289 HiPo vs 390

The 390 would be hella cool, but it would cost big $$. They are expensive motors to begin with, even with cast internals because the parts are not readily available. The parts (in some peoples opinion) are not that strong because most are from overseas. Lots of machine work would (probably) be required. I'd only consider it if it were a stroked 390.

To the best of my knowledge, the 289 is a 302 block, so it should be a direct swap as far as motor mounts go. It has readily available parts, and should make great power.

I'd go with the 289 all day long.

Joe

IMO the 390 would be hard to beat. The only motor of that era that I would take over it would be the 351C.

im assuming the 289 is carbed since you said 650 Edelbrock. One thing to think about, itll be a bitch to convert from EFI to Carb. just food for thought.

ever thought about building an engine from block up??? that is technically getting a new engine. You could made a ton of power if you bought a DSS block, 347 stroker, AFR 185s, FTI cam, Edelbrock RPM, bolt ons.

krahkin said:

IMO the 390 would be hard to beat. The only motor of that era that I would take over it would be the 351C.

Click to expand...

The 390 is a dog. CID isn't everything.

Have you ever heard of the motor that costs 3 times as much to produce the same power output of a decent small block? That's Ford's 390.

Joe

if those were my only options, i'd go with the 289. but what i'd to is build a bad a$$ stroker, with a turbo if the money was there. like 17yr said, switching to a carb setup is a lot of work, imo more than is worth it.

Why not just build your own 351w for cheap? I have a 390 in a 1969 Mustang Mach1 with the drag pack. The engine is better used as a boat anchor. I plan on switching the 390 for a 351 in the future.

Yeah from what I've seen posted before the 390 wasn't that great. Plus the 289 you mentioned was a carbed one. keep in mind with the 390, there'll be about 2-3 thousand dollars worth of swap parts you'd have to buy to go with it. IMO I'd scrap both those ideas and do either a 302 or a 351 based motor. Just remember the extra cost involved in a 351 swap as well.

ill throw another vote in for building from the ground up...the carbed swap is just going to be a headache that your more than likley will never sort out....and the 390 is apparently not a good route to go....you could go with a SWEET 351W based stroker motor and rip them both to pieces...

ANthony

Ok, I'm going to give you some advice from a guy that has rebuilt a 390(actually 396 if you count overbore) twice for his '67 Mustang. The 390 is basically an expensive boat anchor in relation to modern techonology. Joes95GT you are absolutely wrong in saying the parts are not readily available. I also think you are talking out of your ass when you say that parts come from overseas. My 390 has Edelbrock heads, cam, and intake manifold, as well as an Edelbrock carburator and I think some Crane Cams items. And what the hell are you talking about machine work? I mean no offense man but if you don't know what you're talking about please just don't post. I think to get my entire rusty old 390 block machined it was about 1/3 of the price as getting my 302 block machined to become a 347 stroker.

Krahkin, the 351C is basically what Joes95GT is describing when he says hard to find parts and expensive machine work. I'm really not quite sure where you guys are getting your information from. A 390 is actually not a bad motor if you put in a 428 crank to make it a 410 stroker. Especially today parts are much more readily available. For the money however, I would definitely go with a stroked 351W based motor. PM me if you want me to detail my 396 build up. I really doubt you could squeeze one into an SN95 body though.

What I meant was high performance parts. Try finding lightweight connecting rods or billet cranks made by Americans, designed for a 390. It's not happening (for a relatively cheap price). So, you are forced to go overseas, which inturn compromises quality, where the machine work will take over. Notice, I did say "probably" when it comes to the machine work.

How about we establish something first: there is a difference between an engine builder and an engine assembler. Being that you've "rebuilt" your 390, twice, you must have not measured everything correctly the first time, which in turn makes you an engine assembler. You've reassembled your 390 twice.

Notice also that I never mentioned anything about a Cleveland motor into an SN-95 because, yes, that would be very expensive.

I may have left my underlying meaning out of the context of my posts, but I was talking about a high performance 390, not a daily driven 390. I'm sorry if I made that assumption.

I get my information from very reputable source(s). Please prove me wrong, I'd love to learn something new, but until you do, I'm believing what I know. You find me a billet crank or lightweight engine internals for a 390, and I'll admit I'm wrong. Christ, for that matter, find me anything "forged" from 4340 for a 390 at a "reasonable" price, and I'll admit I'm wrong.

Joe