302 vs 289

[Woodz428]

Originally Posted by tkb289;10****3

My understanding is that the 289 Block and 302 Block are virtually identical, one minor difference being the skirt length in the 302 Block is a bit longer than what is in the 289 Block.

As stated above, a sound 302 short block with a decent cam and good heads would make a fine Cobra motor for a small block car. That's just the recipe I am looking for to use in my ERA. CobraED ... thanks for the articles!

I'm sure you meant the cylinder skirt, which is about a 1/4" longer. It is to stabilize the piston more when it's down at the bottom...at least that was the Ford press at the time. I am sure some of that was from the stroker racing engines that were built in the 289 blocks and they found that it was a cause of some failures at the track. Most of those were in the 325" range and it is a considerably longer throw than the 3" 302 crank. Again, the manufacturer builds around potential warranty concerns. Since 289 blocks are now over 40 years old and they availabilty of 302 blocks with features that were only dreamed about in the 60s, it doesn't make since to use a 289 block unless you need the casting # for a specific reason. they never made any 4 bolt 289 blocks that were readily available.
For me it was the fact that the 302 offered was, as mentioned, just a stroked plain jane version of the 289 ( 2 and 4V). The 4V engine was only offered in the first model year('68) and then only 2Vs until the 80s. That is with the exception of the Boss engine, which I think would be in a separate discussion.