I was just wondering if anybody has ever built up an olds 260? A lot of people I talk to say to put in a 307 or 350 but why not just build up a 260? Is it really that bad of a motor? I have had one in my 79 up until about 4 months ago then it went into my 83 and a 454 is in the process of being put in the 79.
Coming from someone who is admittedly not and Olds expert, my advise is to save your time and money. They were designed for fuel economy and did a pretty decent job at that. They have a tiny bore which severely limits breathing potential -- kinda like 267 SBC. It won't cost any more money (probably less in fact) to build a 307 or 350. Actually, it probably wouldn't cost much more to build a 455. That's 200 extra cubic inches for about the same money.
I got da 260 in my cutlass and its a dog but its a soldier when I got it it had a lifter tick and its been back and forth from chicago twice and still won't blow up...but its garbage for speed I've only broke da tire loose once when it wasn't wet out but I gota vacume leak and now da lifter tick is pretty bad I can hear when I'm low on oil.....I think olds parts cost more then chevy and I mean how much power do you think you can get out dat little moter I got a 350 sbc and th350 for 350 bucks and I've probably spent 600 dollers buildn it up and I still need 200 dollers more in parts for da swap...so leave dat 2shity alone and get a 350 in there....but on my trips I got like 16 mpg so its kinda good wit gas and dats wit da lifter tick and vac leak...
I had a 260 in a 76 Omega. Gutless, I mean big time. If I was beside a city bus at a red light and floored it on the green. The Bus would still pull away from me lol. But the highway gears didn't help either. But I can say that can was VERY good on gas. And I tried many time to kill that engine, but it just kept on going. So if you want power, get something else. If you want gas miliage and reliability, then go for it.
One more thing. Now I need the Olds guys to correct me if I'm wrong. But I do believe the 260s intake can't be swapped with any other Olds intake. And they only came with a 2bbl. But I could be wrong.
you can w/ some head swapping and a little work put a 4brl on a 260, but it's really not worth the effort.. I found a deal just browsing around on google about the build up of a 260... I personally wouldn't go any farther than adding a little shine to one, and maybe freeing up the exhaust a bit.. I've got a 425 i building for the go power.. I'll miss the mileage but the slow acceleration won't be missed, neither will the highway gears.. I honestly wouldn't waste my time with anything smaller than a 350 Olds really.. (Unless it's an early Rocket from the 50's, i.e. 303, 324, but that's another story).. But if you've got some extra cash, and a bit of time to free up some extra ponies don't be afraid to post what you did on here..
One more thing. Now I need the Olds guys to correct me if I'm wrong. But I do believe the 260s intake can't be swapped with any other Olds intake. And they only came with a 2bbl. But I could be wrong.
The 260 just isn't a platform to build for HP. And really I wouldn't even bother swapping a 307 in its place. While the 307 is an upgrade, your still limiting yourself.
Just remember, engine machining costs cost the same no matter what engine brand or size your using. So it comes down to the price of parts really. That's why so many swap in a 455. You gain so many cubic inches over a 260 or 307 that it just doesn't make sense to keep them.
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