Last night I was out in the garage tearing apart my 1966 300. From the looks of the outside of the motor it had about 1,000,000,000,000 miles on it, but once I got the head off, all I saw was a little carbon. There is still crosshatching in the cylinders!

So I started to clean off the pistons and found .030 stamped into them. So the motor has been bored and rebuilt at least once. The reason I am rebuilding this engine is that it had a rod knock. My question is can I just throw in new rod and main bearings and leave the rest alone, or should I rebuild the entire thing?

I was originally going to drop in a 460, which I still intend to do later, but after reading all the good things about the 300, and financial restraints, I decided to do a rebuild. I would like to pull out a little more performance. I dont do much towing, I do alot of around town driving, but I want something that can get out of its own way in a hurry. I have a new Edelbrock 650 waiting to be used, so I have been keeping my eye on ebay for intakes and headers. Any recommendations for some setups would be great.

Thanks, Ted

 

Another Ted. Well, if you want truly cheap, just do the bearings. As far as performance, any dual exhaust and performance intake really help. User scottfreeman swears by mild porting and a recurved distributor to match the cam and intended range. I know his really runs, but he also has about $6K in it. I would say start with axle gears because it will NEVER get out of its own way if it has too tall (numerically small) gears.

 

Thanks for the input, I think it has 4:11 in it right now. I drove it from PA to MI when I got it and if you dropped the hammer it really took off, even on the highway. But, as always, I want faster.

 

There are upgrades a plenty... as far as i have collected,
i would have to mention the offenhauser 4bbl. intake with a 450 or
500 cfm carb, Mallory electronic ignition, headers (all sorts), and
your choice of cam... these all have been suggestions for my
future build

 

what size or types of cams are most guys running? Ive also been reading alot about carb icing also, is this still a concern with a newer carb?

 

thanks Teds74. I would recomend that you go with the new bearings after checking to make sure that there is no damage to the crank or rod. I would also replace the cam bearings as removing the long cam can be a pain and chances of scoreing the bearings is great. I had one custom ground for my specific application. Go with the offenhauser intake and hedman full length headers. An x-pipe in the exhaust is also a good addition to broaden the powerband, and don't be afraid to go with big diameter exhaust. You can't really hurt the bottom end, but it sure helps the top end. Ask Teds74, my 300 w dual 3" exhaust has a broader power band than his with the smaller exhaust. His is more roadtrip friendly in the cab though.

I added the intake, headers, and exhaust to mine before I rebuilt it. It made a huge difference in the way it ran. It would pull all the way to 6000 rpm, on a stock internal 240 cid. I was into it about $700 in external bolt ons @ That time (circa 1997). The combination of the cam, stroke, compression, and ignition curve at the time of rebuild made a huge difference (circa 1999). When I had 33" tires on it, and it was in a good state of tune, it would spin the tires on take off. Now it is out of tune due to a lack of time and funds and I have 35" tires on it, it won't do it now. It is also my daily driver. If ya own it, you should drive it and enjoy. No garage queens here.

 

Hey SF,

I had checked out your gallery a few days ago, that truck is awesome. Thanks for the input. I am going to do a little shopping around and maybe drive it stock for a little while until I decide on a good setup.

I just crawled underneath is and all of the bushings are virtually nonexistient, so I have to be able to steer it before I can make it fast! I will keep you guys updated.

Thanks, Ted

 

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