Technical Shelby 260 Performance Parts

Thinking about building a period correct 260 hi-po engine for my '63 Merc and was looking for the Shelby kit specs from '63-'64 that were posted in a previous thread this year. Did an extensive search for it but came up empty handed. Can anyone guide me to it? Someone posted a copy of the catalog with specs on the pieces I'm highly interested in. Yeah, I know. Should have marked it @ the time

Thanks bunches-
Joe

 

Bump!... Hope this helps...

 

Do not know if this is what you want, but this one shows up at net auctions
some times.

 

I’m thinking , aluminum intake , and the dress up kit shown is what you are looking for . I think I have most of it Nanking on the wall in the garage . Edelbrock F4B intake is as close as one may find today , it will be way less in price than the Shelby / Ford intake will be . There are many Mustang (OP ) companies selling these parts .

 

Shelby built a few early Cobras with the 260; Herbie Hancock bought his Cobra new, and it came with a two barrel carburetor.

 

I had a 260 one time in a Falcon. Neat little engine but the auto parts store did not have a listing for it and insisted that I had a 289 (even though it had 260 badges).

 

I have a 5 bolt Bellhousing for it, maybe a few other misc. parts laying around. Good Luck!

 

Thanks man! That’s exactly what I’m looking for. Yes, the parts listed besides dress up kit is the whole kitchen sink. Pistons, valves, cam kit, carb, headers…I’m sure the catalog lists the original part numbers which are long gone for the most part. The specs for the parts are listed as well to get on the mark to build a replica. Thank you all for your replies. Will be looking for the Ak Miller catalogue.

Joe

 

Sorry, I killed that thread yesterday. I posted a long post about all my parts, cams and gear ratios...I'm deep into it right now, maybe too deep. Maybe it was a little incoherent. I had been working up that post for several days. Somebody had a unfriendly comment so I deleted all of it and the mods disposed of the remains. Sorry.

I have the 1966 Ford Performance catalog. The replica is still in print. It's a great resource. You can still get it. If you have a particular question in the mean time, I would be more than happy to look it up for you.

I see you have a Comet. I have a 64 Fairlane.
From the Catalog
Conversion Notes-260 CID...
The stock 289 High Performance cam shaft and solid lifters can be used in the 260 heads, and the 289 High performance heavy-duty valve springs with the stock 260 retainers. Screw in rocker studs are not necessary if operation is held below 6000 RPM.
Caution, the 260 cylinder block cannot be bored-out to equal the 4 inch bore of the 289 CID block.
The Cobra Induction Kits should be used in combination with the 289 High Performance camshaft kit and heavy duty valve springs to best obtain maximum engine speed, power and reliability.

When I get back from shopping today, I'll post you some more info about induction and modern alternatives.

 

There were two different Ford engineering specials in the 260 c.i.d. size. Shelby American was not the only company to get these engines from Ford for new car projects, but Shelby American was the most famous user. There were Experimental High Performance 260 (XHP-260) engines (about 35 each made best estimate) and High Performance 260 (HP260) engines (at least 137 made and probably more). Some of each type got into new Cobras.




XHP-260 engines were loaded with hand prepared prototype parts made by or for Ford engineering. Camshaft, push rod, cylinder head castings, custom carburetor spacer, and everything in cylinder head assemblies except rocker arms and nuts were unique to these engines. They had prototype dual point mechanical distributors, prototype iron intake manifold, custom forged steel connecting rods, and prototype Ford 4100 carburetors. Based on the analysis Bob Mannel did for us none of those parts every made it into ‘production” engines. XHP-260 engines were what Ford engineers had in mind for a racing engine in 1961 technology more or less. Most of these engines were used up. I know of two survivors, one short block assembly still in a Ford concept car, one intake manifold, and two bare cylinder head castings.




HP260 engines, now in 1962 technology, came out as almost assembly line ready engines with not nearly as many prototype parts. The cylinder head castings were the same cores as used in XHP-260 engines but everything else was more conventional. The experimental connecting rods carried over. The HP260 cam shaft is the parent of what would become the High Performance 289 piece; ditto ignition distributor and carburetor. So far, in several decades, I have not found an intact engine of this type. I find pieces occasionally. I sold the ignition distributor and carburetor I had to an early Cobra owner earlier this year.




