289 buildup
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From: Nelsonville, and winfield
289 buildup
Hey every body, i know early broncos came with the 289, ive already got one thats only got 20,000 on it after a rebuild. i've got a edelbrock performer 289 intake, that i got real cheap, never used and its already got dual exhaust. I'm gonna try to find a good edelbrock carb for it. Does anyone have a 600 or 650 cfm on theirs, id like to know how they work. Anyway, when i pull the motor, im gonna go through and do all the gaskets and check everything out, but is there anything else i can do to get somemore with out tearing into her too much? If my financial situation is better this winter i might put a new cam in. Is there any cams that you all have good experience with. Im looking to stay good on my street, off road and towing, but ive always wanted a little bit more lope than a RV cam. unless there are any good, efficient RV cams with a little bit of a rough idle.... course the 289's have always been kind rough anyway right? someday ill drop in a 351 or maybe a fuel injected 302, itll all fit the same, but this 289 runs pretty good....
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From: Troy,NY
I wouldn't go bigger than a 600 cfm for your motor. edelbrock carbs do great on the street not very good off road. The best off road is probably a quadrajet. You have to do some things to make them work on a Ford but they are known as hillbilly fuel injection for a good reason. I'm running the number 2 choice. A holley truck avenger 470 cfm. Easy to install. It's plenty of carb for my motor and I'm running a roller 5.0, gt40 Y303 heads, Ford e cam and 1.7 roller rockers. I get it up to 5500 rpm's with no fuel problems. I'm sure it would work fine for your setup and would handle a bigger cam when you do one.
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From: Nelsonville, and winfield
hey thanks, so whats the deal with the quadrajet, i hear some people singing their praises but it seems like they are more often called Quadra-dogs or like things, there is a resurgance in interest, but i've never had the good fortune to come across one being run well. Can i get off road needles and jets for the edelbrock? I've heard enough to know that Holleys are kinda complicated and the old ones need rebuilt if you dont tune em right and backfire through the carb, they need a new vavle aftrer that right? What kinda work would i have to do to it. My buddy has 2 of them on a shelf, i can always find a rebuild kit and go at em, arent they made by Rochester? What about a old Carter? are they still made, ive heard they are about as simple and safe as you can get....
Post Fiend
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I would go with a 600 holley, they have a new line of offroad carbs, thier said to take some pretty good angles, and holley's look good. I would just stay with the 289, I use to run them in my old mustangs, I love those motors, there just plain cool, there getting hard to find a round here anymore.
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Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Southern Oregon USA
Carburetors are kinda like the Ford vs Chevy debate. Everyone has their own preference of what works good.
Like Ken said, Qjets are probably the best off road carb available. They have gained a bad reputation simply because not many know how to tune them and make them run properly. They come in a variety of CFM's to fit almost any application and are cheap and plentiful. Your best bet is to find an untouched junkyard carb and have a good carb guy rebuild it. Edelbrock also has a replacement QJet, but they can be a little pricey.
The Edelbrock is an updated version of the Carter AFB. With a few float bowl tricks and tuning, they can be a decent off road carb. But they still have some limitations. In my experience, the off road kits don't do much. I've had more luck dropping float levels, isolating the float bowls to withstand angles better and concentrating on fine tuning the jetting.
Jason
Like Ken said, Qjets are probably the best off road carb available. They have gained a bad reputation simply because not many know how to tune them and make them run properly. They come in a variety of CFM's to fit almost any application and are cheap and plentiful. Your best bet is to find an untouched junkyard carb and have a good carb guy rebuild it. Edelbrock also has a replacement QJet, but they can be a little pricey.
The Edelbrock is an updated version of the Carter AFB. With a few float bowl tricks and tuning, they can be a decent off road carb. But they still have some limitations. In my experience, the off road kits don't do much. I've had more luck dropping float levels, isolating the float bowls to withstand angles better and concentrating on fine tuning the jetting.
