Engine Input Needed

[Mustang brtt]

Well im new to the form..but here what i have.. 1966 mustang convertible base model. 3 speed with 289.
Father in law gave it to us.. he has owned for the past 35 yrs.. sat in garage for most of its life.. not being drove..
The problem is now.. i think he never change the oil in the last ten yrs.. the heads show it.. so hear is the deli-ma .. don't have the funds to complete build back original .. so we decided to pull parts off the 331 stroker i have.. so now here what we putting in.. 289 block, crank, stock pistons, from 331 512 lift cam, set of ford turbo swirl heads, intake and four barrel carb. and yes all the other small stuff new to.
now the question is going to work.?? or is going to cause more problems??

 

[Mustang brtt]

wife said to put some pep in its step

 

[madspeed]

so your saying your are keeping the bottom end as is and adding the heads cam intake and carb?

 

[dennis112]

I'm confused too . . . .

IMHO, the compression will drop with the newer heads and you may not get the performance that you expect the other wise stock block 289. It could even become a turd from to much cam without the compression to back it up.

 

[Mustang brtt]

I understand what ur saying.. the engine being stock compression. the bigger heads would drop the compression..i guess i just have to come with the change to by new pistons. which ones should i go with ?? im thinking 10.1 or 9. something

 

[dennis112]

Correct-the bigger chamber heads will drop compression which will affect performance.

I like higher compression, but that is me. I'm not your 289 performance guy but I think that 10:1 will be difficult without a "pop up" piston (which I wouldn't do.) Of course the cam has to support the compression too if you want to use pump gas. Its a balancing act but if it is right, the thing can run awesomely.

Why not swap in the 331 stroker? Then you have time to build the 289 as you wish.

 

[rbohm]

dennis is right about needing some sort of popup piston depending on what compression ratio you are looking for. before you decide to change pistons though, find a good compression ratio calculator, and run the numbers thoroughly. you might find that with a touch of skimming of the heads, and a flat top piston, you might come up with the compression ratio you want. for the street with the standard lighter fluid that is 87 octane fuel, 9.5:1 will do just fine.

as for the cam you want to use, we need a little more than the amount of lift. how about the duration numbers, along with the lobe separation angles as well?

 

[woodsnake]

Why not just pull the original engine, and clean it? If it hasn't been driven, then all it should need would be rings and bearings.
Just because the valve springs look "gunky" doesn't mean you have to rebuild the whole thing. You don't need to bore it out, just clean it up...I would put a new timing gear set in it, upgrade to some electronic ignition, and maybe a 600 CFM 4V, and drive it!

 

[Mustang brtt]

Woodsnake u beat to the punch.. that's just we decided to do.. summer is coming and i have to get both running. mustang and the F150 done to.. thank you all input..