If you’re planning a rebuild already, go ahead and spend the extra for a stroker kit.

 

You can get 300+ Hp at the crank with a 289 and stock heads, but it will be way easier and cheaper to just get a stock 302 block, have it machined and notched out for a 347 stoker kit, then do that+aluminum heads. I'd have it assembled too though because it's not just drop-in. I did that and put my 289 block aside. That will of course cost more than $1500. I paid $1500 just to have my machine work done when I did that :0

 

I took my 289 and changed out the heads for some twisted wedge 11r 170s. Went with a twisted wedge stage 1 roller cam, and roller rockers. I am running a Victor Jr intake, some mid length headers, 2.5 exhaust, h pipe, and summit 600 cfm carb. This combination pulls crazy hard now, even with the 2.80 gearing in the back. My low 1st gear with the T5 makes up for it. Everything but the heads was purchased used. I am sure that if you took your time you could find a good set of used heads as well. If you are willing to do some patient searching and waiting you could probably build something pretty cool on a budget. Craigslist, Facebook market place, and offerup are your best sources. Also the for sale section on here occasionally has something nice pop up.

 

Edlebrock has a drop on 325HP top end kit for 289 if you dont want to go down the stroker rabbit hole.

 

If the engine has good uniform compression, you can have your current heads port matched, swap a cam, tune the distributor, paint a better flowing aluminum intake Ford blue and put on some Hi-Po manifolds or a decent set of headers for way less than 1500. You can hide all kinds of goodies inside a blue block and a pair of stock valve covers. I like to "look stock and still rock". An old man and an old car can still surprise you !

 

Trevan, do you know what casting number heads you have ? Do you have the originals yet ? 300 hp is fall off a log easy for a 289, BUT, if you make one of several common mistakes, you will not get there. The number 1 most common mistake is 302 heads on a 289, the chambers in the 302 head are generally too large for the 289. A 289 needs some compression, and your 1965 heads were the best 289 head there is. The chambers and exhaust ports in the C5AE caasting are the ones everybody wants. If you have the ports opened up and run the larger valves, the iron heads can support ~450 hp. But it takes some work to get there. The 2nd most common mistake is choosing the wrong pistons. If you still have the factory pistons, you are fne. If you bore it and want to keep the 289 stroke, you'll want 3101HC pistons from Silvolite. 99 out of 100 shops will try and give you Silvolite 1177 pistons, which are too short by .020. I recently retired from the engine shop and can help you with part numbers if you need. LSG

 

This is really good advice. The 289 is a great little engine. It's one downfall is building compression but it's so easy to loose it. The C code piston has about 13 cc in dish and valve relief volume while the high compression A code has about 3cc. That 10cc difference is at least a full point difference in compression. I've seen 289 pistons listed as flat top but when you look at the specs, the valve reliefs are not eye brow relief but rather a trench that had a 13cc volume. So as LSG says watch what you pick!

I'm going to throw something out there. Stick with the ort block and heads but bump the motor up to a 302. 302's where made in larger quantities. Cranks and rods are very common and cheap. It's not so much the extra 13 cubic inches but that little extra stroke will do wonders in making compression.

 

I want to keep my original 289 block and heads and am looking to do this as cheap as possible to save money to do a C4 to T5 conversion.
That'll be a nice upgrade.
So i figure i can pull the engine and do all the disassembly. then have the block bored and machined. and do reassembly myself.
The first question is, does it need to be bored? That's a big expense and not to be taken lightly, as it will likely run a bit hotter afterward, requiring a cooling system upgrade.
So my question is... How can i get the most horsepower out of this block without buying expensive aluminum heads and spending thousands. whats the max HP i can get? is 300+ possible?
300+ is in fact easy, and low cost. See below.
i would like to get new lifters?
Yes.
what kind?
Hydraulic
rockers?
No, if yours are good now. I would suggest changing to screw-in studs, if you don't already have them.
Do i even need to re machined my heads if they were rebuilt 3 years ago.
No.
Can i save money on that?
Sure.
Is stroking the engine safe?
Define safe.
how much?
Expensive, and will destroy the budget you name.
I cant seem to get a real answer on the forum about this. some say yes others no.

im looking to spend no more than 1500$. if anyone can suggest parts and estimate prices that would be helpful.
This will come in under that budget.

While I have the C3OZ-6250-C mechanical cam in my own car, mechanical cams are not for everyone. The C9OZ-6250-C hydraulic cam provides very similar performance.

For this upgrade, you will need:

• C9OZ-6250-C camshaft
• Cobra or Performer RPM intake manifold
• Autolite, Summit, or Edelbrock 600 cfm carburetor
• 14" open air cleaner
• Distributor recurved to BOSS 302 specifications
• Dual valve springs (recommended)
• Screw-in rocker studs (recommended)
• Heads port-matched to exhaust (or aftermarket heads)
• 289HP exhaust manifolds or headers

This combination has been dyno tested at 323.5 hp @ 5300 rpm.

