Did the 260 engine used in early Cobra's use the same stronger rods , solid cam and thicker main caps the 289HP used? Also why did Herbie Hancock's Cobra come with a two barrel carb?
I can’t tell you the why of CSX2006’s 2V induction system. I can’t tell you anything about what made up the engine day one.
Two versions of Ford engineering custom 260 c.i.d. engines with 4V induction were supplied to Shelby American, Inc. (and other limited production car makers or racers).
Experimental High Performance 260 4V (XHP-260)
Super labor intensive hand made prototype engines. Many of the parts were unique or they were production parts that got modified. Almost every part in the engine was serial numbered. They used a heavy duty connecting rod design that was the parent of what would become the High Performance 289 production rod and later the Boss 302 production rod. The single intact unrestored engine has a very custom camshaft ground from a Ford blank. You cannot take any Ford cam and regrind it and get the same thing so it started as a raw blank. Custom mechanical lifters were required. Otherwise it is not a lot different than what would become the High Performance 260 camshaft and later the High Performance 289 camshaft. The main bearing caps were standard Ford 260 pieces. The cylinder head castings and all the valve train parts were unique to this engine at the time.
High Performance 260 4V (HP260)
An almost mass production child of the XHP-260 prototypes. Ford considered offering the HP260 in Ford Falcons. Dearborn Steel Tubing Company built up a HP260 powered Falcon prototype car and Ford allowed a magazine company to do a road test and publish the results. The cylinder head castings and connecting rod forgings were still at prototype stage. The camshaft in production HP289s was for practical purposes the same as the HP260 version. The same rods of the XHP-260 were carried over. Still stock main caps.
The subject of “Cobra” engines is quite complex. My current notes take up 101 pages and that does not any in depth detail for the study made on XHP-260-4 that once powered a new Cobra and remains almost completely intact and unrestored. I have hundreds of pictures and copies of all the work done studying that one engine.