Shelby American further developed these engines, with pages of line items to do or change, to last longer in all out racing Cobras. They worked up to engines that could race dependably for 40 hours or more.



Here in this century it would probably be impossible to come up with all the ‘factory’ parts to build up an engine like Ford engineering made them or Shelby American campaigned them. I listed above the few pieces I have come across and I have hunted a long time. There was nothing special about the power curves of the factory engines; in fact Shelby American went after the best combination of power and long service life. They could have increased power but you cannot win a road race if you cannot finish it.


Based on the research we have done none of the XHP-260 or HP260 unique parts were ever offered by Ford over the counter.

 

I have a set of the prototype main bearing caps.

 

The original condition unrestored XHP-260 ex-Cobra engine Bob analyzed had standard production main bearing caps. The bearing inserts were marked with Ford prototype engineering information.



Remember, XHP-260 and HP260 engines are what Ford engineers thought would be good street and strip engines in 1961-62 technology. If somebody has a car that originally had one of these engines it might be something they would chase after no matter what the cost. On the other hand taking years to hunt 'factory' parts at great expense to come up with a stock block 260 engine with relatively low power (based Shelby data 1962) today seems like a lot of time and money for little return. That assumes one is recreating a factory build.

 

My friend had a must have been 63 falcon convertible, cause it was not a 64 it was the older falcon. . It was a 260 4spd. It was a sprint. Black with red interior and a white top. It had cobra valve covers and seemed like it had a finned oval air cleaner. It had wire hubcaps with spinners on them? It was a running little sucker! Long time ago. Lippy

 

Thank you for the 260HP history, Dan! I figured a Cobra or Tiger enthusiast would have the skinny.
The actual factory parts really don't concern me, as I'm looking for specs to price a Shelby 260 clone using available parts. I will be stepping down on the power curve if it's a doable thing, precisely for the reason you state; reliability. Currently running 400 hp solid roller 302 w/ stock T-10 B1 and 8" posi. Period correct would be more street friendly.

Do you know if Branda is a reputable dealer?

Joe

 

Wow! We pulled a 1963 260 Sprint engine out of a wrecked car an put it in my friends 1964 Falcon and I pretty sure it had a four speed also! It’s been many years! We were still in high school when we did this and these were late model cars at the time!
I ran good enough to get my friend headed to jail! I and our two dates had to pool all our money and all the schools money that we had with us from selling annual ads , to make his bail , to keep him out of jail! The good old high school years!






Bones

 

Thanks, Jeff!
Know he's been in business for quite a while, just not up on current inventory sourcing.

Joe

 

Several years back, I bought a Model A coupe off Ebay. It had been chopped, was in bad primer, and sported extra wide Jackman wheels with 60 series Wide Ovals. It could not have been more ugly. Pictures were taken as it sat in the air on a lift. Anyway, I ended up with the bugger. Body is still the same, but I made it road worthy, comfy, and fitting of the era in which it was originally built, that being in the late 40's, very early 50's. It had a flatty 'till '68, then got a 289, using over the counter 289 to late flathead conversion mounts. I finally looked close at the mill. Something was different. It has an aluminum water pump spacer with a crankcase breather. The carb is a 271HP Holley, and the intake is the best catch. It is made by Buddy Bar Castings, and is one of a limited number made. As I understand, Shelby had enough cast to supply the 1964 and 1965 260 and 289 Cobras, with a few as spares. It has no numbers, anywhere. I was going to take it off, but it ran to good, so on it has stayed. I did install a later, smaller Holley. The engine is a 5-bolt 289, making it an early '64.

 

Have you confirmed that that engine is a 289? Really the only way to tell would be to measure the bore. It seems that early 5 bolts could show the same numbers for a 260 and 289 block. I may be wrong about that. I do know for sure that the Hi-Pos had the same casting #s as regular blocks....
Anyway the timing cover oil fill and crankcase breather are all features of 1962-63. By '64 the oil fill was moved to the valve cover ( the timing cover still had the hole but it was plugged) and the crankcase breather was replaced by PCV from the valve cover.
Now parts mat have been changed to allow the use of those valve covers or intake...stuff like that but....If that engine came from the factory with "timing cover oil fill" and a crankcase breather tube behind the carburetor and it indeed is a 289....
It's a 1963 289.