Nothing else is required. No whiz-bang million volt coil, 10mm wires, etc.

I just did a set of heads, and the manifolds, last month. Took 2.5 hours for all four pieces. Of course, I've done it before. At worst, it'll take an afternoon. The car's owner wanted to retain the stock standard exhaust manifolds. After matching, they'll work a lot better than when they were unmodified.

Port-matching

Remember, port-matching is not the same as porting. You won't be enlarging them, you'll be cleaning up manufacturing flaws and irregularities, to follow the original design of the ports, nothing more.

 

This is a good combo. Nowadays, saying you have 300 horsepower at the crank is looked down upon but an early mustang is light. I also agree that a mechanical cam is no big deal granted you don't mind breaking it in and adding ZDDP at each oil change. Lash doesn't change much if you use good poly locks. I would suggest a modern camshaft though. Good luck

 

Goals, goals, goals.

If you just want a reliable driver with above stock power then you can rebuild the 289, especially if you or someone you know has the equipment check to see how out of spec your stock parts are. If they are within spec (doubtful) you could do a hone and re-ring for pretty cheap.

However, if everything is out of spec, check on machine shop prices for resizing the stock rods, adding better rod bolts, regrinding or polishing the stock crank,etc. This is where you get the argument that it's just as cheap to buy a stroker kit.

The same with your original heads. If you have to have a valve job, pay someone to port them, add larger valves, etc. you could probably get a set of new aluminum heads for cheaper. If running a stock 289 stroke you do have to pay attention to the chamber size. Trick Flow has a set of it's Twisited Wedge heads with 53 cc chamber which would be good for a 289.

Also your 289 block is way stronger than any late model 302 block that doesn't say DART on the side of it.

 

Make your decision based on what you find out about the current condition of your engine. If you don’t have the 65 heads but 302 heads that changes your direction... if you have good equal compression, that changes your direction.

I always go for a rock solid short block first. Make due with the rest and change bolt ons as budget allows. Here’s the order I’d go if your short block is in good condition: 1-Ignition, 2- Headers and Port matching, 3-Intake/carb, 4-Cam/lifter/screw in studs/locks, 5- heads (if you can do 3-5 together you’ll save some money)

Eventually you want 9.5 to 10:1 mechanical compression to start to make good power for street balanced with longevity. your engine power band focus should be 3000-5000. Pick a cam that keeps corrected compression above 9:1. Look for realistically short duration, high lift (fast closing valve time)

Follow these principles and your good to go

 

$1500? Quit thinking about stroking anything but yourself
Get the coolant purging under control 1st, it might just be that its too high to begin with, might be timing, might be radiator, might be nothing.

Wait till you can drop $2500 to cover the greatest portion of a T5 install. It will feel like an engine upgrade.

$1500 will easily cover a cam and intake but once you actually cover all the ancillary costs it will eat the greatest portion of that money up. For a beginner its still quit a complex test of craft skill and patience.

 

I know you want to keep your heads but think about GT40P heads. I got mine from the junkyard for $45. For more horses you need different springs. Not much porting needed. Combined with a new cam, intake and export manifold you would have a nice engine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I know you want to keep your heads but think about GT40P heads. I got mine from the junkyard for $45. For more horses you need different springs. Not much porting needed. Combined with a new cam, intake and export manifold you would have a nice engine.

Came here to say this. It's what we're doing for my daughter's 66. The only real hiccup there is matching headers to them (different plug angle), but it's do-able and cheap for the results.

 

I'd build a 347 with 180-190cc heads and use your cam selection to tune the engine to your needs. I built a 306 and did not save much money over a 347. I wish I built a 347.

If you want to run stock valve covers with roller rockers you'll need spacers, I'd go for the smallest spacer you can get away with. I got 3/8" spacers and my TFS heads have a raised flange by I think also 3/8". I painted it black but left the manifold raw and I'm using some old M/T valve covers. But you could easily paint it all black, including the manifold, and go with the stock gold valve covers and it'd be pretty stealthy.

Here's my engine. Ignoring the lack of a hood latch, the aluminum radiator and valve covers, I wouldn't say the engine looks too far from a stock K-Code, but it made 324rwhp.

EDIT: I just realized you have a budget of $1500. What you want to do is find a P-head Explorer engine and put in a TFS Stage 1 cam or similar, Performer RPM or Stealth intake- perhaps used on the cam and intake- and Summit carb.

