Depends on several things. If you are going for originallity, then the 289 would have to be the engine of choice. If you want more power and may want to stroke it, then I would go with the 351. They can be stroked all the way out to 427 and will make a lot of power. Mine is at 416 and it has been very reliable as I have never had a problem since I had it built in 1997. The 289 will make 400 horse but that may be pushing it if you plan to drive it hard. That was one of the reasons that Shelby kept their 289s at 390 horse was they tended to break when pushed over the 400 horse. Bur remember, they were driving them hard and the technology back then wasn't as good as it is now. Most of the small block crate engines are based on the 351.
Ron