 

Just a note. I noticed a post from Dan Case above. Let me state, and i am a Chevrolet man. He knows his fords and he really know his cobras!

 

These are the Cobra Kit intake and Carburetor packages as advertised in the Ford High Performance catalog 1966.

Single 4V induction kit...(4100)
The single 4v induction kit offers a simple method of boosting power for all Fairlane engines. (221-260-289) without drastic modifications. It will deliver 7-10 HP over the standard 2V induction system.
Engine CID 221-260-289
C6AZ-6B068-A
$117.00
Iron intake-4100-special air cleaner
Three 2V induction kit (Holleys)
If your engine is presently equipped with the 4V induction kit, and you would like a moderate boost in horsepower while still retaining smoothness and flexibility, then try the Three 2-V Kit. It offers good idle and low speed characteristics and is capable of delivering approximately 12-15 horsepower over the 4V induction kit.
1963-64 Fairlane, Falcon (3 & 4 speed S/T) 260
C4DZ-6B068-A
$219.50
1963-66 Fairlane, Falcon 1965-66 Mustang 289
C4DZ-6B068-B
$219.50
Aluminum 3x2 with air cleaner and fuel log...linkage sets sold separately and listed by car/engine $6.70 to $8.40
Two 4V Induction Kit (Carters)
For those desiring greater efficiency in induction for combination street and strip use this is it! Special feature is the latest progressive throttle linkage with secondary operation controlled by velocity-operated throttle blades. The carburetors on this kit are matched and balanced for the Fairlane series engine and will deliver approximately 25-30 HP over the 4V induction kit.
1963-66 Falcon, Fairlane and Mustang 260-289 CID
C40Z-6B068-E
$240.15
Linkage kits...$8.40-$14.85 depending on application
Four 2-V Weber Induction Kit
The Four 2-V Weber Induction Kit is the ultimate all-out induction system that tries to push the back of the seat into your spine! It should only be used for competition events-not recommended for general street usage. Adds more than 40 horsepower over the 4V induction kit.
1963 Fairlane, Falcon, Mustang (3 & 4 Speed S/T)
260-289
C50Z-6B068-A
$695.00
Linkage Kits...$8.40-$56.15...(higher cost for 63-65 Falcons and Fairlanes...

 

You are welcome. As far as I know buyers are happy with Branda's products. I have purchased carburetor rebuild kits from the company. The founder has passed so the business is now continued by his son who has the one of one engineering development Cobra his father bought years ago. Pictures are usually posted on FaceBook, search CSX2126.



If you go through the Shelby-Ford parts lists very little was offered to customers for 260 c.i.d. engines. Carroll Shelby Enterprises/Shelby American often used more in the way of racing parts than they offered to customers, even ‘factory sponsored’ racers. It was also true that Shelby works or team cars used one thing and something similar was offered to customers. The result was two versions of many race parts and assemblies. I have participated in restorations of a few ex-Shelby works or works prepared race Cobras. It is not all the hard to find what was sold retail but finding parts that Shelby American actually installed and used themselves is quite difficult in most cases.



Ford was testing more than one version High Performance 289 (HP289) engine by September-October 1962 in vehicles. It appears, based on when the first two Shelby works racers got 289 engines, that Shelby’s engine shop was working on race versions of HP289 engines by February 1963. Assembly line HP289 engine production started at the Ford Cleveland plant in March 1963. Anyway, the rapidly approaching release of the HP289 engine put 260 engines of any flavor out of the spotlight. Ford, Shelby, and the aftermarket tooled up to make components for 289 engines.



I know of little Shelby sourced performance (not dress up) engine parts made and or marketed specifically with 260 engines in mind and most of that was for the Sunbeam Tigers circa 1964 onward.



