Is it easy to tell the difference between a 302 and a 289

[YerDugliness]

Originally Posted by Newsnake

I know this is a dumb question but is it easy to tell the difference between a 302 and a 289 by looking under the hood?

I wouldn't think that a dumb question...upon first view, they do look identical, with some minor differences.

What year 289 are you trying to get the BAR to believe you have? I ask b/c Ford first produced the 221/260/289 engines with 5 bolt holes where the bellhousing mounts, then sometime in late 1964 (or early 1965, there are differing reports) Ford switched the block to a 6 bolt mounting pattern for the 289.

Obviously, there will be other minor differences, too....but the BAR is quite skilled at finding out what year your 289/302 was built. They will look on the passenger's side of the block, behind the starter, for the casting "code" that tells them year, month, and day the block was cast.

If you MUST have a pre-emissions 289, I'd say get one of those with the 5 bolt pattern, at least for the SB100 process. Once you've gotten your SB100, there would be nothing to keep you from changing to the newer style 302, just beware that you'll have to change out the bellhousing, too.

The early 271 horsepower factory HiPo 289's are quite desirable, and fairly rare. If you can get one of those, you'll probably be just as happy as if you had a 302...or maybe more so. The cranks, in particular, are quite good, and IIRC they have 4 bolt mains rather than the 2 bolt mains the vast majority of 302's have (I think the 1971/1972 Cleveland headed Boss 302 blocks are 4 bolt, perhaps only on mains 2, 3 and 4...others will know much better than I do).

Cheers, and good luck, from Dugly