 

Trev, those heads are fine. They both have the small chambers and no lumps in the exhausts. Yes, they can be opened up abit, but lets talk about what to do for awhile first. It is very easy to make mistakes. LSG

 

Those heads are a good starting point as they do not require rail type rockers.


For extra power do what Shelby did:

Intake, carb and headers. The cam will depend on your rear end. The Edelbrock Performer package is not bad for an otherwise stock car although I would probably go with the Performer RPM or Weiand Stealth manifold.

 

Trevan, if the heads are working well now, the above is what you should do. What you are doing is trying to get what the designer actually drew, as opposed to what the foundry made. If you heads needed a valve job, we could talk about hard seats and larger valves, as this is helpful. But to get to 300~325 hp, you don't have to have the bigger valves. LSG

 

For your budget of 1500.00, stroker or even aftermarket heads are out. 300 is very doable and a ton of fun in these cars. BUT first and foremost I would do some diagnostics on your current setup. I would hate to see you spend all your cash on an upgraded engine only to have the same issues. Run a compression test and report the numbers here. Pressure test your cooling system along with your radiator cap, you can borrow the pressure tester from nearly any big box auto store. Have you done any tuning to the carb you put on? Is the distributor the original one? There is a guy that is brilliant at rebuilding and re-curving these distributors, sorry I can't recall his name. A rebuild can eat 1500 real quick if not thought out.

Order this book ASAP I hear it's great for the first time engine rebuild SA Design How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford SA102

 

There is a guy that is brilliant at rebuilding and re-curving these distributors, sorry I can't recall his name.

Dan at Mustang Barn He is a great guy. Spoke to him the other day. he recurved/rebuilt my distributor and he had me on the phone for 1/2 an hour talking about timing and how everything in the dizzy works. Great guy.

 

Nitrous. The answer is nitrous.

 

No matter the question....

 

More is Always better, right?!

 

Hard to go wrong with a late model 302 roller with an E cam. Throw all the old 289 parts on it and nobody will be the wiser.

 

I've thought of doing this with 393 stroker. Even stock air cleaner.

 

Don't bore your block unless it absolutely needs it. I saw a number of ways mentioned that can make your stock block and heads to get where you want to go. I did most of what they mentioned to my 289 and left it looking stock but it's putting out about 280 HP. I still plan of putting HP exhaust manifold and having my distributor recurved.

The list that 22GT posted is will get you there. I chose a Crane cam, and had a 289 Performer intake already so I used that. I may go to the RPM Performer in the future.

 

Im going on the other end of this.

You didnt give much information on the condition of your current engine or exhaust. If you have adequate compression and the rings are sealing I wouldnt pull the engine at this time..

I would pull the heads and port match them to the intake and exhaust, install a double roller timing chain, degree your camshaft, new recurved distributor and jet your carb to work with what you have.

Spend your money on the T-5 and rear end first.

With a 5 speed overdrive you are going to need better gears. You can rebuild your 8in or modify a Explorer 8.8. With the 8.8 you can get a 3.55 or 3.73 T-lok, disc or drum brakes.

I have no idea what the C4 to T5 cost is, but there are a lot of parts involved. Im guessing that it will be $3500+. Im sure a bunch of guys will chime in and say they did it for under $1000, but not in my neck of the woods. I look for used T-5s every day, I never see one that sells for under $1000 and that is advertised "as is".

According to the PO of my 65 C-code 289, who is an automotive machinist, he rebuilt the engine to stock specs with dual exhaust and oem exhaust manifolds. I have a 2.79 T-lok. I added a Summit intake manifold and 500 cfm carb. From a dead stop I can lay down a smoke screen and chirp the tires 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. My car performs way better than I expected a stock C-code with a C4 and 2.79 gears to perform.

Anyway, my advice: Squeeze what performance you can out of the current engine, then work from the rear end forward.

 

• C9OZ-6250-C camshaft - ok ill do this
• Cobra or Performer RPM intake manifold - which of the two is better? i already have the HiPo Manifold cast number C40E-9425-B Is this manifold good enough?
• Autolite, Summit, or Edelbrock 600 cfm carburetor - i just checked and i already have edlebrock 600 CFM
• 14" open air cleaner -is this air cleaner ok? i like the look of this best and would rather not change. ACP Air Cleaner Chrome With Blue Base And 289 Hi-Po Decal V8 1965-1973
• Distributor recurved to BOSS 302 specifications - have this distributor. will it work ok? Scott Drake Distributor Street/Strip HEI 260/289/302
• Dual valve springs (recommended) - ill probably do this
• Screw-in rocker studs (recommended)- definitely doing this because one of the press in studs is stripped and has a jam nut on it rn to keep it in place
• Heads port-matched to exhaust (or aftermarket heads) i will port match
• 289HP exhaust manifolds or headers- I have borgeson power steering which recomends Tri-Y headers for fitment reasons. Are these good? can you recomend a good set of Tri y. Or will Hi Po manifolds fit with the borgeson? which is better HIPO or Tri-Y

This combination has been dyno tested at 323.5 hp @ 5300 rpm.0

Nothing else is required. No whiz-bang million volt coil, 10mm wires, etc.

