Old School 256

[JRay77]

I have an older motor. Has the bigger diameter piston pin receivers on the connecting rods. All I have is the bottom end. No jugs, head or valve cover. Can I use a 447 big bore kit and just swap the pistons out? Have the jugs bored to fit 256 pistons?

 

[fredintoon]

I have an older motor. Has the bigger diameter piston pin receivers on the connecting rods. All I have is the bottom end. No jugs, head or valve cover. Can I use a 447 big bore kit and just swap the pistons out? Have the jugs bored to fit 256 pistons?

Hi JRay,
nah, on a motor that old you'd have to use Gudgeon pins because them newfangled piston pins wouldn't work right.
Seriously though, think about pressing bronze bushings into those connecting rod small ends so you could use later model pistons.

 

[jay760]

You could use the later top end but would have to use 256 pistons and cam as the cam gearing is different on early models, Hoos racing sells 256 JE pistons,

 

[grizld1]

+1 re. pistons and cam gearing. Note too that rod difference isn't just in the ID of the small end. 256 rods are longer than 447 rods, and 447 pistons are not compatible with them; the only question is what the 447 pistons would hit first, a valve or the squish area of the combustion chamber.