[302THEBOSS]

My friend is getting a '66 Coupe with a 289. Im not sure if its a 2 bbl or 4 bbl but I beleive they have the same heads. What pistons sould it have cc wise, are they flat top or reverse dome or what? Can anyone give me any info on these engines. Its all original, and he wants me to help him warm it up so im thinking some 351 Cleveland heads and a good intake and cam setup and rev it to around 5500 rpms since its still the cast internals. Any info would be greatly apreciated.

[5.0 in a 66]

Compression is around 9.3-9.5:1 with ~55cc heads. More or less flat-tops IIRC. 351C heads would be waaayy too much trouble, especially with the B&A Clevor intakes fetching over $500 IF you can find one. I'd put on a Wieland Stealth intake, Lunati 61001 cam, 600cfm carb, headers, and a set of ported iron 289/302 or 351W heads.

[muska4star]

I have a 66 coupe 289. The stock compression is about 9.3:1, the pistons are domed and 351 Clevelands will not fit on your block. The if you want to throw some 351 heads on it, make sure they are Windsor heads from 1969-1974. Those are the best years. I have the Edelbrock Performer package on mine along with the ceramic coated hooker headers. I am very happy with performance I get.

[Preacher17]

The pistons are not domed they are dished. Cleveland heads WILL fit but will require changing the pistons. (302 BOSS was nothing more than a 302 block with Cleveland heads) There are kits avaliable to do this, it's pretty common. The best heads for your engine though are the afore mentioned 351 Winsor heads. Used aftermarket heads would be another good choice if you can pick up a set cheap. The Winsor heads will run you between 2-300 bucks plus a valve job at most any swap meet. Not a bad deal considering new aftermarket heads run about a grand or more. A small block Ford will Rev to 6500 with no probem cast or not. The crank will take a good beating with no problem and Ford rods have always been solid. If cast pistons worry you go with hyperutectic pistons they are stronger and cost about the same. Go with a cam with lift of about, .470-.480 and keep the duration around 270 degrees. The biggest performance gains with Fords are found in the heads. Stock 289/302 Ford heads are great for compression because of small combustion chambers but they breath lousy because of too small exhaust ports. The 351W head is a good street head for the 289/302 because of bigger valves and ports and if ported becomes a great street head. Good Luck.

[302THEBOSS]

Im sorry guys, I meant Windsor, and yes, you can fit on the Clevelands but I wouldnt ever do that to a 289, thats going to come out of the hole like my lawn mower and need to rev to 9 grand to make use of those heads on a little 289. Even the 2V ones have huge ports. The Windsors have slightly larger combustion chambers though, so thats going to drop CR. And since Ford heads were always undervalved and he needs the hardened seats, I told him to over size to a 1.94 Chevy intake and 1.55 exhaust and get the screw in rocker studs for his heads now. First im going to look for the Windsor heads, and see if I can find something with the work done. 5.0 in a 66, I was thinking the exact same combo, I dont know those cam specs, but the intake and carb was where I was thinking. Iwas going to try to find a Holley in need of a rebuild for a few bucks on EBAY for him, have him get it and a rebuild kit, and then teach him how carbs worked while we rebuilt it. I want to get the compression to 10:1, which I think might be tricky with the Windsor heads. Hes not rebuilding it, so should I trust the internals of the 2 bbl at 10:1 CR and 6500 rpms? I was thinking 6000 would be safe but I dont know how many miles are on it. And how should the throttle response be with the Windsors on the 289, I know the ports are bigger, but what are the CCs?

[Preacher17]

The stock 289 heads have 52-55cc combustion chambers with 1.78/1.45 inch valves, the 351W heads come with 60cc chambers and 1.84/1.54 valves, so yes the compression ratio will drop a bit to fix it just have the machine shop shave the heads when you take them in for a valve job. Last year at the swap meet in Moltrie Georgia I picked up a set of 351W heads for 300 bucks, already had screw in studs and guide plate and the valves were stock and the ports look to be unmolested. I'll be puttin in 1.94/1.60 valves when I get the heads refreshed. The cheapest I found the heads for were 200 Bucks toward the end of the day (prices come down late) another set earlier in the day was priced at 250.