Engine questions

[Rusty66coupe]

I have a 289 that the previous owner bought as a crate engine about 10 years ago. Basically stock with a 2 barrel carb at the moment.

The motor has about 45,000 miles on it and seems to be in good shape.

Thinking of upgrading the engine components.

I was kicking around an idea such as:

Edelbrock 2091 - Edelbrock Power Package Top-End Kits - summitracing.com

Already have a 600 cfm carb to go with the set up.

I know one person that thinks all the 170cc heads are too big for a 289 and should opt for porting the stockish heads...

Wondering if the set up at the link above would fly to change a 289 from a stockish motor to a decent HP setup?

 

[D.Hearne]

Those heads will work fine. But while you're into the engine, I'd suggest changing the rod bolts while you're at it. Those are the weakest link in the bottom end.

 

[Rusty66coupe]

I sort of figured it might work but I was also wondering if I needed anything else right away other than the obvious items such as related gaskets, etc.

 

[D.Hearne]

Just off hand, you'll need to invest in a good set of roller rockers too. Crane's Enerizer series are a good start. Nothing fancy needed here, but you'd be wasting money by not going with full roller rockers. IMHO, the Energizers are a good compromise between price and quality. They're the same rockers Ford equiped the 93 Cobra's 5.0 with. I've had a two used sets runnign now on seperate motors for years now. They both had 100K miles on em when i bought em and both have had another 100K on me since and they're still going strong.

 

[Rusty66coupe]

Here's a tip to keep in mind that it pays to shop around.

Found the exact same kit that summit has at CJ Pony parts for about $80 less.

 

[Rusty66coupe]

One last question about this deal....

If I were to add more HP or substantially more HP specifically wouldn't I at some point also need to change other items on the car?

i.e. add export brace / Monte Carlo bar, maybe consider a transmission upgrade, convert to disc brakes on the front, etc, etc.

The brakes I could honestly probably live without doing for a while. I am 36 years old and probably won't be driving crazy enough to cut my stop distance that much but to keep the HP from tearing things up would it be a good idea to look seriously at some of these other items and do them at the same time if not before I mess with the engine?

Looks like an export brace and Monte Carlo are cheap and easy enough to put on but the tranny may be a different story.

 

[D.Hearne]

If you're disciplined enough to work with the existing brakes, your transmission should be fine for awhile. Or at least long enough to save more cash for upgrades to it.

 

[Rusty66coupe]

I guess I could also make sure not to make a habit of really stepping on it till I got a new tranny. At present I am running the true stock cruise-o-matic that has been rebuilt a few times over the years but never swapped out. Last rebuild on it was about the same time the engine was done....about 1995 and 45k give or take miles ago.

Just wasn't 100% positive that there weren't any other frame upgrades or anything of that nature required or that would be a good idea.

I suppose the rear end I have would work ok for now?

Starting to think however that I may look into tearing the whole existing engine down, having it bored, etc. My thinking is that if this existing motor came from ATK as a stock replacement there is probably nothing fancy at all about the pistons, etc. I checked Craig's list today and at the moment there are no ads for a good rebuildable 289 or 302 but I have seen a couple of 289's on there in the past. Maybe find one, put it on a stand in the garage and work on building it a little at a time over the next year or two.

 

[D.Hearne]

If you're going to build another motor, I'd suggest a roller 302. These are really easy to build power with and if you'll forget the ones from the Mustangs, there's thousands of good buildable cores from the full size cars and pickup/van applications to choose from.

 

[Rusty66coupe]

I have come across recently a guy selling a 86 model 302 for about $300. Says it goes from heads to oil pan and includes a Holley 650 (that I don't want or need) and Weiand intake.

 

[D.Hearne]

The intake and carb are worth that. Should be a roller block.

 

[Rusty66coupe]

The dude said it had a Weiand intake and 650 Holley...carb likely would need a rebuild.