School me on International 345!!

I inherited a 345 motor, fresh from the machine shop. sat on the shelf for years.

Anyone know much about these motors? I do not have a car in mind for it yet, but the price was right. so I grabbed it up.

 

Really heavy, really torquey...not a lot of aftermarket support...

 

They were designed to be a 200,000 mile engine by using heavier duty timing chains, hard valves and seats, etc. Very good engines. If you look for the right parts out of early 70's pickups and travelalls you should be able to pick up a GM turbo 400 trans to fit one, I think they used the same setup as the Jeep Wagoneers.

 

I have had several..still have a 67 TravelAll with 345..granny gear 4spd..and 4.11 gears. A great tow vehicle..will tow anything wether or not that thing wants to be towed..!
Rev's to about 3800-4000 max. An industrial type type motor used in backhoes..graders..everything IH made.
Very good torque..not a high HP unit..very understressed..extremely long lived.

They are NOT fuel efficent. My TravelAll sits..4-6MPG towing..a little better naked...maybe 8mpg.

Here is a article on building a "performance 345"..

http://www.tmcom.com/~tsm1/scout/faq/performance_345_part_1.htm

 

As stated above, they are good engines made to live a long time. I've driven them for close to 20 years now never blew one up.

The engines weigh almost as much as a big block Chevy. They came with T-18 and T-19 manual transmissions or 727 Torquflite auto transmissions in most applications. There was a 5-speed OD manual in some of the pickup and Travelall applications as well. The 727 has a special case for Internationals but uses the common 727 internals.

Some aftermarket speed parts are available such as Schneider Cams, headers, and gear reduction starters. Try Super Scout Specialists or Scout MADness as vendors for parts. The Binder Bulletin is a forum for IHC enthusiasts and they know all the details you'll ever want to know about these engines.

 

XLR8, actually it has a timing gear set up. No chain to stretch/wad/break!

 

That's right, I forgot about the timing gears, I knew there was some heavy duty parts there. I overhauled a couple of these but it was over 20 years ago so it's hard to remember all the details. I did think that some IH's had turbo 400's though, the same universal mount 400 that was used by Jeep, I could be wrong on that too though.

 

When timing, time off of the #8 cylinder.

 

The Torqueflite is a normal Chrysler unit, there's an adapter plate to make it fit the Binder pattern. The 345 is pretty much an orphan, IHC doesn't service them any more. They're too big and heavy for a car, anyway. Sell it to a farmer!

 

Sadly, you are wrong, else I would NOT have been out so much money when I had to replace a Scout's 727 case, which IS IH specific.
Cosmo

 

hi all; ih also used the 401 and 304 v8s plus the straight 6 258 amc. I worked at 2 different ih dealerships. iam currently working on a 74 ihc motorhome for my brother in law. its been a pain in the butt.

 

My 1972 jeep cj5 had the 304 v8. And my friend with same jeep replaced his 304 with a 345.
Was a direct bolt in swap iirc. There were several amc with the 304. My motor was replaced with a 304 from a matador. Just a idea to look at, for possible cars and trans.
That 345 in a cj5 was a torque monster.

 

I will reiterate 2 things already stated..........1. It will run forever! 2. Be sure you own a gas station, lol

 

Used in Caterpillar 30,000# capacity fork trucks too. Ran well and dependable. I imagine mileage would be dependent like any other engine - dependent on gear ratios and tire sizes used. Not too many back when this was new had overdrives and freeway traveling in mind.


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I worked on the Scout line (IH) back in the day, ran a lot of 345's, I bought 2 new Scouts with the 345's, good engine!

 

Heavy, slow, thirsty, expensive; other than those shortcomings, every rod should run a Binder V8.

We Packard V8 guys need some underdog to dis, cause we're heavy and expensive.

Jack Vines

 

My 70 dump truck has a 345. Ive got a Pk with a 304. and a binder 304 and 345 are the same design. Ive even got two of the slant 4 cyls. AMC 304s are not the same engine. and the international V8 are all blueprinted .the pistons all have the same deck height and the combustion chambers all have the same CC,s. You cant replace just one head. They have to be matched sets. Not really a hot rod engine. Sell it on craigslist under farm and garden. Some farmer needs it. sell it and get a old hemi or a nailhead.

