[malibu]

My father use to have several mustangs back when I was in high school. We found a Mustang with a 289 hipo and had a guy swap my 289 4v in my Mustang GTA with the other car. My dad had this guy do the engine work on a few of our cars. (He knew a little about motors but apparently not enough) My car has been setting since 1995. I took my motor to my neighbor and friend, he calls me today and tells me to come over. I get there and he shows me my motor and a book with all the numbers (apparently the motor thats been in this car for the last eighteen years was not the our motor. This motor came from a 1968. Im lost, and cant figure out what the hell happened to the motor. It's been eighteen years since this guy did the motor and I made a few calls today and he is somewhere in West Virgina. The two cars that were apart of the swap was my 67 GTA and a 66 fastback. Not sure where this 68 motor came from. I think this guy kept my motor and gave me one of his. I was fifteen at the time. I don't know what I can or should do.

 

[autoxsteve]

First of all, you need to forget about what happened 15 years ago (sorry).

Secondly, I'd assess the situation of the existing motor and determinw whether or not to use it, buy a used 'period correct' block or simply a 300+HP crate motor.

Sorry to hear about the foul up, but that's a long time to chase a mixup...

 

[olddustyrelics]

Just a thought. A 289 Hipo is one of those rare breeds that clones itself. Everywhere you look somebody is telling us about the 289 hipo in their car. I personally would not know for sure to tell the difference other than a wide harmonic balancer. So, is it possible that back when you were not mechanically inclined you just THOUGHT you had a hipo???

 

[Ronstang1966]

Just a thought. A 289 Hipo is one of those rare breeds that clones itself. Everywhere you look somebody is telling us about the 289 hipo in their car. I personally would not know for sure to tell the difference other than a wide harmonic balancer. So, is it possible that back when you were not mechanically inclined you just THOUGHT you had a hipo???

This was my thought also, and this is coming from someone who does not have much faith in human nature these days.

 

[malibu]

I remember going over to this guys garage and he was talking to us about the motor. When my dad got the car, the numbers matched to a 289 hipo, but this car had been ran very hard and was wrecked a few times, rusted, badly and the body had been twisted. That's why we were sticking this in my car. I was very excited about it. I would have possibly found this out earlier, but I drove the car mainly for three years and was bought a 91 5.0 convertible for graduation. I didn't drive the car much after 91 and put it under a cover in 95. I am kindof lost about the situation because it's been so long. I spoke to my dad earlier and he isn't a motor head, but we had several mustangs and that was why he purchased the 66. Im still not sure, but now I have a low compression 289 from a 68. This motor has had work done to the heads and was bored according to my neighbor (who is helping me with this project.) This sort of takes some of the fun out of the project. we are going to have to research this motor and evaluate what can be done with it. I was thinking about supercharging the motor if I had enough funds at the end of the project.

 

[68RCodeConv]

Let me get this straight. You found a ragged 289 HiPo (K-code) Mustang 15 years ago. You took the motor out of it and put it into your car. Now you find out that this motor is not a K-code motor.

How do you know that it was a K-code motor to begin with? Just because it was in a K-code car doesn't mean that it was the original K-code motor.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

It just doesn't matter. The only real value of a hypo engine is to restore a K car. With modern performance parts, anyone can build a SBF to run circles around an original hypo 289.

Come to think of it, even I did it. :joker:

Phil

 

[JSHarvey]

Exactly. Forget about it, just build a better engine out of the block you have.

From a legal stand point unless you have documentation of the original engine that proves this one is not that engine, then there is nothing you can do.

John Harvey

 

[TJH]

Too late to worry about what happened 15 years ago. Decide what you would like to do with your car & move forward. Also like the other posters have said you may not have had a hi-po engine to start with. Sorry about your problem but you can build a better motor for cheaper today. Good luck.

 

[66coupe289]

From a legal stand point unless you have documentation of the original engine that proves this one is not that engine, then there is nothing you can do.

You can have all the documentation you want, fact is, it is too late to do anything. The statue of limitations has run out. Move on and don't sweat it.

 

[Rickmaan]

I can relate to your situation. Many years ago before I knew anything about date codes or casting #'s I bought a neglected but very low mileage '66 Fairlane. Soon after a I got it, it started making a ticking noise which sounded like the lifters but I couldn't figure why it was doing that with only 40K on it. The car ended up sitting for a few years as I lost interest and moved on to other projects. When I learned about date code stampings I checked the 289 in that car and found my '66 Fairlane had an engine that wasn't assembled until March '67. Thinking back to when I bought the car I remembered the guy selling it mentioned he had a '67 stang he was restoring. It became very obvious what happened to the low mileage motor that was supposed to be in my Fairlane and it was also very clear the seller lied through his teeth about everything he told me about the car. Since this epiphany didn't occur until many years after the sale, there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. It's one of those live and learn situations that you just have to file under "lesson learned" and move on. I'm not saying your mechanic actually ripped you off 15 years ago, only that I know how you feel. Even if he didn't switch engines on you, it's one of those things that could've been avoided with a little more knowledge. I agree with the other posters that most likely the original K motor was gone before you ever got the k-code car, and also that it really doesn't matter unless you're restoring a k-code to original.

 

[JSHarvey]

Good point.

 

[malibu]

After thinking about this today, I also think the k title car that we purchased might not have had the hipo in it anymore. My Dad and I both think it's strange that when the man we paid to do the swap never brought this to our attention. He even did head work and installed a new cam on that motor for us. That's strange that the guy didn't say anything. He would known it wasnt a hipo when he was rebuilding the motor. Anyway, I am moving on. I had to vent and it was a strange day for me yesterday. My mind was scrambling to remember things from that many years ago. Anyway guys and gals, I am building a great car and I wont cut any corners on this motor and I am going to be there every step of the way. I am glad I found this site. I would be loss without the members here.