Performance Options

[Rob_65_Stang]

Hi All,

I have a 289 2v 2 Barrell motor in my 65 coupe which I will be removing for a clean up as it is looking pretty tired.

What performance options would be recommended to keep this motor along the original lines but to give it as much oomph as possible.

I have had people tell me so many differnt things that it is starting to get confusing.
Carbie size, manifolds, extractor brands and sizes would all be appreciated maybe by someone who has modiified their original motor but tried to keep it as original as possible.

It is a C4 auto all original and stock as a rock.
Would it be possible to get 300hp without going over the top.

Please keep in mind that I probably will strip the engine and give it a good cleanout and overhaul.

Thanks
Rob

[2233]

Howdy

First three questions:

Will you be leaving it auto?

If you are, do you want to run a stall convertor?

Does it matter what diff ratio you run?

I hope you know your are opening a can of worms!:(

Talk to these guys! http://www.kec.com.au/

[Pete]

Hmmm, 300 horsepower. That means a new carby, intake manifold, exhaust, camshaft and lifters, may as well balance it while its apart, up the compression ratio with a rebore and new pistons, resize the conrods and crankshaft, etc,etc . Now that you've done all that you will need to have your heads done. It's all starting to add up to a sizeable amount. I guess there is no really cheap and easy way to achieve your goal. The best advise I can give you is to do the job properly one time, the first time. And use the best parts that you can afford, a big spend at first will save money and headaches in the long run. Good luck.

[66ccode]

Rob,
Got to agree with the guys above, although I would add that it is unwise to set a power figure when talking about doing some engine improvements. rather, ask yourself what you want out of the engine/car.
Daily driver, weekend only, 1/4 mile track use etc, and build your engine to suit that.
As an example, I have done some basic mods to my c code with c4 to give it extra poke, but still be usable as a daily driver if I feel that way inclined.
I did a fair bit of research with regards to cam selection, as this is really your power governing item. I did not want to run a stall converter, so the largest cam I could go with comfortably was the edelbrock performer. this is a 204 intake 214 exhaust with arounf .47 lift at the valve.(from memory).
I combined this with an edelbrock performer manifold, a Holley street avenger 465  4bbl carby, tri y extractors, twin 2 1/4" exhaust with flowmasters, and electronic dizzy.
This has given me 185hp at the wheels (around 250hp at the flywheel)
Ive still got the 2.8 diff but really need to put in the 3.25. but it still breaks into the 14s 1/4 mile.
To get any more your really need some improved heads, a bigger cam, and a stall converter or manual trans.
Then of coarse the rest of the car will neeed upgrading to suit. Brakes, suspension, etc.

[66ccode]

The other thing to remember is that the quoted 200hp factory spec for the c code is crap.
I think it would be lucky to be putting 160. So dont use the 200hp figure as a baseline to gauge improvements.

[2233]

The single biggest plug in any windsor engine is the heads.

If you want to make any sort of decent power you will need aftermarket heads.

Have a look into the Edelbrock performer rpm range(heads,cam, manifold etc) but bring your money with you.

For example: I dont have a 289 but I run an rpm manifold, 650 holley, a streetable 228@.050 cam(rpm range 2300-6000rpms) decent aftermarket heads,10.1comp which gets me about 252kw's or 337 rear wheel horsepower @ 6000rpms out of my 347.

The above would equate to about 400 at the engine if I am
lucky.

It all comes down to how much do you want to spend and how much are you prepared to put up with. Can you handle a stall convertor? Can you handle a few extra revs on the freeway? Can you handle fuel bill?

Having a worked engine changes the whole feel of the car.(I think)

[Hally]

Guys,

Can you explain stall converters to me? how they work and how they feel when driving the car? do you have to drive the car differently?

Cheers,

Andrew

[66ccode]

Can you explain stall converters to me? how they work and how they feel when driving the car? do you have to drive the car differently?

Stall converters, are a replacement for your standard torque coverter on an Auto.
In an Auto with standard converter, when you take off from standstill, the engine is able to rev slightly higher or slip, (maybe 1500 revs), to allow the engine to develop a little more power/torque that what is available at idle. (otherwise the car would struggle to move).

In a performance engine, the power is shifted up the rev range, so the the standard amount of slip in the converter is not enough to reach the into the engines power/torque area.
The engine needs to be able to rev higher, and that is what the stall converter does. You must match your converter to your engine characteristics, ie a 2000 rev, 3000 rev etc. depending on where on the rev range you start to make power/torque.
The result of this is when you accelerate hard off the line, you dont have to wait to gather enough speed to get the engine into its power range. Its there right from takeoff.
One other feature of stall converters is that on a really high performance engine, it allows a higher idle rev without trying to take off down the road. (fast)
In terms of driving, ive found that unless you have a diff ratio like 3.5 or more, when driving in 50-80 speeds, when you increase throttle slightly, the engine tends to rev up to the stall speed which gets quite annoying. But again it depends on what sort of driving you want to do, and how much power you want.


I don't know how clear this is. A lot harder putting it into words than I thought.