Need Advice about buying a 289 HIPO

[leroman]

I know this old school mechanic who is kinda short in cash these days and he is not working much due personal/health problems and he has a mini warehouse with a lot of parts for old school mustangs ; He is kinda hard to do business with but he mentioned that he have somewhere a hipo 289 block and i am thinking of attempt buying it for myself since i plan to redo the engine later on.How can i make sure i am buying the real deal here? what is the top $$ i should pay? I am still a "newbie" and don't want to get burned.Any and all advice/suggestions is welcome , Thanks!!

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[my77stang]

a hi-po 289 block means nothing. the heads are worth more though, the rods are better, and i believe the cranks are stronger.

[kalli]

in about 100 cases where someone is selling a 289 hipo block it's actually not.
Most are standard 289 blocks with aftermarket modifications and a bright sticker on the aircleaner.
You can get more power out of a 289 with aftermarket goodies. So I personally would only go for the HIPO if the car is a K-code missing the matching engine.

There's a lot of information on how to identify them out on the internet. Give it a search so you actually know if the engine you buy is a Hipo or not.
For example the cylinderheads have a double-dot over the 289 in the casting. as well they have screw ins studs instead of press in (but any machine shop could change that, so this one is not a valid determination)
BUT: according to Tad those heads have the same port castings as the standard 289 and the flow data table ( http://users.erols.com/srweiss/tablehdc.htm ) confirms this, which ultimately is outflowed by _any_ aftermarket head.

Put it this way: for a collector with K-code a 289 Hipo is a very valuable piece so therefoe they are expensive. If you don't own a K-code car, don't bother (that's my verdict)

[Gary H]

The HIPO has beefier main caps than the standard 289, but thats about it. If it's in good shape and standard bore, you might pick it up if he doesnt want alot of $$ for it. Standard bore 289 blocks are getting harder to find.

This will help
http://www.hipomustang.com/images/hipoeng/

[Starfury]

Originally Posted by Gary H

The HIPO has beefier main caps than the standard 289, but thats about it. If it's in good shape and standard bore, you might pick it up if he doesnt want alot of $$ for it. Standard bore 289 blocks are getting harder to find.

This will help
http://www.hipomustang.com/images/hipoeng/

+1

The only things different about a K code motor are the main caps, rods, pistons, cam/lifters, and heads. The main caps are thicker, the rods are beefier and use better rod bolts (which are really expensive, last I checked), the cam is a solid-lifter type, and the heads have screw-in studs and cast valve spring cups. The crank is pulled from the same line as any other 289 crank, it's just been hardness tested to ensure high nodular content.

Basically, the motor is only worth a lot of money to someone with a K code car. If he wants a lot of money for it, pass. If you can get it for cheap, great. Turn around and sell it to somebody who really needs it, then spend the extra dough on a better modern build that will outperform a K code. A roller 5.0 block and a stroker setup isn't that expensive, and it'll outperform a K code any day.

[my77stang]

i forgot about the main caps, but they dont make a difference because the caps dont ever break - its the block where the caps screw into that gives way first.

[fakesnakes]

All advice above is exactly what I would advise. Unless you insist on a 289 for originality or state emissions, get a roller 302 block with some afr185 heads and a decent cam. You can easily make 100HP over the stock hipo 289, even the 306HP Shelby version.