Jason
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From: Troy,NY
Well it's tough to beat a holley on the shelf. 
As long as they are a vacuum secondary you should be good. Get a rebuild kit and a holley book from summit. The older Holleys had the problem with blowing power valves from a backfire. The newer ones have a check ball to prevent that and you can retrofit them into the older ones. I'll pm you a link to a holley carb off road adjustments you can do. Every time I post a link here the post doesn't show up. 
As long as they are a vacuum secondary you should be good. Get a rebuild kit and a holley book from summit. The older Holleys had the problem with blowing power valves from a backfire. The newer ones have a check ball to prevent that and you can retrofit them into the older ones. I'll pm you a link to a holley carb off road adjustments you can do. Every time I post a link here the post doesn't show up.
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From: Nelsonville, and winfield
thanks!, yeah as soon as iget home this weekend ill see if my neighbor has those qjets laying around and see if he can remember what cfm they are.. I just dont know anyone that can tell me how to tune one. Is there a good book, or a downloadable resource for this? I know the 289 is getting hard to find. i had a guy in the parts store standing behind me offer to buy it as soon as he heard what i was talking about when i was trying to get a fuel filter at napa. It runs though, and runs pretty good. Does anyone know what the timing, and all that should be set at? I cant seem to find that info either. I dont know if i mentioned that the engine is in a 1981 Jeep Scrambler CJ-8. its not a bronco but its a unique rig anyway. i wonder if those custom bronco headers would find the space constraints for this as well..
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Post Fiend
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The timming and all that should be the same as a 302 up to 1985, or so. "Jeep", thats cool as well, besides fords, jeep is my next favorite vehicle, I've owned 11 of them in my time, from chrysler, to amc, to *****'s. I still think you should give holley a second thought, I have never had anything but trouble from a Q-jet, holley has allways been good to me, good luck in whatever you decide.
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From: Nelsonville, and winfield
I knew the 289 turned into the 302, so i guessed the timing should be similar.. but good. Yeah this jeep is pretty cool, most people have never heard of a scrambler, they have a 5 foot pickup bed behine what is a stock CJ-7 front clip, the tub and wheelbase is longer. Someone went and stuffed this engine in out of a mustang in the early 90's. i figure when im out of college here and making money again, ill just sell or trade the 289 to someone and drop in a 351 windsor with a ZF 5 speed. I love the 289 and ill keep it for a couple years but I'll have an easier time finding parts for the windsor and i can keep it pretty mild. i want the 5 speed cuz the 3 speed is geared a little high, good shifting and tough though!
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They were making the cj8 in the late fifties and early sixties, I think they dropped it for awhile, then brought it back as the scrambler. Those things sell for an arm and a leg on ebay. The 351W, 302, and 289 are all the same engine family, you can put 351 windsor heads on your 289, a lot of parts will enterchange between those motors. A boss 302 was a 302 block with 351 cleveland heads. Ford small blocks are fun because of the swapping around you can do, not to mention stroking. You have alot of possabilites. Good luck with it!!
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From: Southern Oregon USA
Originally Posted by wendell borror
They were making the cj8 in the late fifties and early sixties, I think they dropped it for awhile, then brought it back as the scrambler.
Jason
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From: Nelsonville, and winfield
yeah, they sure are slick, they definitely get a second look. You really dont hear much about the CJ-6, i think they are much more rare than the 8, but about ford small blocks yeah. it'll be fun. i reckon when im ready to do the body work ill do the engine. i want to box the frame before i put in the windsor, because who knows if i ever want to do competition or just all out muddin i would want to stroke it to a 406 windsor, which i think is pretty common. theres a guy here in Dover Ohio who has a burgundy, black, early bronco with a 351 that SOUNDS like its got some extra cubic inches. at the annual car show he has pictures of all 4 (35-36" maybe, i dont remember) tires just fogging up in clouds of smoke. he has written on the back " the Jeep thing? You're right, i dont understand"
