[Motorhead]

A friend of mine says he has an old 289 engine that's had the heads, valve covers, and intake off for a long time, but ran ok when it was taken out. He said it's rusted up pretty good, and pretty ugly looking, so he'd let me have it for dirt cheap (like lunch at McD's cheap). I don't know how bad an engine can be before it's not rebuildable... would letting it sit around and rust for a decade or so really cause any damage? Really all I'm looking for is a good block, crank, and rods... the rest I will replace with aftermarket parts.

This also leads to my next question. He says stock 289 rods are a little on the weak side, and should probably be replaced for anything that's going to turn some decent RPM. Is this true? I've heard from others that the bottom end on those is tough as nails, and all you need to do is build up the top end and they're good for 7000rpm. Any input?

 

[ryans67]

If there is rust on the Cylinder walls your probably wasting your time. if the rust is thicker then .030 inches...its useless. I guess you can get the block and then have it inspected at a shop and see if its useable...But when i had this done to a 69 302 block. It cost me $188 and the block was no good. So use judgement on the cylinder walls. Good Luck

 

[Motorhead]

So .030 over is about all you want to do on a 289? I was just wondering because my friend at the shop told me that Chevy 283's are good for .100 overbore, but I figured that's 'cause it's the same block as they use for everything from 283 to 350.

 

[Greg P]

Bought a '70 351C 4V from a salvage yard that had been sitting upside down in the mud with no pan for what must have been YEARS.

Hammered the pistons out of their bores with a wood block, they were toast, but all it took was a regular old rebuild.

Went to .030 and .010/.010 and is still running today.

 

[ryans67]

A 289 is going to be in even worse condition with a .100 overbore....worse then before you started. youll get overheating problems. You can check it all at a machine shop. If the block is a stock block with a stock crank that hasnt been rebuilt...then theres a chance it will work with a .030 overbore. But if its already been bored or the rust is worse then that. Its junk. Best bet is to measure it and guess or take it to a machine shop and get there opinion. Good Luck

 

[ryans67]

A 289 is going to be in even worse condition with a .100 overbore....worse then before you started. youll get overheating problems. You can check it all at a machine shop. If the block is a stock block with a stock crank that hasnt been rebuilt...then theres a chance it will work with a .030 overbore. But if its already been bored or the rust is worse then that. Its junk. Best bet is to measure it and guess or take it to a machine shop and get there opinion. Good Luck

 

[Just Strokin]

Summit Racing still has some of the last new 302 blocks for sale. $330 plus truck freight. part number SES-5-60-04-200

 

[Motorhead]

ryans67: I agree that going .100 overbore is excessive, I was just curious what most people consider to be max safe overbore on a 289 block. Also, I'll try to find out if it's been bored once already, but from what he told me, it most likely hasn't been. Would the pistons have the overbore stamped on top of them?

 

[DblADigger]

I just took the 289 out of my ranchero after 89,000 miles of trouble free operation. When I rebuilt it in 1984, it cleaned up @.040 on the bore. .060 pistons are available so I may do it again.

 

[KB]

Ford specs .040 max bore on the 289-302. any more and your asking for trouble. KB

 

[tateg]

Of course, if you're willing to spend the money you can always re-sleeve the block. Eventually all the SBFs will have to be re-sleeved since they're not making anymore.

 

[MightyMach]

On 2002-04-09 02:32, Motorhead wrote:
So .030 over is about all you want to do on a 289? I was just wondering because my friend at the shop told me that Chevy 283's are good for .100 overbore, but I figured that's 'cause it's the same block as they use for everything from 283 to 350.

Not being the "wise guy" here, but the 283is not the same block as the 350. The 350 was not even around then. The very max you could bore a 283 is to 301 (and I am not sure the bore on that). The smallest V8 by Chevrolet was a 265 and that was able to be bored to 283. The 283's stock bore was 3.875 and was able to be bored to roughly .125 for 301.59 CI

Jeff Given

 

[Hottarod]

I spin the stock 289 rods up to 7000 on a regular basis. I have a stock crank at .020/.020 also. The rods and crank have been shotpeened, have ARP rod bolts, ARP main cap studs and I had the thing balanced. I have had it up to 7300 a couple of times but I think that is pushing it.

 

[jimmyfo]

I am not trying to be a wise guy, but they didn't get 350 out of chevy by just boring
they stroked it, thus getting 350, like a 347 stroker 302.Got it?