can anyone out there tell me a little bit about the 266ci v8 from international harvester circa 1960? i have a chance to get an a100 truck that runs and drives nice. but i dont know anything about the motor, or if i can get parts, or even if they are reliable. so, what can you teach me? many thanks.
The 266 is in the same basic family as the 304/345/392 IH engines, which were made from the mid- '50s through around 1980 or so. The 266 was made until '68 if memory serves. So far as reliability...depends who you ask. About the only problems any of them really had were some of the '70s electronic ignitions, and '70s overheating, neither of which apply to you. IH was notorious for overbuilding their trucks; this engine line was designed for medium truck use & as a result they tend to last for a very long time in light truck use...high nickel content in the blocks seems to lead to low cylinder wear. I've torn down IH engines that still have honing marks in the bores, & no bore ridge, at well over 100K miles. I have a Scout II with over 175K that runs just fine, & a 1010 that starts/runs fine as well, but then it only has 55K on it. They are heavy as hell & don't get all that great mileage as a rule, although the 266 is pre-smog & fairly small and does better than most IHs. Parts are readily available from NAPA, although you generally have to order them in if it's anything more than a filter. Scout Connection, Super Scout Specialties, & other places can get other parts if necessary, and even local IH/Navistar dealers can get stuff. They use umbrella valve seals similar to the Ford SBs, which tend to harden & crumble over time, so watch for a puff of smoke on a cold start. It's not that big a deal to change them, & most older engines do this, so I don't really consider this an IH-specific problem, but thought I'd mention it.
homespun, thanks for the advice and words of IH wisdom. the truck i am looking at has only 55k on it too. practically new... any idea what the rearend gears would be in a half ton?
Probably the most common ratios were 3.54 & 4.09, but it could be a slew of others...IH had a lot of options for the light truck line. There should be a tag hanging from a Dana 44 cover bolt with the ratio, unless it's rusted or removed. If you have the opportunity, look in the glove box, or behind it, and there may be a Line Setting Ticket (sheet of paper) in that area, listing the build specifications. Sometimes they were placed elsewhere...in the seat, door panel, under the hood, etc., but in the glove box area is most common. Zman needs to finish his '60 this winter.
The 266 is sgood engine and in the same SV series family as the 304, 345, 392 and the 4 cylinders 152 and 196. The SV series came out in 1959 and ended in 1985. The SV266 has 8.4:1 compresson rated at 154.8 HP at 44oo rpm and 227:1 lb/ft at 2800 rpm. The 266 was last produced in 1968 any good parts store can get replacement parts for these engines and if taken car of they will last for ever, my 345 has been upside down twice and ran low on oil pressure and she still runs like a champ. The most common ratio for that era of 1/2 ton IH truck is 3.73:1, 4.09 and 4.77:1 and most likely you have a RA series rear end (looks like a large 9" with a drop out), they can be hard to find parts for but you still can find them a similar version of that rearend was used from the 1930's to the late 1960's. I have seen both paper and alum foil line set tickets for that era of IH truck, some in the glave box and other glued behind the set on the back of the cab. Once you buy a binder you will always have one, i have owned 95 of them since i was 14 years old, i'am 29 now and currently own 30 from 1935-1980.
wow, dude, you must have some space. sounds like they are good trucks though. i'll check it out when i get back from my travels next week. could be a good trade.
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