very few 260's ever put in the mustangs, the 289 was the replacement for the 260 at that time , the 260 was common prior to the 64.5 yr and before.

 

1964.5 260 engine - Is it 'better' to keek the 260 or go fo 289?? TIA!

 

The 260 was a reaosnably common engine in the 64 1/2 Mustang since it was the base V8.

 

For originality keep the 260 but for better performance go for a 289 or 302 since they can be made to look just like the 260

 

I'm happy with my 260 ::

 

Hello.Ford only built that motor for about 2 years.(63-64)That's why you don't see them very often.They were a very common motor in the 64 1/2s.I have a convertible with a 260.I like it.It's not real quick,but is virtually bullet-proof.Hope that helps.

 

I LOVE my 260!!! The funny thing is when I bought the car in 1979, I thought the car had a 289. This was my high school car and I really didn't care that much about originality or matching numbers type stuff. I just loved the car because it was just about the only convertible around and was one cool car. I drove the car for 10 years thinking it was a 289 and then put the car in storage until last year.

The past spring, I started thinking about restoring the car and I noticed some un-289 things like the oil filler in the timing chain cover, a road draft tube and light blue valve covers so I crawled under the car to read the block number and Holy S**t, it was the original 260 in there!! :: ::

Turns out the guy I bought it from had replaced the 260 engine decals and fender badges with 289's and passed the car off to me as "upgraded". What did I know (or care), I was 15 at the time. I doubt there has ever been anyone happier than I to discover their car had a 260 rather than a 289.

 

Interesting. The same thing happened to me

 

Keep it. I have had a few, not much difference between a 5 bolt 260 and 5 bolt 289. Makes people go Huh?

 

Here is a good article about engines for the early mustangs:

http://www.hipomustang.com/default2.asp?page=9

It is about 1/2 way down the page. John

 

More than half of the 64.5 cars in the 64.5-66 Mustang Registry have te 260 engine. Granted there aren't alot of 64.5 cars in there but the 2 barrel V8 cars for 65 and 66 also make up more than half of the total for those years too so the 64.5 stat probably isn't far off.

As someone else already mentioned the 260 was the base V8 (i.e. just the 2 barrel carb, nothing fancy) so it wasn't uncommon or unpopular.

 

I do not even see it on lists as a 1964.5 engine...what am I missing?

You're probably looking for the 64.5 designation on those lists, and probably won't find it. These cars were actually titled as 1965 cars. The 64.5 is kind of a pseudo designation assigned to distinguish between the early cars with generators and 260's (or 170's) vs. the later ones equipped with alternators and 289's (or 200's).