Bullitt117

is it possible to squeeze 300 reliable horsies out a 289 naturally aspirated? I will not be stroking it, but I will be boring the cylinders. and please please don't tell me to swap in a 302.. cuz its not happening. i am keeping the 289 and thats that. I will be doing a complete rebuild on the motor. do you think I could get close to 300hp (flywheel) out of it? and how?

MonsterBilly

Dude, FYI the 289 and the 302 are identical in every way other than the crank. It is the very same block, no difference at all. All ford did was put a crank in the 289 engine with a 1/4" longer stroke and BAM! the 302 was created.

Actually my friend you can easily get 300 Hp out of a 289. infact its not too hard to get close to 400hp out of it. All you need is ARP bolts and studs so the internals can handle the RPMs , a great set of good flowing heads (IE Trick Flow, AFR, Dart, Edelbrock RPM) and a good intake manifold and a good tuned carb.. There you have it. wind it up and let it rip.....

andrewmp6

Shelby got a little bit over 300hp out of the 289 it can be done.

2+2GT

Dead easy. A guy near here followed my advice, put a C9OZ-6250-C cam in his 67 289. His iron heads sucked even worse than usual, so he port-matched the exhaust (his first engine job!) used a 600 cfm carb on a Performer RPM intake, and stock distributor tuned to BOSS 302 specs. Engine turned 323.5 hp @ 5300 rpm.

289/302 Cylinder Head Port Matching

Bullitt117

haha yea sorry I should have said no 5.0 HO's. I've had so many people to tell me to swap to one its not funny. it may be cheaper and more powerful, but I'm keeping my 289.

and awesome, most of that stuff is already on my list. the things I'm limited on are cam and heads. I won't be able to get a really radical cam because of my granny gears that are currently in the car. and most aluminum heads are out of my immediate budget. in a few years I will be swapping the gears and putting in a t5, so I won't be limited on the cam anymore after that.

basically, my goals for the car are simply to be able to put down a 99-04 mustang gt (mostly stock) if one happens to want to play. I won't be racing it all the time.

I found a set a of 351w heads for $150 but it looks like they need work.

oldrock

300hp on a 289 is very achievable. My buddy did a rebuild on his 66 with a 289 and got just over 300hp. All it took is a new cam, port and polish job, new pistons bored 20 over, new intake, long tube headers with dual exhaust. Car ran great... not rubber shredding torque but great acceleration and spirited performance.

rmodel65

pick up a set of 1996-97 GT40 heads from an explorer and port match them they flow better than the 1969-70 351w heads people run....add a nice cam intake etc and youll be in business

jojobanks

did he have to machine his stock heads for screw-in studs to accommodate the Hi-Po cam? i assume so considering the Hi-po heads come stock with screw in studs.

musnicki

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-2091/

Is what I bought for my 289 ala stroked out 306...hehe, anyways, it's suppose to be about 375hp and will probably net you 300 to the wheels. $1800 is what I paid for four years ago, kinda weird that the price hasn't budged.

James

MonsterBilly

JOJO

if you install a aftermarket cam with higher lift and more duration on the valves into a engine with stock heads you will also need to install heavier springs that are matched to the cam. When you install these springs they have a lot more strength to them. The stock for press in rocker studs DO NOT have the strength to hold under this tension and they will pull out.

SEARCH MY THREADS AND YOU WILL SEE A BIG WRITE UP ON STOCK HEADS AND WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET THEM WHERE THEY NEED TO BE TO FLOW BETTER AND HOLD UP TO TOUGHER SPRINGS. You will see that it takes almost as much as buying a set of aluminum heads.

-port matching
-removing studs
-mill heads at stud mounting areas
-thread and install screw in studs
-install guide plates
-drill out holes for push rods
-install hardened push rods

If you look at the cost of the machine work (although the port matching can be done at home with the right tools) you are looking at about $800. YOu can get a really nice set of trick flow heads or Edelbrock RPM heads for about $1100.
You will still be nowhere close to the perfomance with the iron heads as you will be with the aluminum.
351 heads will get you a lot of performance with a straight bolt on.


Also, why is the term HiPo being used so much in this thread. Are you all referring to the Ford HiPo products or just throwing it around?

And Bullit , You stated in another post that oyu have GRanny Gears in your rearend. Low gears are great in these high RPM engines. Before you say you are going to throw in a T5 and switch to a "higher Gear" please post what gears you currently have. It should be on a small tab located on one of the rear end housing bolts.

I switched to a "LOWER" gear, i went with 3.73 gears and in fact i wish they were a little lower.

And FYI i will line up against any newer mustang in a minute. My car hauls butt from 0-80mph after that i am fine with the T5 overdrive.