ford 289 cam size

[66black289]

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

[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....

[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....

[techinspector1]

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?

[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

[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

[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

[JoeSacamano]

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?

[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!!!!!

[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

[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

[techinspector1]

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.

[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

[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.

[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 ..... should get your motor closer to the right direction...