1965 289 Connecting Rod Questions

The stock C8OE 302 rods are good to 7500 rpms with ARP bolts. The 289 rods should be as well.

Just have to remember that ALL Ford pushrod V8's had forged connecting rods. Some were better than others, but they're all forgings.

like the others have said, the 289 rod needs very little prep to handle a lot of power. just upgrading the stock 5/16 rod bolts to the same size arp bolt is a good step. there are a couple of things you can do on the cheap to make things even better though;

1: polish the rods. if you look at the rods you will see the mold parting line. you want to polish that down level with the rest of the beam. you also want to remove all sharp edges to remove stress risers. this you can do yourself with the same polishing rolls you find in a head porting kit. they dont need to be a mirror finish, but you need to use the finest grit available for the final polishing.

2: upgrade not only the rod botl material, but the size as well. some people will tell you you change to the same 3/8 bolts that the hipo 289 and boss 302 rods used, DONT DO IT. the standard rod does not have enough material to do that, BUT it does have enough to go to an 11/32 rod bolt. you will have to have a machine shop enlarge the holes for you. have it done when you have the rods rebuilt and balanced. arp does have the 11/32 rod bolts available. as i recall they are the same rods bolts as used on AMC V8's from the 70's.

The Chevy (small block)11/32 bolts also fit the Ford rods