Top End For A Street 289

[darthapple35]

I have two main Ideas(1965 289 block with flat tops)

1. edelbrock 600cfm carb, performer 289 manifold, peformer cam, performer rpm heads, roller rockers, tri y headers, and will be backed by T5 with 3 50 gears or 3 25

2. same carb, performer rpm manifold, performer rpm cam, performer rpm heads, roller rockers, tri y headers, and will be backed by T5 with 3 70 gears

3. or your suggestions(please tell whole combo of parts)

This car will not see any track time and this is purely a street car. It is my daily driver since this is my only car I have and will have for a while so gas mileage would be a definite plus so no stroking or bigger displacement for me. All the other cars I have driven are still a lot slower than the normal 289 now with c4 2 80 gears so it does not have to be the baddest and fastest thing out there but if the rpm package has just as much low end torque if not more than the performer I will probably lean more towards that

 

[rbohm]

i would go with combo number one with 3.50 gears.

 

[PoppyMod]

Hi,
I would with what's behind door #2. My reason? The RPM intake plays a dual roll, in that, it's dual plane design will aid in low end torque while the high rise aspect benefits your top end WOT. An air-gap is even better as it's cooling feature reduces hard starting due to overheated fuel while, creating a denser fuel charge, as well. If my manifold (RPM) wasn't powder coated and working fine, I would go for the air-gap.
Happy Trails!

 

[Smitten65]

Hey, Darth. As you know by now from the different forums, you will get differents answers depending on what people prefer themselves and what they think you are saying about your intended use. Since you have a 'basic' idea of where you want to go (seems like a mild improvement over stock), then there are a lot of choices to make on how far you want to take it and how much money you want to spend to get there. Take a look at other folks builds on the forums that are 'similar' to your goals and I am sure you can tweak those to just the right combo for your tastes. You might find that the research to get there is as much fun as the end result.

 

[rbohm]

i will say this, either combination will do just fine, you picked your parts nicely.

 

[65FBE2]

Having changed cams three time because I can't seem to find the right ticket. I have now settled on a cam in between the two you have picked. That being said I would go with option 2 as I wish I had gone a little bigger on the cam yet. I agree completely with the earlier comment on the rpm intake. It works well and gives you room to grow if years latter you want more power. The only change I would make is stay with 3:25-3:50 gear. The T5 has such a lower 1st gear you don't need the 3:70 unless you are going racing. You did say this is your only car and mileage was a concern. I am currently getting 21 on the hwy with 3:25

 

[bartl]

My $.02....

OE 289 heads DIY ported and port matched with screw-in rocker studs.
C9OZ-C camshaft (hydraulic version of the HiPo solid lifter cam)
1.6 Steel roller tipped rockers
Weiand Stealth Intake
1.12" Autolite 4100 4V carburetor
Reproduction HiPo exhaust manifolds
2.5" exhaust system with "X" pipe
If you do a lot of highway driving, with the T5 I'd probably go with 3.55 gears in the stock 8 inch rear. If it's all on the 2-lane I might think about 3.73's.