 

Never came backed by a th400. And not in any way related to amc. 304 amc is not the same as 304 IH. IH trucks came with 401 amc for a short while when there was a shortage of sv's
They had borgwarner autos and 727s but the case was IH only. Not interchangeable with chrysler.
If your going for Big power you will be disappointed.
You need to be on the binder planet forum for all IH info.
I daily drive a 71 with a 392/BW11
If you want to do anything with it contact Brendan at BarnesIH. He has the largest collection of trucks and Nos parts on the east coast.




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They run forever, drink lots of gas, don't make enough power to break anything. An industrial engine from days gone by....

 

View attachment 4103405

 

ihonly has an aluminum spreadbore 4bbl intake for $624 for the IHC 345/392, so not cheap. Parts are not impossible to find but sometimes easier at agricultural equipment dealers than regular parts stores. I put an MSD on mine and it made cold starts a lot easier.

 

Since this thread has surfaced. The IH V-8 (SV series 266, 302, 345 and 392 CID) engines have a known problem with cam bearings shedding the babbitt metal. Often happens with an engine the has sat unused for a few years. Identified by low oil pressure and soft metal found in the oil pan.

Over the years, I have owned and driven 4 of these trucks. One engine had the cam bearing problem.

p.s. As mentioned above:
1. times on #8 cylinder
2. The SV engine bellhousing pattern is unique to IH - NO AMC and Mopar do not bolt up.
3. Thirsty engines and prone to vapor lock

Russ

 

Also, the AMC 304 referenced in one of the earlier long dead posts this dormant thread brought up is in no way related to the IH 266, 304, 345, 392 V8 engines, or the 154 or 196 half a V8 four cylinders, built off the same tooling.

The AMC 304 is from the 290, 304, 360, 401 family of AMC engines. Totally different architecture, and the IH engines were never used in Jeep or other AMC products.

 

Pipeline trucks when I started were Loadstar1700 4x4 , never turned them off after start up in the morning till quitting time 14-16 hrs a day . Either running welder or air compressor on the PTO . Loaded 4x greater than designed for and never had one issue with them . Not a Speed Week winner , but could not break them . Only thing I was ever around that was built tuffer was my 2 1/2 ton 6x6 . All work and no play , best work truck I ever had for years and years .

 

The biggest problem with working on a lot of binder engines is that they never let the aftermarket build parts for them. It was a rough go in the early 70's when I had to tell the owner of a really nice Travelall that I had to charge him 25 dollars each for a pair of radiator hoses in 1973 dollars because I could only get hoses for that truck from International. Those buggers at the IH parts counter hated me a year later when I was working for Ryder and was the guy who usually chased parts and Ryder got steep discounts from IH. Seriously solid trucks that were real reliable if you maintained them. Very expensive to keep up though.

 

The 345 is one of the toughest medium duty gasoline engines ever built. As someone else posted, they are not speed demons, but will run all day, everyday. Yes, they were thirsty, but so was all of their competition. Other than GMC, all other medium duty gas engines were based on car engines. The IH SV series are real, true truck engines designed for trucks, small ports, timing gears, not a chain, low RPM, high torque, and meant for work. Granted, parts are not cheap, nor were they ever were, but when it comes to trucking, as we say at work, Big Trucks, Big Bucks, and If You Want to Fly, You Got to Buy.


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Yeah, that bit me when I put a Pertronix in ours.

 

I had heard that the cam bearing issue was usually on the 304's and had to do with not agreeing with certain types of oils back in the day. I had one with the issue and the oil pressure was so bad I finally just disconnected the oil pressure gauge so I didn't have to know. Drove it for years that way till it started clattering really bad. It got me home but never ran again. The SV series used a high flow, low pressure oiling system if I remember right. They do not need much oil pressure to keep them happy.

 

Mine was a 392 in a 3/4 ton. Found babbitt metal in the oil pan.

EDIT: Replaced it with a factory rebuilt (Franklin Power Products) 392. Later, the hot rodder in me made me stick this engine in a IH Scout II,

 

RPT does offer a aluminum intake for the 345/392. Its a great engine. The article is a interesting read. I forgot IH offered a 392.