289 needs heads

[btaillon]

I have a 63 298 and need to redo the heads, I'm wanting to put a newer style head on the 289 I was thinking a GT40 head. What all would I need to do it put on the heads and what would they perform like? I'm just looking to make this car a daily driver not looking for high performance.
Brett

[rhandwor]

Go to your local machine shop a lot of times they have some heads they repaired and will exchange them for a price. They would have gaskets and information for you use in this job.

[MagicRat]

Really good heads cost a lot. If you just want to improve your daily driver and do not want to break the bank, go for an early 351 W (Windsor) head.

(NOT a 351 C (Cleveland) or 351 M (Modified) head, they will not fit)

The early (1968-70) heads were best (high compression), but a 71-76 head will do. Avoid the 1977+ heads, as they were the same as the 302, and no better than what you have now.

The 351 heads have 1/2 inch bolt holes, but your 289 uses 7/16 bolts, so little spacers have to be inserted in the heads when installing them. A good machine shop that rebuilds head should know of this swap. It was a very common way of inexpensively boosting early 289/302 engines.

[MrPbody]

Brett,

It might be better if you would describe exactly what your goal IS by changing heads. More revs? More torque? Lower compression? There are a multitude of heads available for the Windsor family. What MR says is true. In olden times, 351W heads were quite sought after for use on 289. With proper camming, gears and valve train, the little motor could spin to 8,000 and be fine. It is usually necessary to change pistons as well, or compression will be in the low 7s. That's too low for practical use today.

Jim