289 rebuild
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 12
From: North Carolina
289 rebuild
So Im new to the website and i have a question...
Im 16 years old and i have a 1965 Mustang coupe with a 289
The engine needs rebuilding and i was wondering what tips you guys have for a first time engine rebuild....
what kind of rebuild kit is best?
Any assembly tips?
Thanks,
TS
Im 16 years old and i have a 1965 Mustang coupe with a 289
The engine needs rebuilding and i was wondering what tips you guys have for a first time engine rebuild....
what kind of rebuild kit is best?
Any assembly tips?
Thanks,
TS
3rd Gear Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 622
From:
Best tip I can give you is to go out and get a book called "how to rebuild your samll block ford" by Tom Monroe. There are several books out there with that title. Make sure you get the one by Tom Monroe. It walks you through start to finish. From removal to dissasembly, what to look for wear wise, assembly etc. My copy is aobut 23 yrs old, and I still refer to it when rebuilding an engine.
Once you get the book, read it twice, even three times. You will then have an excellent fundamental understanding of everything you need to know to rebuild your engine.
The next step is to determin what you want, stock rebuild, mild performance, track car (be realistic). Then you can start thinking about the appropriate replacement parts to get the engin where you want it to be.
Its a tedious, but fun process. Good luck.
Once you get the book, read it twice, even three times. You will then have an excellent fundamental understanding of everything you need to know to rebuild your engine.
The next step is to determin what you want, stock rebuild, mild performance, track car (be realistic). Then you can start thinking about the appropriate replacement parts to get the engin where you want it to be.
Its a tedious, but fun process. Good luck.
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 886
From: North East Texas on the Red River
I am impressed by the responses you received here! On another site, the same question brought back all sorts of EXPEN$IVE suggestions, rather than good practical advice.
One of the REAL beautiful things about an early Mustang is the fact that you can easily do an in frame overhaul. The pan comes off very easily without removing the engine first. In addition to that, these engines usually respond quite well to a simple replacement of rings and bearings along with doing a valve job on the heads. I said "usually" because after the heads and pan are off, you will need to do some measurement to make sure that further attention such as crankshaft grinding or cylinder boring is not necessary. The manual suggested will cover all this quite well.
When I was 13 I did my first overhaul on a 48 Chevy. That was 47 years ago and I still remember the satisfaction that it gave me. As suggested, read and study the book before jumping into the project. Ask questions here when you run into things that you don't understand.
This will be a GREAT project. Go for it!
Doc
One of the REAL beautiful things about an early Mustang is the fact that you can easily do an in frame overhaul. The pan comes off very easily without removing the engine first. In addition to that, these engines usually respond quite well to a simple replacement of rings and bearings along with doing a valve job on the heads. I said "usually" because after the heads and pan are off, you will need to do some measurement to make sure that further attention such as crankshaft grinding or cylinder boring is not necessary. The manual suggested will cover all this quite well.
When I was 13 I did my first overhaul on a 48 Chevy. That was 47 years ago and I still remember the satisfaction that it gave me. As suggested, read and study the book before jumping into the project. Ask questions here when you run into things that you don't understand.
This will be a GREAT project. Go for it!
Doc
Last edited by MBDiagMan; Jul 23, 2009 at 10:09 AM.
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 307
From: NC
1 - make sure you have a 289. a lot of engines have been swapped out. there should be a casting number on the passenger side of the block near bottom the rear of the engine. it should start with a letter (c,d,e) followed by a number. a 289 should be C3 - C6 ('63 - '66). anything later is a 302.
2 - take a compression reading. you may get away with just doing a little bit of work instead of rebuilding the whole engine.
3 - if you rebuild the engine, have the block hot-tanked. lots of crud gets built up in the passageways and can affect cooling.
4 - before you take the engine to the machine shop, mic all 8 cylinders. that'll determine if you need to go .030 or 0.060 over and if it's been bored before.
5. - mic and inspect the crank. deep grooves = regrind. shallow grooves = polish or ignore (depending on what you plan on doing with the engine). you need to mic it to determine whether or not it's already been ground.
