International Harvester

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8

808LC

Joined
Sep 10, 2006
Threads
3
Messages
41
Location
Kauai, Hawaii
so Pops has an IH 1210 pickup sittin the yard with a 392 in it. I'm thinking I might wanna put this in my 60... I vaguely remember this truck growing up but apparently it was a work horse of and engine. low rpms approx 3500 max... and something like 350-400 horses and 400+ ftlbs.

I know for sure I gonna do and engine swap and throw in a slush box with soem goodies. my real ? is does anybody have any real numbers for this engine? and do they know where to get adapters and such?
 
shoudl've added I tried searching and got lost, been to the binder forums adn got very little feedback so lets see if the any cruiser owners can help.
 
That engine is flat out not that powerful. I do not know the numbers, but even if measure the old school way at the crank and with no accesories I would expect at most 300 horses. Probably less.

I have one in my loadstar and it is a good engine, but it is not a powerhouse.


Really no point in undertaking an oddball swap like this.


Mark...
 
Yeah I wasn't to sure about the horse power but I do believe the torque is up there. its torque that I'm after so its either this or a diesel and the 392 is free.
 
There is nothing special about it's torque or HP. A free motor is pretty unimportant when you look at everything else involved in a swap. Research the dearth of adapters before you get to excited about this approach.


Mark...
 
I agree with Mark, not real easy to find parts for the old IHC stuff, much less adaptors. My family was an IHC dealer back in the 60s and 70s and my Pops says those # on the 392 sound high to him as well.

Sid
 
Howdy! Anything can be done with enough money, time, and more money. Unfortunately, in my 35 or so years of being into Landcruisers, I have never seen this done, and I have never seen any kits offered for IH stuff. Advanced Adapters is probably the biggest seller of this kind of stuff, although there are a lot of smaller, more brand specific, dealers. Look at what they offer for kits before you decide. You could sell your IH stuff to someone really into them, and that will help offset the cost of a conversion to whatever you choose. Chevy small blocks have always been the most popular candidate, due to high availability and options. A 350/383/400 with the right setup can net over 400 lb/ft of torque, and you would not need a lot of custom design work to make it work. John
 
808LC:

I recommend you not try to blaze a new trail. Stick with things that others have already done. This has many benefits, not the least of which is that if you get stuck, someone has probably already been there and can help you.

Good luck!
 
808LC said:
Yeah I wasn't to sure about the horse power but I do believe the torque is up there. its torque that I'm after so its either this or a diesel and the 392 is free.
Click to expand...

Even though the engine is free............you will spend more money putting it in and fabs...then you would buying a crate motor 350 long block.
Dont bother with that headache
It is possible to do nut not worth it if $ is tight.
My 2 cents!
 
I've friend with IH plaid running through his veins. I'll eleventh that those numbers are out to lunch. The tq may be close, but the HP is nowhere near the truth.

IH bell housings are cast iron and are deeper than any other U.S. V8 out there save those used in the Jeep J-10 & J-20 pick-ups. The T-18/T-19/T-98's used behind the IH's have a unique to them long input shaft. To put a Chevy, Ford, or Chrysler/Dodge V8 in front of one of these trans either requires the appropriate input shaft be swapped in, or a spacer between the trans and the bell housing.
Suffice to say that you're not easily going to couple an H41/42/55 to the back of one.

The IH 392 bare weighs MORE than the 2F dressed. By likely another 100 lbs or more. They are not an efficient engine. My friend averages about 8MPG in his 7500 lbs Scout II. He doesn't have a light foot, but I'm no sure that it would matter.

The only OE electronic ignition ever offered was a POS. There are aftermarket electronic dizzy's out there. For the most part they're junk passed off as "racing parts." Yeah, right.....
Another guy and I, unbeknownst to each other, both came up with a way to use the Ford Dura-Spark II electronic ignition parts in the stock dizzys. It's a lot of work to do the conversion. I worked out how to do the conversion because the dwell variation in the stock break points dizzy was incredibly bad. May as well have thrown darts at the board.

They have huge crank bearings in them and consequently DO NOT like to be rev'd up. I'd say 4k is the outer limit of what's sane for that engine.

ARP does make rod bolts. You have to ask them for them, I don't know that I've ever seen a p/n published.
The cooling system is one of the best in U.S. engines that I've ever seen. Very logical and practical design coupled to a poor cylinder head layout and a lot of iron.
 
One of those motors broke my engine stand. They are the approximate weight of the Chrysler Firepower 392 Hemi, without the output! They must weigh in at 1500lbs! You will need to factor in some suspension mods to accommodate the girth.

I like the idea of a free torque motor, please share your planning process and post up with your engineered solutions. It will be fun to see you get-er-done!

Rick
 
Wow I was hoping it wasn't THAT heavy. may have to rethink this alittle. wasn't real sure on the #'s,I was hoping the#'s would be close to a 383 stroker.
Found a company called IHonlyNorth that carries parts etc for these motors aswell as a TBI kit. as for trans options I was hoping to use a 700r4 or similar type. I'm still looking for a bell housing adapter etc... to make this work
I am planning to box in the frame rails and install Larger stiffer leafs with the possiblilty of bags if neccesary.
I do agree it is an oddball type swap but so was the sbc once upon a time. why do it? because it would be cool to have an IH powered 60.
My fab skills aren't the greatest, I'm sure I'll have to call in some favors. only time will tell.

I appreciate all the input and insight that has been posted here. I'll do my best to keep everyone updated as I make any new discoveries. the truth of the matter is this whole project relies on me finding the right adapters.
 
Ummmm... Crawl under your rig real quick. Cruisers are already boxed frames. Only the very rear beyond the spring mounts are not boxed. And the stubs at the front where the bumper mounts.


Mark...
 
Ummmm, knew that. what i meant was to er, a ,um reinforce... if I go through with this I wanna make the frame in the engine comp a little stronger/stiffer?
 
I had a Travellall back in the '70s w/ the 392......:frown:

IIRC about 290 rated HP......

They have an adapter plate bolted to the rear of the block thats changeable to accept a variety of trans...... mine had a 727 Torque Flight.........

Most I've seen had the oil sump in the front of the pan. Have you checked that out? May have clearance issues there.......
 
a 5.7 GM V-8 of your choice or one of the newer 5.3 or 6.0 would be a far better workable solution...there are known adapters, and trans, engine combinations that work.
 
I agree with most of the posts here. I have a '71 Scout II with the 345 that has TBI on it and just that motor is over 700 lbs dressed out. They are great behind what they were built for but from personal experience I would have dropped a 350 or a new 5.3 in it if I had to do it all over again. Not that the torque to HP isn't good but for price and availability there are way better options. If you are looking for close to 400 c.i. the get a 400 SBC and be done with it. Just a thought.
 
Found this:
The IH Service Manual lists the stats on a 392 as:

Net HP -------191 @ 3600
Net Torque ---- 307 @ 2400

I had the 345 in my Scout II and liked it OK. I think you're in for a trouble and too many hours of work with that swap. Fuel injected 350 or a diesel is the way to go, IMO.
 
for what its worth extreme 4x4 put a 700r4 behind a 345 IH motor. If you scroll part way down the page Xtreme 4x4 - Episodes | PowerblockTV IH only north is where they got the adapter and contact info is listed. There is 3 episodes might be similar to what you want and good info.
 
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