Whats the deal on them. Almost every thread I see about IH trucks get the :"drop a small block ford/chevrolet"comment. Do these engines really suck or you cant make em go fast. I seen one rotting in the desert sand and It made me wonder. Its got pretty valve covers. Any of you hotrod them??
the aftermarket offers zero for these engines. the sixes will run for ever but they are low rpm made in an era when 50 mph was fast I will be putting ford engines in mine ,just to return the favor of ford putting int. engines in later mod trucks. have fun
I'm sure you can hot rod a IH engine, but you'll be on the same track as the Rodders back in the day modifying the engines. They had to do everything themselves, at least untill the speed shops started making the speed parts. I guess the reason people chose to put a newer v8 in is the same reason folks put in sb Chevys in their rides. More power for your dollar. Klaus
Some parts are hard to get. The v8's were low reving torque monsters. High nickel blocks. Theres some upgrades for the 345/392. They weigh about the same as an early hemi. If you have a machine shop and free time I'd imagine you could do some serious head work and get one to flow better. I saw one on utube with a blower! I have a 304 and 2 345's sitting around here. Some day I may build a 345. I have a 1969 IH car carrier. So this kind of stuff follows me home.
I have an IH diesel in my 2001 F250. Probably not truly what this thread is referring to, but that 7.3 has been a solid reliable motor and I HAVE tuned it up with some goodies for extra power and torque, still get great gas mileage. That would best be discussed over at http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/. Sorry for the modern OT.
They are great at doing what they were designed to do, pulling like crazy at under 3600 RPM and lasting forever. 800 + pounds and 250 HP ain't exactly hot rod heaven, though. Like the sixes, if you rev them too much, they drop the heads off the valves and crater themselves. I've had many of them, trust me, they are a truck engine. Period.
The gas V-8's are Very heavy. You can hot rod them, but it's only something you would do because you really want to, not because it makes sense. Little aftermarket support. I have seen them used in a pulling truck, making a lot of revs but that was after much more work that would have been required for an equivalent sized GM, Ford, or MOPAR block. They really were designed to be truck motors, with all of the plusses and minuses that go along with that use.
Well I guess I misused the term "hot rod". I didnt mean hot rod them as put them in a little rpu,but more like make them hotter and make them look good even in a big truck.
For 5 years in the late 1970's I worked as a school bus mechanic for a fleet with 100 full size buses.A mixture of 361 Ford FE's,IHC 345,392 and the different 404's.The IHC V8's are true truck engines with rugged parts and gear drive cam.They are also quite heavy.The IHC engines lasted longer but the Ford V-8's made a bit more power.The Ford and IHC V8's were governed to about 3800 rpm like all medium truck V-8 gas engines.Also had a few buses with the large 372 or 406 inline 6 engine.These engine always seem to get a rod knock if run hard. Using the IHC engines in a working truck makes sense,but to hot rod a heavy lump with limited HP potential makes no sense. And yes there are some guys who can get power out of anything for the right price.
I had a 192 ci 4 cylinder that I pulled from a Scout 800. It ran great , so I planned on putting it in my 36 International because it was a unique engine. The problem was that it was the " upright " version and adapting an automatic trans. would have been more trouble than iy was worth. Now im installing a 302 Ford engine since that it what Im most familiar with.
They are designed from the start as a work horse truck engine. This means if you want a big truck, tow bus, haul anything vehicle they are a good choice. Lots of pulling power and will last 500,000 miles between rebuilds. Gas mileage, let's not talk about it, (the reason everyone went to diesel). It would be possible to hop one up in theory but why bother? If you have a Travelall or IH pickup you want to tow a trailer with they came with up to a 392 cu in stock. You might swap in the big engine, maybe add electronic ignition and fuel injection, and have enough torque to tow a steam shovel over the Rocky Mountains the hard way - straight up. If you want a race car or hot rod, there are a hundred engines better suited to that purpose.