6 - keep track of everything and make sure everything goes back where it came from. this is especially true for pistons (if reusing) and connecting rods. stamp all rods and their caps with the corresponding cylinder number before you remove them. it's extremely important that the caps go back on the way they came off.
7 - your rebuild kit will come with a plastigauge. use it.
8 - when you rebuild the engine, use assembly lube on all bearings. no exceptions.
9 - as you assemble the engine, turn the crank over 1 full rev after torquing every cap (main and conn rod). this will help you figure out if you've done something wrong early. you don't want to torque everything down to find out that the crank is locked solid.
10 - when you get the engine back together, use a racing oil or rotella T. these oils have the proper levels of ZDDP required for proper breakin of flat tappets.
11 - once the engine runs, rev it up to about 2 grand and vary the rpms every 30 seconds between 2 and 3k to break in the cam. the engine will smoke and you'll scare yourself but this is the right thing to do. you can check the timing and adjust the mixture while you do this.
10 and 11 only apply to flat tappet cams. roller cams don't apply.
where are you in NC? I'm between winston-salem and greensboro.
2 - take a compression reading. you may get away with just doing a little bit of work instead of rebuilding the whole engine.
3 - if you rebuild the engine, have the block hot-tanked. lots of crud gets built up in the passageways and can affect cooling.
4 - before you take the engine to the machine shop, mic all 8 cylinders. that'll determine if you need to go .030 or 0.060 over and if it's been bored before.
5. - mic and inspect the crank. deep grooves = regrind. shallow grooves = polish or ignore (depending on what you plan on doing with the engine). you need to mic it to determine whether or not it's already been ground.
6 - keep track of everything and make sure everything goes back where it came from. this is especially true for pistons (if reusing) and connecting rods. stamp all rods and their caps with the corresponding cylinder number before you remove them. it's extremely important that the caps go back on the way they came off.
7 - your rebuild kit will come with a plastigauge. use it.
8 - when you rebuild the engine, use assembly lube on all bearings. no exceptions.
9 - as you assemble the engine, turn the crank over 1 full rev after torquing every cap (main and conn rod). this will help you figure out if you've done something wrong early. you don't want to torque everything down to find out that the crank is locked solid.
10 - when you get the engine back together, use a racing oil or rotella T. these oils have the proper levels of ZDDP required for proper breakin of flat tappets.
11 - once the engine runs, rev it up to about 2 grand and vary the rpms every 30 seconds between 2 and 3k to break in the cam. the engine will smoke and you'll scare yourself but this is the right thing to do. you can check the timing and adjust the mixture while you do this.
10 and 11 only apply to flat tappet cams. roller cams don't apply.
where are you in NC? I'm between winston-salem and greensboro.
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 886
From: North East Texas on the Red River
jcoby brings up some good points, but everything will be in the suggested manual and more except maybe the part about the ZDDP additive which is kind of a recent thing since they took this out of most oils in the last few years.
Also... read the book and learn how to measure and inspect the engine once disassembled. You need not PLAN on pulling the engine and taking it to the machine shop. There is a great chance that it will be rebuildable in frame. This is a look before you leap thing. If it needs boring, then yes of course, pull the block and take it to the machine shop for hot tanking, cam bearings, freeze plugs, boring et al, but don't plan on doing this just for your health.
As I pointed out, one of the real beauties of these cars is that they were among the last cars built which could be easily overhauled in frame. If possible, take advantage of this fact.
Also... read the book and learn how to measure and inspect the engine once disassembled. You need not PLAN on pulling the engine and taking it to the machine shop. There is a great chance that it will be rebuildable in frame. This is a look before you leap thing. If it needs boring, then yes of course, pull the block and take it to the machine shop for hot tanking, cam bearings, freeze plugs, boring et al, but don't plan on doing this just for your health.
As I pointed out, one of the real beauties of these cars is that they were among the last cars built which could be easily overhauled in frame. If possible, take advantage of this fact.
3rd Gear Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 622
From:
Did u get the book? Also, get yourself an actual FORD shop manual for your year. Also includes prety much everything you need to service your car. In fact, some of the diagrams in Monroes book are from the Ford manual. Let us know how you make out.
Good luck.
Good luck.