Engine: 259 to 289 How To

[Turismo Tom]

My new purchase of a 62 lark has a "rebuilt engine" with "30,000 miles". On close inspection the serial # is a 259 but the V has been punched over with a P. It seems the rebuild change the displacement to 298. Also the heads are from an Avanti R-1......but with dish pistons and no evidence so far of a R-1 Cam.....
I would like to know how to change the original 259 to a 289. Also.....does the 1557570 head have bigger valves? Any difference other than displacement between standard 259 heads and the R-1 heads?

[bezhawk]

If you have dished pistons, they were standard on a 289. The main difference is the stroke (crankshaft)
Measure your stroke, yours may already be a 289. All Stude and Avantis have the same heads from 55 till end. Except for the R3 & R4s . There are minor differences in combustion chamber, sizes. Truck , export low compression, and R2's had larger combustion chambers for low compression. The valve sizes and ports WERE THE SAME.

[Mike Van Veghten]

To clarify, ALL 55 to 64 heads (no matter the casting number) have "basically" the same intake and exhaust ports and valve sizes, unless they are the R3 or R4 versions...which are rare and expensive.
I say basically because the cores for the ports may have changed "slightly" over the years of making heads. Just figure that they are all the same. In all the heads I've ported, I've seen no difference that can be seen with the naked eye.

If you want to convert to the R3 valve size, most any shop can do this for you, but remember that some carefull port/pocket work needs to be done to go with the larger valve to gain the advantage of the larger valve.
Also, ONLY the intake should be enlarged. Leave the exhaust valve the diameter it currently is. That's one of the things that the Stude engineers got wrong.

Mike

[RadioRoy]

The difference between a 259 and a 289 is the crankshaft and the pistons. Everything else is the same. I'm not talking about the super motors, just the plain vanilla 259 and 289.

Pistons and crank. That's all.

[PackardV8]

It seems the rebuild change the displacement to 298.

That would indicate a .060" overbore, which would also slightly raise the compression. It really needs nothing to be an excellent driver.

FWIW, the R1 cam only raises horsepower in the 3,000 RPM and up range. Below that, it costs horsepower, torque and fuel economy. To get the maximum benefit, the compression needs to be 9.5, better ignition system and better intake.

Speaking of intake, most 259"s were 2-bbl and single exhaust. You didn't mention which you have at present. Converting to 4-bbl and dual exhaust is certainly worth the effort, but it's difficult to imagine anyone building a 299" and not already having done so.

jack vines

[StudeRich]

You already HAVE a probably 225 HP or more 289 or 298 so just DRIVE it.

[studebaker-R2-4-me]

On close inspection the serial # is a 259 but the V has been punched over with a P........ and no evidence so far of a R-1 Cam.......

Stamping the block's pad is something I should do with my Lark's 259 "V" that I rebuilt as a 299 ci R1. I would have a hard time believing that someone would go to the trouble of replacing the 259 crank with a 289 crank/pistons and not put a R1/R2++ cam in it,... but then you never know what was laying around when he rebuilt it.

Have fun and drive it!

Allen

[Turismo Tom]

That is what I was thinking. If the builder changed it to a 289 (sorry, I miss stated the numbers earlier) then R-1 heads and no cam makes no sense. Also, the two into one exhaust make it even more unbelievable; with a four barrel!! I'm thinking on taking the heads off and putting a set from a '62 289 on. It should do good with the four barrel and dual exhaust. I can build an R-1 for another project of mine.

[PackardV8]

I'm thinking on taking the heads off and putting a set from a '62 289 on.

One more time - the heads are all the same. Nothing other than a good valve job to be gained by removing them.

jack vines

[candbstudebakers]

Most if not all 62-64 259 engines ran the heads with the casting number ending 70 and that is the same head used on some trucks and the Avanti r-1 engines and the gasket make some of the difference in the compression on the R-1 engine also i have seen 70 heads on hawks along with the 55 head, most trucks with the 289 used the 82 head same as the R-2 but again the head gasket makes most of the difference, all this with stock heads, worked heads is a different ball game some what.

[Studerick64]

I have seen where an engine has had a cracked block the internals were switched into the most available good block. 259 engines are way easier to find at a bargain price.

[swvalcon]

Is there a way to advance the cam on a stude V8? And how do they like it if it can. Small block chev's love 4* advance no matter what cam you put in them and most cams grinder now are grinding it right in to the cam to start with and all you have to do is check with a degree wheel to see if it's where it should be.

[SN-60]

I have seen where an engine has had a cracked block the internals were switched into the most available good block. 259 engines are way easier to find at a bargain price.

And they're actually a smoother running engine, capable of higher revs if modified.