sunbeamtiger.co.uk

Hi
Has any one fitted the Hi-Po 289 heads on a 260 are they a straight swap or do the pistons need to have cut outs for the valves etc , need to know i dont want to buy them and they are no good .

Cheers Paul

Hi Paul
Yes you can use the hi po head's, but i feel what you gain with the larger valve's, you loose, because of the loss of compresion, due to the larger combustion chamber volume of the hi po head's. I went down a different route and had the larger valves fitted into my 260 head's, keeping the correct compression ratio. I allso had roller rockers fitted at the same time, and the differance was well worth the cost.
Just somthing to think about be for you go spending on the hi po head's.
Hope that's a help, or may be a hiderance.
Happy Tigering
Harry

I had 289 heads with Hi Po size valves, thus keeping compression ratio, on my 260. I had to put small indents into the piston crowns where valves touched. I did it cowboy style with a small angle grinder, with pistons in place.But it worked. You need decent headers, inlet manifold & carb to make use of heads. After messing about with cams etc and never really getting expected performance,the best thing I did was by a 302 crate Motorsport engine.

Hi
maybe all the aggro and expense of changing the heads and not getting to much power maybe just put the 260 in the corner of the garage and put a 302 in its place .

cheers

320 bhp out of the box, 6500 rev limit, alloy heads, roller rockers. It makes sense. Then add a supercharger, but that's another story!

bigbob wrote:320 bhp out of the box, 6500 rev limit, alloy heads, roller rockers. It makes sense. Then add a supercharger, but that's another story!

What's the going rate for an engine like that, without the blower though?

I have a GT40 345bhp crate motor in my car.. still available from ford racing and places like summit etc.. not sure about Uk importers..

http://www.fordracingparts.com/crateengine/main.asp

as a reco production block woth new heads etc $3845.00:
http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/pa ... ield=11752

as a new boss block (4 bolt mains) $6695.00:
http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/pa ... ield=10271

michael-king wrote:not sure about Uk importers..

Sadly, we do not have many if any reliable UK suppliers of crate engines........ SO A TIP: "DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE PARTING WITH A BUNDLE OF CASH!!!!"

Best bet, yes start with a 302 as it provides you with so many more options and find a specialist to build you one

I would generally avoid crate engines unless they come from Ford.

Real Steel do their own blueprinted long version (330 bhp rating) of the Ford one. There is quite a detailed description on RS's site. I have no experience of this engine but perhaps other members may have.

I can recommend Custom Power & Paint who do not use crate engines but instead will build a turn-key engine to your exact requirements. The engine is test run and a bhp/torque printout plus DVD are supplied.

http://www.custompowerandpaint.co.uk/

Speak to Jez Hodge on: 01797 366900

or email him on: jez@custompowerandpaint.co.uk

v8 burble interesting comment about the ford produced engine ,could you elaborate a little more as to why you would avoid this engine?

I think you have misread my reply.

I am suggesting that you, generally speaking, avoid the non-Ford crate engines.
To the best of my knowledge the Ford produced crate engine is okay.

yes sorry v8 i did ,

The links i posted are to the ford racing site crate motors.. not sure why you wouldnt order one from them or through summit and ship to the UK.. bet its still cheaper than building one locally with the same parts.

michael-king wrote:The links i posted are to the ford racing site crate motors.. not sure why you wouldnt order one from them or through summit and ship to the UK.. bet its still cheaper than building one locally with the same parts.

I think it would be a better choice to go with local expertise, especially if some thing went wrong (God forbid). Imagine the hassle of a warranty.

I'm sure there are suppliers of the FMS crate motors in the Uk, there are 4 companies in AU that supply them.. cant see there being people doing them here and not in the Uk.