Hey i recently purchased a 55 f-100. THe motor it came with we THINK is a high performace 1965 289. The reson why we think it is, is that it came stock with a four barrel manifold and dual exhaust. From what the builder told me, it came out of a 65 mustang possibly, although he is unsure. Runs great, clean motor. The only numbers i can find are located on the top of the intake manifold. I looked around the motor (bottom side around oil pan) for the id. The one off the intake is c50e 9425-A, is this the right one, of not where in the world is it?
Also when i do find the numbers, where do i look up to find what exactly it is, and what it came out of? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Hey, to see if it is a hi-po 289, pop a valve cover and see if it has screw in rocker arm studs, if they are pressed in, it is just a regular 4-v motor at the very most. And don't get too excited if they are screw in studs, the ports are just the same as every other head from that era.....I used to have a set in my collection, and I sold them for alot of money to buy better aftermarket heads for another project.Not to blowing the wind out of yer sails, laddie......

 

There is no wind in my sails Actualy my real question was where the numbers are located on the engine, and where i can look to see what it came out of.

 

Okay, then, let's do it your way. The intake number corresponds to a 1965 fairlane(open to revision). Now, yank off the intake, get a flexible mechanic's mirror and peer under the inside edge of the head, underneath the section covering the lifters. That will answer part of your "actual" question. Now the whole idea for checking under the valve cover, sir, was to save a bit of grief and time, because the number "289" will appear somewhere next to one of the rocker arm studs if the heads are 289's. The actual hi-po 289 had solid lifters, requiring the adjustable rocker arms and screw in studs, and was only available for 3 years in a mustang (also available in the 64 fairlane sport coupe, not sure about the '65 sport coupe )( the hi-po 289 in the mustang was replaced by the 302 in 1968). An easy way(if it does not bother you too much) to tell if it is an early 289 block without the casting numbers is to count the number of bellhousing bolts. 5=early 289, 6=late 289. And since My late 65 289 block in the garage has the casting numbers on the side of the oil pan rail, it may be possible that the numbers are covered up by dirt, or you have an early block(the numbers are not in the same place). I think that you may not have anything approaching a mustang engine, but hey, good luck.

 

Of course, All my info is subject to revision....

 

Hey i appreciate the help. ill get back to you on what i find. Just out of curiousity what do you think i have?

 

The id numbers should be on the block near the starter.

A 289 HiPo also has a much thicker vibration dampner than a standard 289. If it's an original 289 HiPo the exhaust manifolds would look kinda like a cast iron header instead of the standard log type.

As a previous poster mentioned the heads will have screw in rocker studs - but the big tip off would be cast in cups where the valve springs rest in the heads.

The 289 HiPo also tend to have valvetrain clatter due to the solid lifters.

 

I can't say until you pop a valve cover off...If there are no screw in rocker arm studs, and the rest of the engine has similar first 4 digit casting numbers, I would say it is a 225 hp 4 barrel 289 out of a 65 fairlane, which also had dual exhaust. This info is just in case this is your first ford v8 you have ever looked at, and do not know what did and did not come as standard equipment on a 289 hi-po.

 

Sorry about double posting info from a previous poster.

Guess I take too long to type (especially while watching TV at the same time).

 

Does it make a difference wether the builder did a valve job on it?

 

Thanks for the double posting, you included stuff I forgot about...

Normally a valve job would not include machining for screw in studs. You would have to pay a bit extra($100 or more) to have it done, and you would not have it done unless you plan to hot rod it. That it has the stock intake(that is usually the first to go when you try to make a racer out of it)on it says alot about the(possible) originality of the engine. Just sit down and relax, get a notebook handy and scour the block for numbers. If you are mainly concerned about how the engine is going to perform, and not about what the egine came out of, just drive it, because performance-wise it will not make much of a difference what is under the valve covers.
If you really want to know what is under the hood, take your time and get an intake gasket set and pull off the intake to read those numbers. The block numbers should be on the driver's side of the block, about a inch above the pan rail toward the back of the engine, and if there is a little built up grease, get a light and a flat blade screwdriver and poke around. Good luck!!!