289 engine

[petrelli65]

just bought a mustang, the owner had also recently purchased it and doesnt know a whole lot about the engine. any way i can tell what code 289 the engine originally was. idk if they switched carbs or not, so i cant look at that. i know some had 4 valve and some two, and also i am thinking about the compressions. any other simpler way to find out?

 

[tim95gt]

a couple of things I know of to check, but I am sure others will have easier or better ideas. You could check the vin to see if it was a hipo or not, but that would only work if your sure the engine is original, the others would be to check the block casting numbers near the starter and maybe pull the valve covers to look at casting numbers for the heads or look around the intake manifold for some numbers(but not sure where or exactly what to look for there.

 

[PoppyMod]

just bought a mustang, the owner had also recently purchased it and doesnt know a whole lot about the engine. any way i can tell what code 289 the engine originally was. idk if they switched carbs or not, so i cant look at that. i know some had 4 valve and some two, and also i am thinking about the compressions. any other simpler way to find out?

You could really help us with the year, and VIN number off the left fender apron, as a start. Although not definitive, it is a good start. Also, there is so much documentation out there if only you do a minimal search.
Thank!

 

[petrelli65]

ok cool thank you!
i know for a fact its not an original engine, the car was originallyu equipt with a 6 cylinder. i will try the casting numbers and check the heads. last resort ill do a compression test, i would like to anyway to see how the rings and everything are

 

[JonK]

Here's where the casting number for the block is, under the starter at the rear right side of the engine:

Tell us those digits and we can tell you the year and probably type of car it came out of.
Jon

 

[Pony66]

The block is the same if it was 2V or 4V. That refers to the Carb and not the actual valves. You can pop off a vavle cover to see if it is hipo but you would know that already. Everybody thinks they have a hipo but you would know because the price would be about $7000 more.
The compression across 289s is the same unless someone rebuilt it or you bought a Shelby.
Like JonK said, send the casting # and we can tell you where it may have come.

 

[badsnakeii]

One quick easy way to tell is the harmonic balancer. It is directly behind the pully on the front of the crankshaft. If it is a thick 4 or so inch one you more than likely have a hipo or K code. If its the thin 2 inch balancer its the standard C code.