muggsy

Hi,

So long story short, I had my 289 engine pulled and sent to the machine shop. If you see my earlier post, you'll see that I learned what I thought was original was actually a replacement 289 bored .60 over already. The machine shop originally thought that the cylinders would not need to be bored any further and that .60 over was okay, but if needed, could not be bored any further. Well, machine shop just called and said my block has seen its last days, the cylinders need to be bored and can not be bored any further, I need to look for a new block...I want to turn this into an opportunity here rather than sulk. My first reaction was major disappointment.I am not in the mood to go looking for another 289 block, plus I'm already a few bucks deep in the machine shop,so it looks like its crate time.....!!!!

I have already ordered and received the hydaullic cam (Comp XE262H) and heads (AFR 165cc emission leagal) I was going to use on my 289, see links to their specs below:

http://www.compcams.com/Technical/Se...umber=31-238-3

http://www.airflowresearch.com/165sbf_sh.php

So the question is, should I keep the heads and cam and go with a 347 stroker short block assembly? (this one here.... http://www.yearone.com/serverfiles/f...ain2.asp?cat=E ) That's where I'm leaning....but will my heads and cam match that 347? What issues does a 347 introduce?

or just go with a standard stroke 302? Or do I return the heads and cam to JEGS and buy the 351W short block assembly and get the heads and cam that match that motor????

Please help here, this is all recent new info to me so any real insight into plusses and minuses of the 347 Stroker vs 302 vs 351W is what I'm looking for, in addition to if I do go 347, are my heads and cam still the way to go or do I need to consider bigger cam and heads. Also, my tranny is a stock C4 with stock stall and 8 inch 3.55 rear end...

Thanks in advance....

gothand

Before asking opinions you need to answer one simple question ... what is your budget?

I know the banter back and forth about stroke this, supercharge that can be fun, but most of it is noise if it is outside what you want to spend. Also, how good of a deal did you get on your heads and cam, can you return either of them and do you look forward to finishing up from a short block or would you rather have a drop-in long block?

muggsy

Budget around $3500 in parts- short answer. That figure could go higher if one is MUCH better than the other.

$5k if I return my heads, JEGS will take them back no ????s asked...

Drop in long block 351W is cool, but what other considerations does that open up? (my car is a 67 so engine bay size shouldn't be an issue, right?) In this case, budget can go up to around$6 or $7 k cuz there is less labor and most other parts like oil pan, water/fuel pumps are included...

I never intended this to be the fastests car on the planet, I went with a cam just a hair under 500 lift and the AFR 165cc heads because that is a quality combo with plenty of power and not a ton of maintenance on the lifter/roller side of things...not really interested in supercharger at this point....I am wondering if a 347 stroker introduces reliability problems...keeping in mind this is a mild driver car, no racing, maybe 3000 miles per year of pretty mild driving. Kicking it every now and then, maybe, but no racing.

JMD

How many CCs are the combustion chambers on your head, and what compression ratio are you looking to run? Looking at your cam selection, I don't think that you would want to run over 9.5 to 1.

In short, whatever you do you will need to make sure that you can "match" your components in order to make everything work together. Chances are that you can work with the heads that you have coming, but you will need to select the rest of the components carefully, mainly at this point you will need to select your pistons carefully with regard to DOME or DISH displacement in order to get your compression ratio right.

I have made a handy little program that will let you put in bore, stroke, etc. in order to get your CR right. There are books that have this info that will be helpfull, I posted one in a similarr thread on this forum today.

The computations are not hard once you get the idea of what you need to do.

my77stang

as posted to you earlier, but i'll list in order of cost effectiveness

$ score a 302 block and build with your 289 rotating assembly

$$ score a 351 and rebuild it

$$$ score a 302 and make a 347

$$$$ score a 351 and make a 408

use those heads on whatever you build, you'll be happy. cam should be ok too, even on the windsor (just use the 302 firing order)

mustanglover66

Ok here you go first off the AFR heads will work good on a 347. secound if you want you can sent us your heads and cam if you want but if you would rether have a roller cam the blocks we use are late model roller blocks so you could upgrade to roller with part of the money you save by senting us your heads. If you want them ported we can do that also. But you will need to call Lloyd for the price of your motor. Just for an idea our base 347s go for $3,689 that price is for everything from the intake to the oil pan and includes run on the dyno, dyno sheet and video of dyno. You can also send in your carb and dist. and we will put them in so your timing and carb are all adjusted for you when you get your engine, or you can buy them from us for about $700 for the carb, dist. and wires. hres the website and if you do call tell them I told you to call.

Mike

http://tandlengines.com/

my77stang

i'll have to say after looking at all the pics of your shop you guy definately got it going on. just curious, what does a place like that pay guys in the head shop?

mustanglover66

I'm not real sure but the guy doing the heads is the owners son and part owner so I'm sure hes paid well. I can say as the person doing the balancing I staried at $12.50 hr working between 50 and 55 hours a week and had not done it before I started. you also have to consider we are in a part of NC where the cost of living is not very high. If anyone is looking we are alway looking for good people.

my77stang

thats pretty good start pay with no experience. after almost 3 years of head shop xp i went to another shop and was still only making like 9.50..... the pay here in florida (or at least rural florida) really blows. i think the builders were only getting around 15 or 16 an hour

THUMPIN455

those heads will work good on a 347, also if they already have 1/2" head bolt holes( pretty sure they do)they will also fit the 351. The cam will work in either one as well, a larger engine will make alot of torque and a lower RPM than a smaller one, everything else being equal. As for the difference between a 347 and a 351, well its packaging, what would fit better and use parts you already have. If you dont have headers and intake yet, then you can go either way. Also the brackets for the power steering and alternator are different for a 351 compared to a 302.

The heads you have will work good for a mild street engine like you want. A 302 will make enough power to put a smile on your face every time you drive it. A 347 or 351 will make a bit more bottom end due to a longer stroke and you wont have any problems passing people but you will have a little traction problem. The larger engine should still pull to 6000 rpm with your cam and heads, so its not like they are too small.

Aluminum heads can take a bit more compression. 9.5 is good for iron heads, but you can go to 10.5 and sometimes higher with aluminum heads. Iron retains more heat and therefore is more prone to detonation. The 650-700hp Pontiac I have runs 10.3:1 and it runs just fine on 91 octane. If you run under 10:1 in your small block, you can probably run the cheaper 87 octane and still make decent power. You arent building a race car so no need to max the compression and no need for a larger cam. it will still haul with what you have.

Even with a larger engine the 165s should work just fine, its just a longer stroke will make more power. So its up to you really, if you want a little more engine its very possible and no need to send anything back. Just get another block or shortblock and build it..