This was first posted in the Farmall forum but I thought it might be a good idea to post it here also
Gentleman...
I was at a pull a few weeks ago talking with a man who currently runs a V8 Nostalgia tractor (M with a V8). Prior to this, and for the last 30+ years, he has pulled many tractors including but not limited to IH's with supercharged 301's with superchargers. He even pulled with NTPA for a few years chasing points. I'm giving you this information because what I'm about to tell you came from this man's mouth during a conversation we were having over 301's. He said the cylinder bore "thickness" is much thicker on a 301 and if I want to see for myself, he told me to pull a freeze plug out of a 301 and compare it with a 263 or 291. He said the outer wall (where the water touches) will be much closer to the outside of the block on a 301. He said you can put your finger in the freeze plug hole and tell the difference. I find this absolutely amazing. And if I didn't hear this from a man who has personally built many of these engines, and blown up quite a few, I would dismiss it as sheer nonsense. My understanding has always been a 301 runs the piston right on the bore and sleeves are used to sleeve down to a 291, 282, 263, etc. So why on earth would the cyl wall be thicker on a 301 than a 291 or 263? .. or did they do it so they could be bored over a few times ? Anyone ? Is he correct ? Thanks
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