289 upgrade suggestions

IMO, there isn't much you can do unless you are willing to pull the motor and do some serious work. It doesn't have to be expensive. You can get a 302 rotating assembly very cheap and you'll then have a 308ci motor. Keep your 289 heads - have 351 valves put in them and mildly port the intake and exhaust ports. If you are now running a fairly mild cam, just keep the rest of the head unchanged. Otherwise, you can have the heads drilled for screw-in studs. That will allow you to use more radical lift cams, if you want, but it isn't necessary - just stroking it and portingthe heads will give you a big boost in power all over.

Well the "upgrade list" is a never ending one, but as you said, it's the budget that's the hard part.

What kind of cam do you have in? Does it match well with your intake?

*New Ignition Control
*New distributor
*Roller Rockers
*Gears (unfortunately I'm in the same boat with the C-4...if you do any highway driving, steeper gears are going to hurt)
*Limited Slip or Posi
*Suspension
*Shift Kit
*Bottom End (pistons, rods, etc)
*Heads

Unfortunately it looks like you have the simpler, cheaper stuff like a carb and exhaust already done...it starts gettin expensive =\

May want to look at getting heads ported, carb re-jetted, timing advanced.
Those simple things can make a pretty big difference.
Good luck!

I dont know how much you want to spend, but I have a great setup im getting ready to sell....

Ported edelbrock performer heads, fresh from machine shop...polished, upgraded springs. The heads are mildly ported, nothing drastic. They have 190/160 valves, so you wont have to worry about piston to valve clearance.

600cfm carb from edelbrock...fresh rebuild...powdercoated chrome

RPM or Performer intake port matched to the heads....and powdercoated silver, blue, or black

Its basically edelbrocks performer package that put out 290+hp....except it has many 'extras'

PM ME if you are interested. I have a little over $2000 in the setup...but im not asking nearly that much.

Shane

Windage TRAY!!! don't personally have one but heard they can add up to 15 hp and theyre pretty goddam cheap too. check mustangsplus.