carb the motor. With the stock cam, the smaller 465 CFM carb is preferred to the 600 CFM one. It would work better for your application because of the smaller primary barrels. I believe the older, period correct versions do not have a provision for hooking up the PVC hose so that has to go to a tap on the manifold. Either manifold and this carb will give you more power than the factory manifold and carb, but I think you will get more out of the Performer manifold with it. Probably a less expensive choice as well. The F4B's are becoming more and more rare and consequently harder to find and more expensive.

One of the best things anyone can do for their small block Ford motor is tune the distributor (sorry, should be saying "dizzy"). There is a lot of data said to be from Ford testing that says 36 crankshaft degrees total mechanical advance at 2500 rpm produces the most power. Most original dizzies have two reluctor arms that give different limits to the total advance. The one that is stamped 13 limits advance to 26 crankshaft degrees. Putting in light weight springs will get you to about maximum advance at about the 2500 rpm point. Then you set your initial, static advance to about 10 degrees and you will get your total of 36 at 2500 rpm. You can have the dizzy recurved by a specialist, but the foregoing is what is involved. If you are so inclined, I would say have a go at it your self, put a 360 degree tape on the dampner/harmonic balancer and and test your work with a timing light. Actually, if your dizzy is a factory original one, I would recommend it be rebuilt and recurved at that time.
Also, keep the original dizzy if you do have it and change it to a different rebuilt one. The part number is unique to the Tiger 260 motor.

I do not see the need for headers with the still relative mild stage of tune you are seeking with your upgrades.

That's my 2p for now. Again welcome!

Cheers, Gene

garyv8tiger
Posts: 650
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Post by garyv8tiger » Wed May 02, 2012 7:23 pm

when my car was stock i just put an edelbrock 500 carb on it and a edelbrock intake and it ran nice .

Tomaselli
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Re: More power for minimum fuss

Post by Tomaselli » Fri May 04, 2012 8:33 pm

vkxbob wrote:have been told that a Holley carb & Edelbrock manifold would give me a lot more power with very little effort.
Doubt you would be satisfied with the result from only changing carb and inlet manifold on a stock 260.

A modern 302 might be a consideration and keep the original 260 stock and safe, as it can be sold later with the car should anybody want to run with a factory standard car. Second hand modern 302 powerplants are plentiful, and might give you what you want straight off, are efficient and have plenty of bottom end torque - rather than throw a load of money at parts and labour at the standard engine.

Saying that, a well tuned 260 is surprisingly spritely. I remember Gary Jackson touring through France/Belgium/Germany a few years back when he had his stock lump, gave a rather good show. :mrgreen: Perhaps, yours needs a good tune up with newer components. I sourced genuine (and that's the key!) FoMoCo points and condensor for my 289 and since then with the correct timing in runs as sweet as a nut 8)

It all depends what will satisfy you, a mild improvement on your existing power output - or would you rather come over to the 'darkside' and have a 347 stroker unit - Image

gtsmrt
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Re: More power for minimum fuss

Post by gtsmrt » Fri May 04, 2012 10:33 pm

Tomaselli wrote:
vkxbob wrote:have been told that a Holley carb & Edelbrock manifold would give me a lot more power with very little effort.
Doubt you would be satisfied with the result from only changing carb and inlet manifold on a stock 260.

A modern 302 might be a consideration and keep the original 260 stock and safe, as it can be sold later with the car should anybody want to run with a factory standard car. Second hand modern 302 powerplants are plentiful, and might give you what you want straight off, are efficient and have plenty of bottom end torque - rather than throw a load of money at parts and labour at the standard engine.

Saying that, a well tuned 260 is surprisingly spritely. I remember Gary Jackson touring through France/Belgium/Germany a few years back when he had his stock lump, gave a rather good show. :mrgreen: Perhaps, yours needs a good tune up with newer components. I sourced genuine (and that's the key!) FoMoCo points and condensor for my 289 and since then with the correct timing in runs as sweet as a nut 8)

It all depends what will satisfy you, a mild improvement on your existing power output - or would you rather come over to the 'darkside' and have a 347 stroker unit - Image
When I installed my four barrel manifold, Edelbrock carby and better ignition system on my stock 260, I gained 20 Hp at the rear wheels. Extra oomf is quite easily gained. Interestingly, I lost a small amount of torque at the bottom end but the torque curve flattened out across the rev range.
Robin O'Dell
Tiger MK 1a
ENJOYING THE EXPERIENCE AS DAD WOULD HAVE

vkxbob
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 6:24 pm
Location: Cheshire

Post by vkxbob » Wed May 09, 2012 10:49 am

Guys

Many, many thanks for all your feedback & advice & experience etc... Plenty there for me to have a think about.

Thanks again, Bob

B9471845
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Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:32 am

Post by B9471845 » Thu May 10, 2012 3:07 pm

But if you don't have vented discs, I would strongly recommend that first, if you plan to do any spirited driving, or at least fit Carbotech pads and decent racing fluid. With additional ducting, this set-up survives the short races I do but might not be working at the bottom of a long hill descent.

dude234
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Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2012 6:07 pm

Post by dude234 » Thu May 17, 2012 1:04 am

If you have the original 2bl carb and manifold, there will be a huge difference if you swap it out for a low rise Edelbrock Performer 289 manifold and 4bl carb with Pertronix ignition. I did that to my car and it was quite an improvement in performance. My G-Tech meter registered a HP increase of 30+ HP.

gtsmrt
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Post by gtsmrt » Sat May 26, 2012 6:37 am

dude234 wrote:If you have the original 2bl carb and manifold, there will be a huge difference if you swap it out for a low rise Edelbrock Performer 289 manifold and 4bl carb with Pertronix ignition. I did that to my car and it was quite an improvement in performance. My G-Tech meter registered a HP increase of 30+ HP.
This is definitely a big improvement. Get the engines to breath correctly/better and the Windsor's love it!
Robin O'Dell
Tiger MK 1a
ENJOYING THE EXPERIENCE AS DAD WOULD HAVE

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