leroman

It's time to rebuild my tired 289 and i would like some advise as to where to go as far as a strong engine (not racing) but better than stock.I have an extra pair of 289 iron heads and was thinking sending them to the shop and have them ready ahead of time so i can do it little by little and don't spend all the $$ at once.The original configuration is a C code,2 bbl but when i bought it someone had installed an 4 barrel intake and a 600 holley.I found me a 4100 4 barrel Autolite for $40.00 and plan to install it on the new version with improved heads (??) and upgraded cam,etc. Any ideas as to which package will be the best improvement for the best price? Brands? suggested combos? I drive my car several times a week so racing and/or shows is not my biggest concern , i use my car as a business tool sometimes when i take v.i.p. clients out (i am in sales) also , any ideas to add some bling on the engine bay for the best prices? Thanks for the advice i get from y'all , I am still a newbie and this is a great forum and i appreciate the input.

greystallion66

Something that would be quick and easy, would be something like the edelbrock top end kit. You know that all the parts are set up to work together and it really takes the guess work out of everything. If you want to stick with the "stock worked over heads" and it sounds like you want to use the Autolite, look for a cam that gives you a lot of low end power since you drive it on a regular basis. People seem to like Comp Cams. That's what I'd do. It also depends on how worked over those stock heads will be, and you should compare that to the price of some decent aftermarket heads. You could save a lot of weight switching to some aftermarket heads. That's just my 2 cents

67mustang302

How much money do you have to spend, what kind of performance are you looking for, and how much chassis, suspension and transmission work have you done already?

2+2GT

If you do this to the heads before you send them to the shop, you'll see some real benefit:

289/302 Cylinder Head Port Matching

leroman

I would like to stay under $3,000 as best i can , would go a little higher if needed but that's the reason i figured if i start buying the parts now , then i will have most of what i need by mid or end of summer.Since i have the same iron heads as i have on the engine , then which would be the best work done and materials to add performance? I looked into the top end package from Edelbrok but is almost $3,000 and i still have to deal with the block boring,cylinders,etc. as far as tranny , it's the original but i will most likely i put an AOD from a donor car and do the swap since my mechanic has done it before ,another idea i am toying with is to get a full fuel injection package from the u pick yard and get rid of the carburetor altogether but i heard that such swap is a pain in the neck; and in suspension i have sub frame connectors,kyb shocks,new springs and shackles and restored the front suspension with original parts because i want to do a coil over upgrade down the road.

67mustang302

With a stockish transmission and that budget, prolly gonna be cleaned up stock heads, cam, intake. Nothing spectacular but it'll run decent.

These days $3,000 just ain't much for performance.

Once power starts going up you need stronger engine internals(more money), stronger trans/performance kit for auto(more money)....the list goes on. I'm replacing my shortblock right now, and am gonna be $4,000 into it once I'm done....and I already have the heads, intake and cam. And that doesn't count the money I've spent on the rest of the car.

2+2GT

A guy near here did the port-matching I linked, installed a 66 cfm Edelbrock on an Edelbrock Performer RPM, stock distributor curved to BOSS 302 specs, and installed a C9OZ-6250-C hydraulic cam. Turned 323 hp on the dyno, and could be done for about a grand.

rmorrell

If your heads are actually '68 vintage 289, they should be casting # C80E which is a bit of an odd ball head. I have a set of those along with other 289 heads and you see the difference in the chamber design. In '68 they opened the chamber volume to 63cc while the older 289 heads were all 54.5cc. Valve sizes were the same. The casting number will be on the underside of the head, you might want to investigate that. You said you have some other heads, if they happen to be '67 or older you will see a slight improvement in compression and performance. Remember, in '68 Ford also offered the 302, so the 289 was de-tuned a bit.

leroman

That's what i'm talking about , love the creativity I will print your link pics and take it to the machine shop.

boogerschnot

My buddy just put the edelbrock RPM top end kit on his 68 289 and it really opened up! I think the kit was rated to make 360hp, his downfall is the 270 gears in the rear end and the c-4 but once the trans was rebuilt it was a nice ride even with the 270's. So his was a 600 edl. carb, Rpm cam, intake and heads. And some nice rocker arms and push rods.