>Date: Tue, 17 Aug 93 14:19:52 PDT
>From: marrone@optilink.com (Frank Marrone)
>To: british-cars@autox.team.net
>Subject: Tiger motor swap
>I have a '64 Sunbeam Tiger with a worn out 260CI engine. Rather than
>rebuild the 260 I would like to install a later model 289CI engine.
>Besides the obvious increase in displacement the later 289s' are much
>more plentiful and the method used to guide the push rods is improved.
>All 260CI Ford small blocks have a 5 bolt bellhousing while most 289s'
>have the 6 bolt pattern which was introduced in early 1965.
>Does anybody know which bellhousing to use so I can keep the rest of
>the drivetrain stock? What other mods if any would be required to do
>this swap? I know that cooling can be a problem in the Tiger if the
>engine output is increased much over stock. Does anyone know about
>how much increase in output it takes to cause real problems? What can
>be done to improve the cooling?
The engine you select will determine the bellhousing since the 5-bolt
and 6-bolt are not interchangeable. My recollection is that all Tigers
had toploaders. Check to see if your transmission has more than one
mating bolt pattern. The T-10 in my snake only has one and will only
fit a 5-bolt bellhousing. The toploaders were also used in 427 Cobras
so they may have double bolt patterns as some of the Ford 3-speeds had.
The other problem you will have with a 6-bolt bellhousing is with the
clutch slave bracket. The one for the 5-bolt will not fit the 6-bolt
bellhousing. There are aftermarket brackets avaialble but they don't
seem to be very good.
My advice is to look for an early 289 (5-bolt) or to stick with the
260.
Roland
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