ford 289 cam size

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02-28-2007, 03:35 PM
66black289

ford 289 cam size

does anybody know what is the biggest cam you can put on a stock ford 289?
02-28-2007, 03:38 PM
Dave Severson

You probably wouldn't want to use it. Cam selection should be based on the other components in the engine, intended usage, drivetrain components, etc. It comes down to do you want your car to be fast or sound fast. The biggest cam is probably not the best cam for your engine....
02-28-2007, 05:01 PM
thesals

well i'm sure you can get into the .600s in lift if you want, but over .500 is risking valve clearance issues with the pistons on a 289... what are the specs of everything else in your motor and we'll get you a matching cam from there....
02-28-2007, 05:05 PM
techinspector1

Quote:

Originally Posted by 66black289

does anybody know what is the biggest cam you can put on a stock ford 289?

Are you asking because you want a choppy idle like the other guys?
02-28-2007, 06:31 PM
66black289

oh i just wanted to know because i have a cam with a .488 lift that i want to ut in it is it safe
02-28-2007, 07:20 PM
thesals

yes thats a safe lift cam for a 289, as long as you match your valve springs a stock head should be able to flow that decently.... i would reccomend upgrading to roller rockers though, i've had issues with stock rockers on a cam lifting that tall pulling out the rocker studs
02-28-2007, 08:49 PM
techinspector1

Use new lifters and check for interference at the following places:
1. piston to valve clearance
2. valve spring coil bind
3. retainer to guide boss clearance
4. rocker to stud bind-up
03-01-2007, 03:40 AM
JoeSacamano

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesals

yes thats a safe lift cam for a 289, as long as you match your valve springs a stock head should be able to flow that decently.... i would reccomend upgrading to roller rockers though, i've had issues with stock rockers on a cam lifting that tall pulling out the rocker studs

What kind of perfomance could he expect with a .488 cam... I'm assuming he is around 216 duration?
03-01-2007, 04:40 AM
Dave Severson

I would recomend checking all the things Tech posted for you. If I remember my old skinny block Henry's correctly, 470 was about max for stock components in the heads.... Been awhile so don't go off my memory!!!! Heck, I think it's a good day if I remember my name!!!!!
03-01-2007, 06:30 AM
thesals

yes sireee dave, i experienced it when i put a 478 lift cam in my motor, ripped all the rocker studs out, what a PITA..... so i ended up going to a newer set of heads that were ported and polished and had rollers and such.... and then the cam was too little because the heads were made to port match my rpm airgap manifold, and then when i got it all together..... i broke a few rods :LOL:
03-01-2007, 07:23 AM
tyler

yah whatever you do dont put too big of a cam in your motor i put way too big of one in my 352 i knew it would hurt performance but man does it sound good and that all that matters with a 352 haha lets face it they arent the cornerstone of performance in the FE series. i used a .530 .280 .230@ .50 cam. my 406 i just bought has a .526 .280? Holman Moody HA-B i cant really remember the duration but i think thats it
03-01-2007, 09:34 AM
techinspector1

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeSacamano

What kind of perfomance could he expect with a .488 cam... I'm assuming he is around 216 duration?

My best guess is that the car will be slower than it was with the stock cam.
03-05-2007, 10:04 AM
tyler

if your going to put in a cam you should just go ahead and add the rest of the basic bolt ons such as headers, and an intake. an edelbrock intake for you car summit sells one for $150 PN# EDL-2121 and as for headers i dont know what kind of car this motor is in so i found some headers for a mustang just so you can get an idea on the size and an idea about price these are $110 PN# BIG-12102FLT something like those headers should work well, and you might want to put on a new carb maybe a holley 4160 600cfm until you add these parts there is really no use in putting a cam in the motor like tech said it will only hurt performance, i dont know what your planning on doing or what you budget is but if you only have the money to do one or two upgrades then make it the intake or headers but i would go with both at the same time. a motor is all about having parts that work well together
03-11-2007, 01:02 AM
66black289

ok this is what i got so far, an edelbrock rpm airgap intake, roller rockers, holley 600 cfm double pumper, mallory distributor, and a set of hooker headers. now my problem is that i bought a set of gt40p heads, and im looking for the right headers to fit my 66 mustang. oh i found out by opening the engine that its not stock anymore, its been bored .030 over and it has a high volume oil pump but still with the stock crank.:)
03-16-2007, 08:37 PM
thesals

HV oil pump is no good with your stock pan, you're going to run the pan dry unless you at least add a crank scraper.... if you're going to add a cam to that motor, you should probably match to your intake manifold.... the RPM manifolds will really slug your engine if you dont have a cam that matches it..... get the matching edelbrock cam... while you've got it apart, replace the timing set, it never hurts to, and you might as well, since its a pain to do it again later... use a chain set... DO NOT USE A GEAR DRIVE :LOL: ..... should get your motor closer to the right direction...
03-08-2016, 08:38 PM
topthat

289 cam & parts

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesals

yes thats a safe lift cam for a 289, as long as you match your valve springs a stock head should be able to flow that decently.... i would reccomend upgrading to roller rockers though, i've had issues with stock rockers on a cam lifting that tall pulling out the rocker studs

thanks for help on cam size im building a 65 ford 289 I wont a hard thump sound mabe 500 to 520 cam what size holley carb im going to change springs vavles to 202 & 190 will they work im going to have heads rebuilt & intake ported also going to put 150 or 200 hit of nos. on it what kind of compression do I need
03-09-2016, 12:05 AM
techinspector1

Quote:

Originally Posted by topthat

im building a 65 ford 289 I wont a hard thump sound

Awwwwww, Jeez, no you don't. Somebody else needs to explain it this time, I'm tired.