Cobra (Shelby American)

Low rise aluminum 4V intake - no name, supplied by Holman-Moody (H-M) logo milled off.

Ford-Holley 4V carburetor - C3AE-9510-A, R-2599 (Ford production applied to 260s)

Low rise aluminum intake - C4SA9421, COBRA lettered (replaced the no name version)

Tubular steel headers, short runner block hugger type, (for a Cobra chassis)

COBRA POWERED BY FORD – 1963 cast aluminum rocker covers Design 1 Version 1 of 3

COBRA POWERED BY FORD – 1963 cast aluminum rocker covers Design 1 Version 2 of 3

4-2V induction, Ford-Weber 48 IDM1 carburetors (late in 260 engine racing). MSRP $1,230.70



Ford (FoMoCo®) circa mid 1963 (shows up in 1964 “COBRA KITS” order form)

“Engine Performance Kit” (separate kits were offered for 221, 260, and 289 engines)

3-2V induction system for 260 engines (the kit for 289 engines came with different carburetor assemblies)




Tiger (circa 1964 onward)

Low rise aluminum 4V intake - C4SA9421, TIGER lettered (TIGER marked version of H-M and Cobra intake above)

TIGER POWERED BY FORD lettered – 1964 type cast aluminum rocker arm covers

TIGER POWERED BY FORD lettered – cast aluminum “big” oil pan

Ford 4100-A carburetor – C4OF-9510-AL (street and race) (HP289 Fairlane / Cobra part applied to 260s)

Ford-Holley carburetor - C4AF-9510-DA , R-2919 (optional racing carburetor) (427 Ford race part applied to 260s)

TIGER lettered cast steel safety clutch bell housing (same as the first retail sales 1964 version of COBRA part introduced for 289 powered Cobras mid 1963)

High rise aluminum 4V – TIGER lettered (replaced the low rise model, otherwise the 1965 GT350 intake design)




I no doubt missed some, but those were the more common items aimed at 260 engines with Shelby American or a Ford dealer as the connection. Just about everything else was developed for 289 engines and many could be used in 260 engines.

 

Shelby American started racing 260 powered Cobras with Ford iron 4V prototype intakes and a Holley carburetor.

One of the period modifications for 260 engines was swap in a Ford iron 4V intake and a Ford 4100-A carburetor. I have read that owners find the smaller 1.08 size carburetor better for all around use with a 260 engine. The 1963½ intake came out when HP289 production started in March 1963. During the 1964 model year new versions of iron intakes came out. Ford Motor Company offered conversion kits to swap in a 4V induction system.

 

QUOTE="cabong, post: 14285945, member: 9977"] It is made by Buddy Bar Castings, and is one of a limited number made. As I understand, Shelby had enough cast to supply the 1964 and 1965 260 and 289 Cobras, with a few as spares. It has no numbers, anywhere.=/QUOTE

The "high rise COBRA" intake design was created in late 1964. Only two new street Cobras were ordered new with 1965 MUSTANG GT350 induction systems and that was during 1965. In addition to the two street cars one new race Cobra was ordered in late 1965 with an engine built to GT350 race specification including the 4V intake and carburetor.

There were different versions of "small letter" COBRA high rise intake available by May 31, 1965. Shelby parts lists and physical evidence suggests three different foundaries did the casting and two different companies did the final machining. Customers could also order a semi-finished intake they could do their own final machining on to suit their desires. Based on the numbers of used intakes almost always for sale somewhere Shelby and Ford must have sold a lot of the 1965 intakes. 1966 and 1967 intakes have their own history. Years ago I had the idea to buy one of each for a wall display. I bought a few and kept finding versions. Late 1964 through 1967 there were more than a dozen variants in COBRA high rise aluminum 4V intakes. One of the GT350 historians has collected pictures of the different castings and the various ways they were machined for different model years or over the counter sales. He has lots of pictures. I gave up on the idea of a wall display of one of everything back in the 1980s.

