Thread: lookin' for more HP from my 289!

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Sup, I'm looking to get a little more horsepower from my Ford 289 small block. It is completely factory right now with a 2-barrel carb. I'm looking for suggestions on parts to buy and things to add that would help me boost the hp that wont cost me alot of money. piece out

Well, you want cheap hp. when you want Hp's you toss the 2 bbl out the window and get a well, 289 should run good with 500- 600 cfm carb. Also dont forget the Intake and cam. This is cheap Hp, probably under 300 for all. Shave the heads if u feel like it. Oh and u want headders. Hope this helps ya.

If your Ranchero is a street car, I think what your really looking for are changes that will make more torque. That being said Techinspector's comment about a 351W swap is the way to go There really is no replacement for displacement and the bore and stroke increase is an night and day difference.

The following suggestions apply equally to all 289/302/351W.

The area that needs improved the most on SBFs is the exhaust, The stock exhaust manifolds and single exhaust are marginal with even a a stock cam and 2BBL carb. 1 1/2-1 5/8" primary tube size headers are about the best thing you can do, but if you don't want the hassels of headers, scrounge the wrecking yards for a better set of manifolds that will fit your truck (some of the 70-80's 351 powered ford trucks had decent sized manifolds), and port match the exhaust ports. 2 1/2" dual exhaust behind the headers/manifolds is nice, but 2 1/4" is really sufficent and often easier to get over the axle.

The SBFs also like more cam than the factory installed. On a street car unless your really planning on spinning your engine into a high RPM range (above 5500) keep the lift under .490 and the duration below .290. Look for a cam with a little more lift and duration on the exhaust side than on the intake. You also need to keep in mind that a cam that is ideal for a 351 will likely be a little too much for a 289/302.

A good dual plane intake with realatively small runners and a 4 bbl in the 600-650 range just about covers the bolt on.

If your budget allows a little better set of heads will also help (early 351W or aftermarket) but keep an eye on compression as there a ton of different chamber sizes out there that can either cause too much or too little compression. Don't over kill it by going to the 2.02 or bigger heads as these will actually hurt performance on the street. Keep valve size to 1.90/1.60 max especially on a 289/302.

If you want your Ranchero to still look stock under the hood, find a set of the 271 hp 289 heads with the matching intake, 270 duration cam, and a set of tri-y headers. Top it off with the "Cobra" valve covers and air cleaner, a 600 Holley vaccuum secondary carb, and upgrade to an electronic distributor.

If stock looking under the hood is not a consideration, then go with Tech and Mike, swap in a 351 W. If you want way big torque, get the 408 ci strker kit and aluminum heads with a good cam.

I don't know Dave most people don't pick up on the height and width difference between a 289/302 and 351W. Dressed properly a 351 can be passed off as a 302 to most people.

This is a picture of my 77 Mustang II engine compartment (as you can see, I'm still a couple of hours away from firing it). What you don't see beneath the blue paint and stock valve covers is a balanced .040 over 351W with Edelbrock Performer RPM heads, Performer Manifold (somehow the name got ground off) , cam etc etc. The exhaust manifolds apperar stock, but have been ported and flow into a custom 2 1/4 in headpipe and from there into a 2 1/2" exhaust. Most people will never look beyond the 302 decal on the aircleaner.

Hey Mike, great looking Horse!!!! Attention to detail beats billet anyday in my book!!!! Congrats on a real first rate show quality (and a tad bit sneaky) engine and engine compartment. Really exceptional work...

This is a picture of the 289 in my 66 mustang. It's not real fancy, but it runs fairly well. The block is 30 over with a set of Venolia forged pistons (Orig built in 79). The heads are from a 68 302 and the intake is a stock Ford alum unit I found at a swap meet. It's topped with a 650 double pumper and the dist is a Mallory unit with Petronix guts. The cam is a Comp cam part # FS 268-10, gross valve lift .456 and duration 218 for both intake and exhaust. The headers are Heddmans and the mufflers are cheap turbo's. The wires are Taylor spiral cores,inexpensive and have a low amount of resistance per foot. Normally a K&N 14" drop base air cleaner sits on top. I don't have a lot of money tied up in the engine, but it runs reasonalbly well. I wouldn't suggest the double pumper with an automatic trans.

How much horsepower would I pick up from a simple cam, carb and intake swap and some new headers?

How is the engine itself?? Before you buy a lot of parts, you might want to do a leak down check and make sure the rings and valves are still up to the task. If the engine is sound and you buy matched components, (Edelbrock RPM package, or the like) the changes you mentioned should get you around 30 to 45 horse. Hard to say. Make sure you have ignition that can handle the other improvements, too. Oh, if you can find a set, the old Tri Y headers really worked good on the 289's.

If I was looking for 300+ horsepower would it be wiser to just buy a whole new engine? I want to keep a 289 in there but not necessarily this one. Mine is in running condition but not awesome condition. I was thinking about buying a brand new block and simply rebuilding from there.

Option 1: stay semi-stock. Go 289, go Edelbrock RPM matched components...intake, cylinder heads, camshaft, lifters, springs, retainers, timing chain, all in one kit. Matched components work well. Tuned headers. Stock dizzy, recurved, and a Pertronix II pickup plate. Pro's...still looks stock, high-rev screamer.
Approx cost...$1800.

Option 2: stay reliable. Go 351W, stock heads and bottom end, dual-plane intake, mild (270) camshaft, headers, stock 351 dizzy, recurved, with Pertronix. Pro's...still looks stock to MOST, low-end torque, long-distance driver.
Approx cost...$1300

Option 3: street KILLER. Go 351W, Scat performance 426 Stroker kit, block decked to 0, Edelbrock RPM matched components again, roller valvetrain, Holley 700 cfm vac secondary w/dual feed, tuned headers, Davis Unified Ignition HEI. Pro's...wicked fast, sounds great.
Approx cost...$3100

I have the last one in my leddsled, and can't keep it in rear tires.

There are many other options out there...302's, Clevelands, 390's, 428, 429, 460. I heard there is a monster stroker kit for the 460 to get 530 cubes!

Keep us updated if you make a decision and we might be able to help you source some parts.

I was looking at the Edelbrock Power packages and saw the Performer and the RPM, is there really a major hp difference between to two. Which would be best for a street car?