Looing for some advice

since u dont want a gob of power that wont be too hard at all. I'd start w/ a 5.0 roller motor, find a decent rebuild kit and have the bottom end rebuilt, bored if necessary. Maybe look into a set of thumper E7 heads and get them port and polished, maybe shaved to raise the compression if wanted. Or a good ol set of 289 HiPo heads make a big difference if you can find them. There is also using early model 351W heads. Then I'd look into a nice cam which would depend on the rest of the build and what your power goals are such as powerband. I'd recommend a Stealth dual plane intake for sure, Demon carb, good headers, and things of that nature. That power from a 5.0 is not very hard at all.

You're asking for quite a bit for your $2k... 300 rear wheel horsepower is a lot horsepower. This equates to 350-375 at the flywheel, net, not gross. That is gonna be tough to pull off from a built 289 or 302 and keep the kind of reliability and drivability your talking about. And I really don't believe you'll get that kind of power for $2k.

That said, if you're essentially trying to get a good strong motor with the power to keep up with a new GT, then that is probably doable. I agree with TSW about going with a rebuild. To get the most for your dollar, I'd first pull the 289 and check it. If its still in decent condition, then rebuild it, but if its already been bored a bunch, or the crank has been turned previously, then I'd recommend finding a good 5.0 roller motor to rebuild.

In either case, if you do a good job, the rebuild will probably end up costing between $600-$800 for just parts and basic machine work. Get a good rebuild kit with hypereutectic pistons (a nice compromise between forged and cast), bearings, gaskets, oil pump, etc. Get the block machined (bored/honed), rods reconditioined, crank turned if needed, get cam bearings installed, etc.

For adding power, shoot for 9.5:1 compression, consult a cam company for their recommendation for a moderately strong cam (probably dual pattern), and check out some heads like the Windsor Sr., Thumper, or even upgrade your originals with ported/polished/upsize valves/hardened exhaust seats, etc. The heads alone will typically run between $550-$700.

Add a good dual plane intake, carb, and headers, and you're sure to have maxed your $2k. You should also be making around 300hp at the flywheel.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Go with a late model roller 5.0 , Ported & polished E7's, or a port and polish job on the 289 heads. Pop in a B303, F303, or an E303 roller cam, Ford A321/ C90X/ Edelbrock F4B/ Cobra high rise dual plane intake ( these are all basically the same intakes) add some roller rockers, headers, a 650 carb. With the roller 5.0 you'll be lookin at about 300hp. Or find a 351W or Cleveland and rebuild one of those.

I bought a rebuilt roller 5.0 short block from a local parts house for $340 exchange. It's rebuilt by City Motor Supply in Dallas and has silvolite hypereutectic flattops. It may be cheap but it's held up to over a year of daily thrashings. I did do some mods to it though. I replaced the rod bolts with ARP's, swapped the stock cam out for a Ford B303, installed a HV oil pump and HD pump drive. I initially built it with a set of ported E7 heads and a Ford A321 intake, but now it's topped by a set of Canfield Heads and a Vic Jr. Pushed the 3800 lb Ranger to a 13.8 1/4 with a 4 speed. Altogether I've got about 2 grand in it, and over half that is in the heads and Comp Cams roller rockers.