The 260 motors Rootes received are reported to have come from the Industrial
Division of Ford (fact). It is reported that after Lord Rootes drove the
Shelby 260 V-8 Alpine he called Henry Ford II to inquire about the
availability of the 260 V-8. Lord Rootes or others in the employ of the
Rootes Group in England probably had no idea a 289 was planned or existed and
probably asked about 260 V-8's specifically. It has also been reported that
Lee Iacocca (sp?) was not the least bit excited about Ford providing engines
for a car that may have become a potential sales rival for the upcoming
Mustang and may have steered the sale of the 260 for the Tiger.
As for the LeMans Tigers, I recall reading that the Rootes Competition
Department either requested or was ordered to use the 260 in the LeMans cars
due to their use in the production cars and they wanted the same displacement.
Or perhaps they were not homologated with the FIA to use the 289.
More speculation, enjoy!
-----Original Message-----
From: tigers-bounces@autox.team.net [mailto:tigers-bounces@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Stu Brennan
Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 7:00 PM
To: tigers@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Tigers] more cubes
I thought I read somewhere that the 260's in Ford vehicles were a
different block from the Tiger 260s. A different design, with the
number of freeze plugs and the thin wall casting design being obvious
differences. This would make it unlikely that 260s left over from car
production were shipped to Rootes.
Stu
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