Its been a long time since I've had the original 300-2 between the fenders of my '66 Skylark. The car is undergoing a somewhat major reconstruction/restification after planting it into a tree about 3 months ago. So... the questions: 1-Where can I find a good engine overhaul kit? 2-Are there aftermarket cam options available? 3-Can I use the smaller 2v heads with larger valves? 4-If #3 is NO... can I use the early aluminum heads and 4v intake on my latermodel 300 block? Basically I want to wake this lil 300 up, before I ripped it out it ran an impressive mid-15 second 1/4 time with 2.3xx 60' s. That was with the 2v, a TH350 and the 2.7x open. Thank you.
The 2bbl / 4bbl heads are the same for each year - the difference is in the pistons (4bbl models in '65 & '64 had higher compression pistons). The 64 heads have smaller intake valves than your '66 heads. Some folks have put larger diameter valves in both Aluminum & Iron heads, I cannot comment on that since I've not done it (only heard about it). The combustion chambers on the '64 aluminum heads are smaller, so they will yield higher comp ratio than '65 & later iron heads. If you could find a '65 Iron 4bbl intake then you'd not have to change your heads (I was lucky & found an entire engine for parts). If you go with '64 heads you'll need a 4bbl aluminum intake from the same year to match (ports won't match). Also, you might find water jackets don't match from '64 - '65 or later. I put a set of '65 heads & 4bbl iron intake on my '64 block & ended up having a water jacket on one of the heads that had to be plugged. Crower, Crane & Postons have aftermarket cams, Postons has headers. All other internal / external rebuild parts are readily available from traditional sources (or Postons) Poston's may have the 10:1 pistons...but I found an NOS set on ebay for $100! I see them popup here & there - good luck!
I've been thinking about it, and against everyone else's suggestion I'm going to run the 2v intake... with a little machined finesse of course. 10.2:1 sounds pretty good too... although I thought there were 11.5's out there somewhere, maybe I'm just dreamin. Thanks for all the heads ups... I'll keep everyone informed as the build goes!
Not to be a fuddy duddy, but I'm going to make a plug for putting 9:1 pistons in there. My 10.25 compression 300 will ping slightly with a very mild advance curve and 34-35 degrees total advance, and that's with "good" Michigan 93 octane premium. It's tuned up real good too...You won't be giving away much performance with the 2 barrel dished pistons at 9:1 and you won't be running on the ragged edge of pump gas. With a 2 barrel carb there's no point in running more expensive gas anyway...Good luck with either choice!
Seeing that every time I get this car back on the road I break it, it may be a little added insurance for me to absolutely have to run a high octane that will cost me a little more coin. That way there will be less mileage put on the car, plus I can always beat around in my 66 Special.:Brow:
Plan on running with a racing fuel mix if you go to 10.25:1 pistons. Mine has pinged for over twenty years since 96 octane pump gas went away. Yours will also on today's pump gas.
