Hey guys i bought a 1968 coupe about three months ago and i took the engine to a mechanic shop to get it rebuild.
In the engine block it has engraved 302 but when he took it apart he told me the crank shaft andeverything else was from a 289 and the car is an original 289.
how can i tell??
also im getting performance head (edelbrock vctr JR)so he asked me to get standard pistons and rings for a 289.
will they wistand the power?

 

68's also used 302 blocks (same as 289) but with a 289 crank and rods. so it has the right engine.

 

So does this mean its an original 289?

Will the pistons and rings (he asked me to get them standard) the mechanic asked me to get, support the power of Vicror Jr EdelBrock Heads i asked the mechanic to put on??

 

its original 289 but.. why would you put stock bore pistons and rings back in it, judging its 40 years old, just have the thing bored out and checked. get some .30 over pistons - of course it will support em but.. victor jr's are huge for that thing as well as if you're getting stock pistons have fun with bent valves since you can't very well get away with 2.050 intake valves on stock pistons without them being dished or cut. i have performer rpm's on mine and are very happy and they're growing with me when i stroke to a 347 so..

 

Vic. Jrs are way too big for a 289 unless you are going to spin it up to 8000+ RPM. I say get some RPMs if you want heads that will perform good on a 289. Also, you can get them with a 1.90 intake valve and they will work with stock style pistons (where as Vic jrs won't b/c of larger valve size). I have the RPMs on my 347 and they do just fine, so they will flow plenty well enough for a lil ole 289.

 

Aw thats a bummer what should i do i already bought the victor jr heads[]and i have no way of changing them

 

Stroke it out to a 331 or 347. You can get a complete kit form eagle for $1000 ($1200 for man. trans.). The pistons will give you 10-10.5:1 compression and will clear the valves. And it is a COMPLETE bottom endkit. It even comes with a flywheel and balancer (its comes balanced already). This way you will be getting the full potential out of those heads. This is a VERY good mod for the price, as it will only cost you about $500 more than just rebuilding the 289 bottom end (If you buy new bearings, polish the old crank, and buy pistons it will be close to $450-$500 for the 289). This is the route I'd go. If you choose not to, then you can order some aftermarket pistons that have valve reliefs big enough to clear the big valves. Honestly, those heads are WAY to big for a 289, so I would highly suggest the stroker kit.

 

Thanks I appreciate your help.
Is their any other kit or a place where i can get them for a cheaper price?
If i do bore it over to that and stroke it doesnt that kill the whole purpose of a 289? will it still have the same value/impression if you say u stroked it over to a 331 or 347 in comparison to a 289???
i never done this before and i want as much information as i can get to do it right and get the best out of it.....

 

Yeah, it won't hurt the value because its nothing that cannot be undone. the only thing you have to do to the block is grind like 1/16-1/4 of an inch off of the bottom of the cylinder walls (only like a place 1/2 inch wide) to clear the rod bolts. But, if you ever wanted to put it back to a 289 you still could. So no, value would not be affected, and honestly, nobody would have to know you did it. Its the same block, so you could just tell people that its a stout 289, *cough* block. lol.

Honestly, thats about as cheap as you can do it. I shopped around for months, and thats just the cheapest and easiest way to do it. Period. Yes you can buy stuff off ebay, but by the time you piece all of the parts together, you still have to spend $100 on the bearings, $50-&80 on rings, and have it balanced at a machine shop and use your existing flywheel and a new balancer which runs about $60, and for the labor it would run about $150(I never saw a kit on eBay that came with rings, bearings, flywheel, or balancer). By the time you piece all of this together, you might have a cheapo off brand crank and it all will still end up costing you more in the long run.

I ordered mine form summit and had it dropped shipped and get this: there was absolutely no charge for the shipping. None.
The part numberI got was: B16422EA060
The last 3 numbers are the bore size (mine was .060 overbore, so it is actually 352 CI), so if you went .030 over on the block it would be B16422EA030. If the block is perfect (no ridge at the top, and I have never seen one that was perfect if it had any kind of mileage on it), and is stock bore, then you would need a B16422EA000. You get the idea. I would strongly recommend this. With a good carb/intake/cam/headers you could easily make 425 HP.

 

Im gonna research into it and learn more about the boring size and other things a might neeed to know.
I really didnt know wat i was getting into i just ordered the parts and thought heck ill just send it to the mechanic so he can install them... i thought to myself this mechanic is telling me he just wants me to buy standerd piston and rings, it just didnt sound normal to me since i have read in some magazine that people bore their engines and i read it here as well.
How do i go about choosing which do you think is the better kit?
Here is wat i got so far tyler72 you wont beleive it i got a bargain/super deal thats y i just whent a head and bought them without knowing anything:
edelbrock fuel pum
edelbrock electr/manuel (4 Barrel)850cfm demon carburator
edelbrock timing chain
vitor jr manifold
vr jr heads
and a performer cam w/lifters
now that i told u wat i got so far, anything else i need to know to have a nice installation
And Im Putting a T-5 on i wonder if i have to modify the tranny since i hear they are pretty powerfull already=its aBORG WARNER T-5 out of a 89gt