 

I may be off a year, but there is conflicting info on which 289 was available in the '63 Fairlane, the hipo or non-hipo.... and what year the 6-bolt began. Either way, the entire drive train (3-speed) was planted into this Model A in 1968. The swap was never completed, as the wiring and fuel lines were never done. It had a combination steering column and floor shift that made it virtually impossible to get into or out the bugger, to say nothing about drivability... I installed a column shift and once I started driving this little 289, I acquired a newfound respect for them. This car hauls butt..... I'd really like to know what all is in the mill, but I hate to tear it down at this point. Remember, the entire 289 project was only a few years old at that point.

 

Just in case anyone is wondering, there was not "a" Cobra 4-2V induction system but family of systems.

This one was developed on Shelby race 260 engines late in 260 c.i.d. engine racing.

4-2V induction, Ford-Weber 48 IDM1 carburetors (late in 260 engine racing). C4OZ-6B068-C MSRP $1,230.70 This kit had everything but labor and a few mounting fastener sets to install and run one of these systems in a Cobra.



Ford Motor Company technically offered these for sale at Ford dealers but I can only confirm three systems exactly like this were made. I had the third of the known three systems for years. What makes the original system design noteworthy was an extremely complicated linkage system onboard the intake among the carburetors. I traded the system off to a very early Cobra owner. He had a world famous race shop that has tuned racing Cobras since the 1960s tune the car and I got word back that because of the complicated linkage the engine was the hardest to balance and tune the shop had ever worked on. That was circa 2008.


The next system offered was a simplification of the linkage system, none of the parts needed to make it work in a Cobra from foot pedal set up to intake, and 48 IDM5 carburetors for an MSRP of $1,000.00.


I will short cut the discussion here but between early 1963 and 1967 thirteen (13) different “COBRA Weber” induction systems between Ford and Shelby that are known and documented and that does not count the intake castings with different port sizes, standard weight intakes, light weight intakes, or versions to use with milled cylinder heads. Carburetor wise there were 48 IDM1, 48 IDM5, 48 IDA, and 48 IDA 1 models. Very generally, there were intakes with carburetors facing opposite directions in two rows (opposed layout) and intakes with carburetors all facing the same way in two parallel rows (parallel layout).

 

Bob Mannel, I highly recommend his book, indicates that the 289 2V engine started production very late in 1962 which means it was a 1963½ model year introduction. The High Performance 289 engine went into production as March 1963 started. I sometimes see 1963½ 289 engine fuel pumps (Carter 3623S) made mid December 1962 but most parts I see for early 2V engines were made in January or February 1963. HP289 specific parts start showing up with February 1963 dates and many used HP289 parts are floating around dated in March 1963.

Five bolt engines were manufactured for new Ford cars through July 1964. Six bolt engine production started in August 1964. Bob tells me that the change was because Ford needed larger diameter clutch assemblies in trucks in Mexico.

 

Someone had asked about the AC that Ak Miller put together. I believe it started out with a 260, and ended up with a 289. The year he ran it at Bonneville was a fluke. He had broke his roadster that year and went home early. Ray brock was there helping out a friend prep a 300SL Gullwing to run. There was also a Ferrari there, being run by a Frenchman, who claimed he would beat all Yanks in his class. Ak went back with his AC, after making a few mods. Remember, the AC was a street car. Ak won, and the Frenchie complained to the guy running the show. Wally Parks told him to go home.... Ak told me that he sold the AC to some rich guy for his son, who promptly wrapped it around a pole.

 

Ak Miller started off with an A.C. ACE (pre-Cobra product of A.C. Cars). A thread in the AC Owners Club Forum indicates the ACE was powered by an A.C. Cars designed and supplied engine when the car was manufactured.

 

The story about the larger clutch requirements for Mexican trucks may be true. No small block trucks here, except for the Ranchero which had a 289 in 1965 until the Bronco in 67. The F100 finally got a smallblock in 1970, but it was a 302 by then. Brazilian truck production continued use of the Y block for over a decade after the SBF was introduced, and Mexican production often was closer aligned with Brazilian production than US in those days.

More likely the bolt pattern was revised to improve the drivetrain bending moment /stiffness for NVH improvements with the C4 Transmission introduction. Manual Transmission bolt pattern was concurrently broadened the with the block bolt pattern revisions, again, I suspect for NVH reasons.