289 build

[390owner]

I bought a 66 mustang with the original 289 engine. Anyway it was full of water and has been for a while. I pulled it then took it apart. I broke it loose after I got the heads off. My question is how can I clean it up so I can rebuild it or should I get another . It is all standard bore and bearings so I hope I can rebuild it.

[gdaddy01]

how did it get water in it to start with ? walls pitted ?

[390owner]

No idea how it got in the engine. The car has been sitting since the early 90s. Someone said maybe it was in a flood but the transmission is full of nice red fluid. There does not seem to be any pitting just light rust that cleaned up with a hone on two cylinders

[gdaddy01]

I was just wondering , I would want to know how the water got there before I spent much money on it . jmo

[frnkeore]

If you have got the crank, cam, lifters and pistons, out of the block. You got it made, already.

Closely inspect the block or, have that done. If everything is sound, bore it .030, get your parts and assemble it. You can up grade it with with crank, rods to 332 or 347 CI, if you want.

Do the same with the heads and if you want a lot more HP, spend the money on them and the cam.

As to the water, it may have blown a head gasket or, check your timing cover, it could have a hole, eaten threw the water passage.

[cjshaker]

If you can hone the cylinders yourself, or just clean them with an abrasive pad, just to check for obvious cracks, heavy pitting etc, and it looks ok, I would then have it pressure tested before you moved forward. No sense in spending money on a block if it has a major defect. If it checks ok, and the lifter bores are not rusted, then there's no reason it couldn't be used. All the major machined surfaces will have to be gone over anyway, and steel abrading will clean the block up and remove any remaining surface rust.

289 blocks are getting harder to find, like any other older engine. If you can save the block without dumping money into it for major repairs, then I'd certainly go that route. Unless you can buy another block that has already been tested/checked, and you can verify that it's a solid block, then you'd be taking a chance again anyway. Might as well go with what you have until something determines that it's unusable.

[machoneman]

If you can hone the cylinders yourself, or just clean them with an abrasive pad, just to check for obvious cracks, heavy pitting etc, and it looks ok, I would then have it pressure tested before you moved forward. No sense in spending money on a block if it has a major defect. If it checks ok, and the lifter bores are not rusted, then there's no reason it couldn't be used. All the major machined surfaces will have to be gone over anyway, and steel abrading will clean the block up and remove any remaining surface rust.

289 blocks are getting harder to find, like any other older engine. If you can save the block without dumping money into it for major repairs, then I'd certainly go that route. Unless you can buy another block that has already been tested/checked, and you can verify that it's a solid block, then you'd be taking a chance again anyway. Might as well go with what you have until something determines that it's unusable.



True! 289's are getting harder to find but a much later model 302 (5.0L) engine or short block or even a bare block are easy to find and quite cheap. All are bolt-ins and virtually all front dress brackets/bolts/accessories will meet up. Better, the GT-40 3-bar heads from older Explorers are great flowing heads and again a cheap upgrade. As noted, I would check if the current block is good first and proceed from there. 

https://www.cjponyparts.com/resources/gt-40-cylinder-head

[Joe-JDC]

Later 302 HO blocks do not have the boss for bellcrank fitting for manual transmissions.  Require pull cable for clutch operation.  If an automatic, then all is good.  Use block only, to stay 289.  Joe-JDC

[Falcon67]

Keep it and fix it if possible, you'll have a hard time finding a replacement 289 or even a 302.  OR even a 5.0 in some places.  It's been a long time since Ford made any push rod small V8s.  We live in dry country and it's VERY hard to find a decent core around here.  That and when metal scrap is up, cars get recycled.  Only one or two yards in 100 miles from here try to keep anything very old.  There is 200+ acre yard that I typically check and you will not find a 260, 289, 351C in it anywhere.  If they have a pulled decent core 302/5.0 in the sheltered motor pile it's be in the $500 range. 

[machoneman]

Later 302 HO blocks do not have the boss for bellcrank fitting for manual transmissions.  Require pull cable for clutch operation.  If an automatic, then all is good.  Use block only, to stay 289.  Joe-JDC

You're correct Joe but one can buy a bolt-on z-bar ball end pivot and all is good. 

https://www.jegs.com/i/Scott+Drake/204/2931/10002/-1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImrX4hOLn5QIVxR-tBh22fACcEAQYAiABEgLARfD_BwE

[Joe-JDC]

Thanks, Bob, that is good to know.  I haven't had to try to make that conversion in a few years, and am a little behind in updated parts available.  Joe-JDC

[390owner]

Thanks for all the replies. I was thinking about putting the heads in a bucket full of diesel and letting them soak. Is there something that would work better than diesel?

[TomP]

I redid ten pairs of heads this spring that have been sitting in my shed, many with stuck valves. I simply pulled off all the retainers and any valve that was stuck got a squirt of WD40 and hit straight down with a hammer to get it moving. Had to tap some back and forth while squirting them but all came out without ruining any valves or guides.

[machoneman]

Thanks for all the replies. I was thinking about putting the heads in a bucket full of diesel and letting them soak. Is there something that would work better than diesel?

Well, it's likely the cheapest 'solvent' one can buy. Still, I'd use kerosene if available but that would be a tad more expensive. Question is, are the heads coked-up, merely oily or what? Diesel does take more time while a true solvent like kerosene would be quicker. I've also used gasoline, outdoors of course, but merely as a douche with a old paint brush and a small brass-bristled brush. 

[390owner]

mainly rusty from the water but will clean up with a little scrubbing.