I just did a set of heads, and the manifolds, last month. Took 2.5 hours for all four pieces. Of course, I've done it before. At worst, it'll take an afternoon. The car's owner wanted to retain the stock standard exhaust manifolds. After matching, they'll work a lot better than when they were unmodified.

Port-matching

Remember, port-matching is not the same as porting. You won't be enlarging them, you'll be cleaning up manufacturing flaws and irregularities, to follow the original design of the ports, nothing more.[/QUOTE]


pic:my engine as it is right now

 

• C9OZ-6250-C camshaft - ok ill do this
• Cobra or Performer RPM intake manifold - which of the two is better? i already have the HiPo Manifold cast number C40E-9425-B Is this manifold good enough?
• Autolite, Summit, or Edelbrock 600 cfm carburetor - i just checked and i already have edlebrock 600 CFM
• 14" open air cleaner -is this air cleaner ok? i like the look of this best and would rather not change. ACP Air Cleaner Chrome With Blue Base And 289 Hi-Po Decal V8 1965-1973
• Distributor recurved to BOSS 302 specifications - have this distributor. will it work ok? Scott Drake Distributor Street/Strip HEI 260/289/302
• Dual valve springs (recommended) - ill probably do this
• Screw-in rocker studs (recommended)- definitely doing this because one of the press in studs is stripped and has a jam nut on it rn to keep it in place
• Heads port-matched to exhaust (or aftermarket heads) i will port match
• 289HP exhaust manifolds or headers- I have borgeson power steering which recomends Tri-Y headers for fitment reasons. Are these good? can you recomend a good set of Tri y. Or will Hi Po manifolds fit with the borgeson? which is better HIPO or Tri-Y

This combination has been dyno tested at 323.5 hp @ 5300 rpm.0

Nothing else is required. No whiz-bang million volt coil, 10mm wires, etc.

I just did a set of heads, and the manifolds, last month. Took 2.5 hours for all four pieces. Of course, I've done it before. At worst, it'll take an afternoon. The car's owner wanted to retain the stock standard exhaust manifolds. After matching, they'll work a lot better than when they were unmodified.

Port-matching

Remember, port-matching is not the same as porting. You won't be enlarging them, you'll be cleaning up manufacturing flaws and irregularities, to follow the original design of the ports, nothing more.

pic:my engine as it is right now
[/QUOTE]
On the intake filter.. just go to the hardware store and buy some rod matching the post thread, add another filter.. stack two, then cut to rod so your wing nut still fits.

 

Lots of good advice in this thread.

I haven't put mine on a dyno but I've surprised a lot people with how fast it goes.

Here's what I had done to mine.

Line bored.

Stock 289 heads ported and matched to ported manifolds.

Heads milled and block decked (raises compression and guarantees flat surfaces for the head gasket.

Bored .065 inch (its a 298 now) - but a stroker kit will get you more power and doesn't thin out the cylinder walls as much. Also you can stroke a 289 just as easy as stroking a 302 - the blocks are the same design.

High performance cam.

Balanced "perfectly" combined with forged pistons and shot peened stock rods (the block, rods, and crank were all checked for any cracking) means it can spin up to 6,750 rpm with no problem. (the engine work was done in 1985 or 86 and it has been revving quite high ever since with no problems).

Basically if you concentrate on the basics you can get to 300 hp with no problem.

 

Summit sells a boatload of 14" filters.

Go to the Dollar Store and buy Playdoe.

Put it on top of your aircleaner in 4 or 5 equally spaced mounds in the shape of that thing Dreyfuss made in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Close the hood, open the hood, and measure how much space you have to go up on a filter.

Look on Summits website for a filter thats 1/2" less or so of your max height. It will run under $20.

Way cleaner than stacking 2 filters.

Save the Playdoe, its useful.

 

Another option is to check using aluminum foil. Many have this in their kitchen and can save a trip to the store!
Rob

 

I did a C-4 to T-5 on my 67 that has a 351 Cleveland transplant. It's a pretty big job and cost in the neighborhood of $2500..00 with me doing almost all of the work. A friend with a shop was a big help. BUT, It was worth every cent of the $$$ because my engine trans combo with a 4.11 posi is so fun to drive. I also did a fitech throttle body EFI kit and a high flow intank pump. Since it wasn't stock when I got it, it didn't make sense to not do what I wanted to.