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03-09-2016, 01:10 AM
JeffB2

Quote:

Originally Posted by 66black289

ok this is what i got so far, an edelbrock rpm airgap intake, roller rockers, holley 600 cfm double pumper, mallory distributor, and a set of hooker headers. now my problem is that i bought a set of gt40p heads, and im looking for the right headers to fit my 66 mustang. oh i found out by opening the engine that its not stock anymore, its been bored .030 over and it has a high volume oil pump but still with the stock crank.:)

GT40P oval port header: Patriot Full-Length Headers H8426 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing
03-09-2016, 01:31 AM
Rrumbler

Quote:

Originally Posted by techinspector1

Awwwwww, Jeez, no you don't. Somebody else needs to explain it this time, I'm tired.

.

I agree.

**)**)**);):cool:

Once upon a time, we were young and worshipful of things we did not entirely have a grasp on. Now, some days, I am lucky to be able to get a grasp on anything until I get my hands warmed up with my coffee cup..

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03-09-2016, 05:10 AM
rspears

Welcome to CHR. First, you've resurrected a thread from 2007 here, which is OK, but some may ignore it because of the date.

Second, from another thread, posted two days ago responding to someone wanting to buy their cam based on idle characteristics:

Quote:

Originally Posted by techinspector1

You don't hear that choppy idle much anymore because it's the sound of a motor being inefficient, using a cam that, for instance, was meant to make power from 3000 to 7500 (race motor) being used on the street to try to make power from, for instance, 1500 to 5000. It's the sound of the air/fuel mixture being pushed back up the intake tract by the too-late closing intake valve and struggling to remain idling. As the fuel/air slug is pushed back up the intake tract, it passes the venturi again (first time was air going the right way, this time is air going the wrong way) and more fuel is added to the slug, because the venturi doesn't care which way the air is moving, it adds fuel every time air goes past it. Then the motor goes to the next intake stroke and the slug of fuel-rich air goes past the venturi again and guess what????????.........the venturi adds even more fuel to the slug!!!!!!!!!!!!. The motor is struggling to idle and will die if you don't continually blip the throttle to clean the motor out and start over. If you have the air cleaner off at night and shine a bright light onto the top of the carburetor, you can see this fog hovering atop the carburetor. It's called standoff and is the fuel/air mixture that has been shoved back up the intake tract by the piston coming up in its bore with the intake valve still open (race cam profile).
Late model electronically fuel injected vehicles will not tolerate these monkey shines, you can only do this stuff with a carbureted motor.

I love to hear a choppy idle at the drag strip, where the builder used a race cam because it is a race car, but on the street when I hear this, I just think to myself that the guy didn't know what he was doing when he built the motor. Race motors can and do use all the static compression ratio that they can engineer into the mix and use the appropriate fuel (ethanol, methanol, race gas) to operate the motor. On the street, you are pretty much limited to pump gas if you plan to go anywhere out of your own neighborhood, so you have to build with that in mind. 9.5:1 limit for iron heads and 10.5:1 limit for aluminum heads. With 9.5:1 static compression ratio, you can't use a race cam that lopes because the cam timing is all wrong, closing the intake valve too late to trap enough cylinder pressure to make a good bang and subsequent good power.

It is true that CompCams has found a way to grind a low compression cam so that it will make the motor idle with a lope, but you won't make the power that you could with the proper cam timing for the static compression ratio that you're using. Here are the 3 different grinds for a BBC. Where the description gives the static compression ratio, it means at least that much static compression ratio to coordinate with the cam timing.
http://static.speedwaymotors.com/ima.../BBCThumpr.jpg
The key to making this whole mess work will be the torque converter. If I were doing this, which I wouldn't, I would budget at least $600 for a quality 2800-3000 stall, 10" converter. If you don't begin with a good converter, you'll be taking the whole mess apart to do it again in a little while. Get on the phone and talk with my friends at Hughes Performance....
Welcome to Hughes Performance - Hughes Performance
03-09-2016, 06:39 AM
shine

262 is as big as i run on the street. The more lope you get the worse it will run. Big cam sounds good but will be a dog without the rest of the motor.
03-09-2016, 12:02 PM
Henry Rifle

I'll repeat what I said on another thread, "Thumpy cams are for racers . . . and posers."

Sorry, the devil made me do it.
03-09-2016, 12:14 PM
shine

i want off idle to 3500 power range. big cam does not start until 3500 .
03-09-2016, 01:09 PM
36 sedan

Who you calling a poser?...
03-09-2016, 01:57 PM
Henry Rifle

Quote:

Originally Posted by 36 sedan

Who you calling a poser?...

Not you . . . just a general comment that I've made before, and may make again - under the appropriate circumstances.
03-09-2016, 02:42 PM
36 sedan

Just teasing you
03-09-2016, 03:50 PM
Henry Rifle

Quote:

Originally Posted by 36 sedan

Just teasing you

I know. I am just on a crusade to 'put the thump in the dump!' :D
03-09-2016, 05:00 PM
topthat

thanks what size cam do u think thanks for all help
03-09-2016, 05:08 PM
topthat

hello iv got a set of 1970 shorty headers rusty but good matle of mustang if they work 100.00 + shipping
03-09-2016, 05:55 PM
techinspector1

Quote:

Originally Posted by topthat

thanks what size cam do u think thanks for all help

In order to intelligently choose a cam for a motor, you must know the exact static compression ratio of the motor. Please read through this tutorial, which explains why....
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w..._compatibility
This information was taken from the Crane Cams engineers and simply condensed into the table that you see on the tutorial. Here is the same info in the application section of the Crane Catalog for 260/289/302 Ford motors. You can see that the recommended compression ratio increases as the cam timing gets snottier.
http://www.cranecams.com/196-199.pdf

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