66 Mustang 289 Engine

Griff Rolland

New Member
Mar 25, 2014
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I currently have a 1966 Mustang with the 2 brl 289 cui engine. This is however the third swapped engine in the car and isn't in the best condition after years of neglect. I also have the second engine which was swapped at the time because of some minor problem that didn't want to be dealt with (I don't remember what it was, but if it was something major it would have been scrapped which it wasn't). I would like to potentially rebuild the "spare" this winter while the car is wintering. I'm not really interested in making it some performance engine, just looking to get looking and performing like a new 289. I have never done this before so any tips would be appreciated.

PS unless you truly feel it shouldn't be done don't say so as it doesn't really matter if this thing gets wrecked due to amateur ness.

I did not know where the appropriate place to post this was so I apologize if I made a mistake.

Thanks
 
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I'm in the middle of the doing the same thing with my 289, but my aim is put some ponies down. My biggest suggestion is take your time, count your bolts and separate them into little sandwich ziplock baggies so you'll know exactly where they'll go when you rebuild. Measure everything with a good measuring device, i.e. a micrometer and then write them all down. This will help with buying the right pistons and rings, you'll see if you have to bore or hone the cylinders, regrind the crank journals, etc. Lastly, have fun. It's a hobby, so treat it as such!
 
Yeah for sure take your time and do things right (and only once). Have a machine shop clean and check your block and heads for cracks or warpage. Theres nothing worse than doing all that work to find out something is damaged and you just wasted money and time.
 
in addition to what the others have said, i would plan for some upgrades, mostly the fasteners. for instance upgrade the rod bolts to ARP ones. they are cheap insurance. same with head bolts, main cap bolts, etc.

here are a few more things to step up for;

have the rods "rebuilt". this entails making sure the rods are straight, and that rods ends are perfectly round. also have the machine shop install the new pistons.

and the rotating assembly balanced.

do not spend the money for blueprinting for a street engine, the benefits are not worth the expense.
 
Step is to determine if/which of the pieces are capable of being machined or reinstalled. I started to write a small novel, but the easiest thing to do is find a machinist with SBF experience. Talk to other vintage Mustang owners in your locale on who they recommend.