Kracker....any trans that fits an IHC V8 will fit a fourbanger too. The auto trans pan will be at an angle, but that shouldn't matter. The Scout bellhousing for the T98 3 speed just needs redrilling to put the trans in an upright position. The bell even has the bosses in the right place for the holes! I did that on my '62 Scout when I swapped in a 304. Looking back, I wish I had put in just about any other V8, but it worked out all right, I guess.
As others have said. IH engines were designed for truCk use. They do have higher Ni content and are nearly indestructable when not over reved. BTW, the quoted rpm redline does not denote rpm where engine damage occurs, but rather denotes the rpm where the engine was endurance tested at. In other words, if the quoted rpm is 4000 rpm (like the 152/194 banger) you can drive it all of its life at that rpm without damage. Kinda cool! Dave...
The 4 bangers were 152 ci and 196 ci The 152 is 1/2 of a 304 The 196 is 1/2 of a 392 And that is exactly what they look like, (V8 cut in half) even the distributor cap has a spot for 8 terminals but every other one is blank. These are very tough durable motors.
The IH motors are truck engines that don't like high RPMs, theres some aftermarket go fast parts for them but they are 3-4 or more times the price of SBC chevy stuff. The SV v8's (266,304,345,392) are in the 700-727 LBS dry range and don't like RPMs much over 3800RPM, they are good long lasting engines (hell my 345 has ran upside down twice and it still runs great) They aren't hard to find parts for as long as you know where to look. I have torn down well over 20 of the SV's and its hard to find one that the cylinder walls are wore. I tore down one with over 400K and you could still see the cross hatchs. They do like to eat cam bearings though. They are great engine for a puller of wheeler but they are not hot rod motors.
Can't port the heads too much. You start getting into the water passages if I remember right. Might be an oil galley, not sure' but I do remember there was some interference. Schnieder makes a good selection of cams for them. You can use chevy big block valve spring on them. There are a few very rare cast aluminum valve covers I have heard of but never seen. RPT makes the aluminum intakes for them. The 266 was supposed to have a similar bore and stroke to a chevy small block. I have a 392 in a pickup that is really hard to keep the tires from smoking in first and second. That thing is an absolute power house. Turns 5200 rpm without valve floating, that's as I as I've had it. Tom Mandera. Google that name for more info on building IH speed.
I don't know anything at all about Corn Binder engines. But GMCs were truck engines. The 302 started out as an Army duece and a half power plant. Plenty of them made it into lighter, faster homes. Why not an IH?
The V8 engines need to be appreciated for what they are... Extremely smooth running, long lasting, gear driven camshaft industrial grade motors. They aren't for everyone...Just like some folks can appreciate a nice running six popper, not everyone gets it, or has that sense of mechanical appreciation. As mentioned above the 392 will snap your head...1/4 throttle abrupt start in a half ton pickup if your not ready for it will smack your head on the back window. Full throttle mash (no power braking) in a peg leg 392 half ton truck will blister radials for blocks.... In case you haven't noticed I like Internationals
Don't remember any C-6 trans. Before the 727 was the earlier auto that was just an fmx. Almost all of the parts between the IH and Ford FMX would interchange. Same with the 727s. Bell housings were the only major differences. The output shafts were different on IH mainly due to the transfer case differences on the 4x4 models.
Guy's you shouldn't forget that torque wins the race from stop light to stop light. Any engine builder worth his weight in nitro, should be able to build a combination that could be quite a stump puller and formidable hot rod engine out of the old binder. If I was still in the business full time, I would build one and dyno it, just to show how it could be done. The fact that it might only turn to 5000 RPM is inconsequential. Working with the cylinder heads and available real estate for port work and matching a cam profile to its flow is what seperates the engine builders from the engine assemblers. The only disadvantage I see is the weight and size of the block, of course the COST$$$$, and you will really need to be on your A game to build one, TR
If you pulled a good running stock 392 IHC engine from a light truck or Scout and replaced it with a good running stock 390 FE,383 Mopar,or especially a 396 Chevy ,you would quickly find out it would go faster ,just like that.I'll put money on that statement
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