Re: 265 vs V-8


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Posted by Brian in Oregon from 63.178.65.126 (sdn-ar-003orportP214.dialsprint.net) on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 at 11:43PM :

In Reply to: 265 vs V-8 posted by Jim from 165.121.239.14 (user-2injroe.dialup.mindspring.com) on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 at 10:03PM :

I almost went with a 251/265 for my M37. However, the Dodge flatheads are not cheap to rebuild. Fellow military vehicle club members have said $1800 - $2000 is about the norm for a complete rebuild.

If you are intending to get to 55 mph with the stock 900x16 tires and 5.83 gears, then you will have to run the engine at a sustained 3200 rpm. This is pushing the 230 no matter what you do to it because of the offset rods. The 251 family has straight rods, so with a proper balancing I would think it ought to reach that rpm. 45 mph is 2800 rpm, so that's a 400 rpm increase.

The 251/265 is a very attractive upgrade because it can be diguised to approximate the 230. It will never be an exact replacement, since the intake and exhaust manifolds are different. (A neat business idea would be to cast up M37 style manifolds for the 251 series.) I don't know if the military distributer would fit the 251 with a military oil pump. Didn't get that far. I'm told the 251 will directly fit the M37 bellhousing. As far as I know, the only alteration to the M37 itself is to move the front motor mount holes forward. If it was me, I'd weld extensions onto the "floating power" motor mount bracket and not drill new holes in the crossmember.

I decided to go with the 318 for three reasons. First was cost, though by the time I was done I was within a few hundred of rebuilding a 251/265 anyway. Oh well. I also believe the 318 will take the sustained rpm better. This is an area where we need some more feedback from those running 251's. Third is reliability. I intend to use my M37 quite a bit in remote areas. I don't want a breakdown in Podunk, Nowhere. The 318 is a very reliable engine. I am not certain the 251 can approach that degree of reliability.

Having said that, if I ever do get around to building one of my extra M37's or my 1941 WC, I plan to revisit the 251/265 idea. For the 1941, the 251/265 would look a lot closer to the original 218/230 because of the intake & exhaust manifold patterns.



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