Help identifying size of motor

[george66]

I bought a 66 coupe, the guy said it had a 302 in it. Then said it was a 289. Went to pick up some spark plugs for a 66 289/302 both the same (motorcraft).. Get home and the plugs are twice the size of the ones in it.. (Accel 274 plugs).. How do i figure out what motor it is and year? I took the valve cover off on the passenger side and its stamped with a 302. thanks oh.. the car has been sitting for 10 years any recomendations on what I need to check/change before cranking it? motor ran before he stored it.

 

[shoguun]

they probably gave you spark plugs for the wrong year 5.0 i know they changed in the late 80s not sure about before then. i would prime the cylinders with a little oil. since you have the plugs pulled squirt a little oil in there and then turn the key with the plugs out to build up oil pressure. then put the right plugs in and start it.

 

[Rusty67]

A 289 and a 302 are basically the exact same motor with different bottem ends installed. Even if the head says 302 on it, that might just be a 302 on a 289 motor. You can try and get some casting numbers off of the block to determine if it was a 302 block. I doubt they put 302 heads on a 289 unless they were doing a serious budget rebuild or maybe trying to upgrade the heads a bit on the super cheap. You provably have a 302 in there.

I would drain the old oil and put oil in, same with the gas in the tank. I would also yank the distributor and prime the oil pump with a drill and proper attachment. Squirting oil into the cylinders while the plugs are out is a good idea too. Hopefully it all fires up nice and clean and runs well.

 

[67efivert]

in i think in 75 they went from the 18 mm plug to a 14 mm plug so id bet u have atleat later 302 heads but could be a 289 or 302 crank in the block

 

[george66]

thanks, guys.. I haven't had time to take another look.. But I did pop the trunk and found some rotors and 8 camaro hub caps and a Holley double pump carb.

 

[tx65coupe]

If its been sitting for that long the fuel tank is probably all rusty inside. Was it stored with fuel or empty. I stored mine for several years empty and the tank that was nearly new at the time had to be replaced when we got it ready to hit the streets again. If you want to inspect the inside of the tank you can remove the filler neck and look inside and see what it looks like. If its all corroded then I would get a new tank before attempting to start or all that crap will clog up the fuel lines andn filter and possibly even get into the carb.

Some other things before attempting to start it. I would of course put new oil in it as was already mentioned with a new FL1A oil filter. I would also put new anitfreeze in it. I would also change the transmission and rear end fluids.