upgrading a 289

6

66Fairlane500

Junior Member
Hey guys.

Im helping a friend out with his '63 Galaxie.

Facts are, it's a 289 2-barrel with C4 transmission.

we are gonna work on the top of the engine anyway, so i was thinking 'bout putting on 4-barrel and maybe change cam.

Do you guys have advice on what to do, and what not to do?

What Intake, carb and cam i should use?

We are NOT building a race car! Just trying to give the old girl a little more "pick-up" :-)

Hope you can help.

Martin from Denmark
 
Put what's referred to as a " RV cam" in it, something with short duration and reasonable lift. Keep the 2 bbl manifold and go to a Ford 2100 carb that's a little bigger than yours. Presently, your 2 barrel should have 1.08 cast into the left front of the carb fuel bowl. Look for one that says 1.23.
 
Virtually all after-market 4bbl intake manifolds do not have a water passage between the heads at the rear of the manifold. This can make the engine & heads run hot, especially the rear cylinders.
see two photos below.
1st pic is without, 2nd pic is with, a rear water passage

If you have occasion to replace the head gaskets do not be confused that one looks upside down when placed into position.
They will have a "Front" label or stamp on them. That end of the gasket should always be toward the radiator/water pump and one of them will seem upside down from the other, and that is correct. The end of the gasket with openings for the water passages should be at the rear. (3rd pic)
.
 

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If your just looking for a little more ooomph, go with a stock Ford 4 BBL manifold and a carb no bigger that 500CFM with a RV cam. The Holley 390 or 435 CFM carbs should work ok.

The Ford 4100 carbs are a good choice, but get the 1.08 not the bigger one.
 
Early '63's were 260 instead of 289, I believe. Have you verified which one you have? Plus, Galaxies were heavy cars and usually had tall gears (like 3.00 to 1) so the mild cam and small carb advice is right on. A 4 bbl. carb runs on only the front 2 barrels until close to 4,000 RPM (roughly) and should have dual exhaust to breathe better at higher RPM's too. If you drive mostly in the city or on congested roads under 50-55 MPH, try going to 3.90 or even 4.10 rear gear ratio. That will wake it up more than a 4 bbl. or cam.
 
This intake has the front and rear water passages,I have it on my 302 http://www.ebay.com/itm/SBF-Ford-30...ash=item5af8d2d277:g:JksAAOSwxH1UGEy2&vxp=mtr This cam is a copy of a Ford Motorsports hydraulic grind and works real well with this intake http://www.summitracing.com/parts/lun-10310100lk/overview/make/ford As SBF's have weak exhaust flow the extra exhaust duration and lift help out, I would run the Summit Carb with it: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-m08600vs/overview/ they tend to deliver about 2-3 MPG more than the same size Edelbrock or Holley.
 
streetdreams said:
Put what's referred to as a " RV cam" in it, something with short duration and reasonable lift. Keep the 2 bbl manifold and go to a Ford 2100 carb that's a little bigger than yours. Presently, your 2 barrel should have 1.08 cast into the left front of the carb fuel bowl. Look for one that says 1.23.
Click to expand...

I think this is right on for a start, as mentioned , the Galaxie is heavy. A slightly lower rear gear might be nice too.
 
40 Deluxe said:
Early '63's were 260 instead of 289, I believe. Have you verified which one you have? Plus, Galaxies were heavy cars and usually had tall gears (like 3.00 to 1) so the mild cam and small carb advice is right on. A 4 bbl. carb runs on only the front 2 barrels until close to 4,000 RPM (roughly) and should have dual exhaust to breathe better at higher RPM's too. If you drive mostly in the city or on congested roads under 50-55 MPH, try going to 3.90 or even 4.10 rear gear ratio. That will wake it up more than a 4 bbl. or cam.
Click to expand...

It IS a 289 and a C4.
The transmission seems to be a '66, so my guess Would be that the engine is too.
 
paul2748 said:
If your just looking for a little more ooomph, go with a stock Ford 4 BBL manifold and a carb no bigger that 500CFM with a RV cam. The Holley 390 or 435 CFM carbs should work ok.

The Ford 4100 carbs are a good choice, but get the 1.08 not the bigger one.
Click to expand...

Hi Paul.

We are looking for better torque at low rpm.

My own Fairlane with the same drivetrain, was equipped with Edelbrock Performer RPM intake and cam and (i Think) Holley 540.
I put in a milder cam and put on Roch. Q-jet.
It Works fine.
What Would you Think about the same upgrade in a Galaxie?
 
dmsfrr said:
Virtually all after-market 4bbl intake manifolds do not have a water passage between the heads at the rear of the manifold. This can make the engine & heads run hot, especially the rear cylinders.
see two photos below.
1st pic is without, 2nd pic is with, a rear water passage
Click to expand...

There are plenty of V type engines that do not use a rear coolant crossover, even some factory SBF versions. I don't think it has anything to do with better cooling, but maybe the rear crossover was used at times for heater connections and/or other fittings or sending units. True, cylinder heads are cored with front and rear coolant openings but that is only to eliminate the need for separate castings for right and left heads. One engineering drawing, one set of casting cores, one head to stock on the shelf. There's no need to let a rear crossover be a determining factor in any choice of manifold for a 289; runner size and designed RPM range is the most important factor.
I have a supercharged engine running a competition type manifold on the street with no coolant through the manifold at all. The front of the heads are drilled and tapped for 3/8 NPT fittings and hose to a separate, divorced thermostat box. Thousands of miles all over the mid-west and hasn't over heated yet.
 
You are getting some info that may leave you thinking,maybe I should just leave it alone ? Because of the Galaxie's weight maybe selling the 289 and swapping to a 351W which will give you a large torque increase would be the better bet. You might want to hang out here a while ;) www.sbftech.com
 
If it works good in the Fairlane it should work good in a Galaxie. Unfamiliar with the q-jet so I can't comment on it.

66Fairlane500 said:
Hi Paul.

We are looking for better torque at low rpm.

My own Fairlane with the same drivetrain, was equipped with Edelbrock Performer RPM intake and cam and (i Think) Holley 540.
I put in a milder cam and put on Roch. Q-jet.
It Works fine.
What Would you Think about the same upgrade in a Galaxie?
Click to expand...
 
I must agree with Fordors. The rear coolant crossover didn't exist on a SBF until the end of the carburation era. From '62 thru the 70's Ford used the front water passage only and got along just fine.

If the '63 in question actually does have a '66 engine and trans, then it would be a perfect candidate for a 351 since it would have a 6 bolt bellhousing on the c-4.
However, if the owner is just looking for a little more driveable torque, just change the rearend gears to 3.25's, advance the stock cam 6-8 degrees, leave the carb alone and just drive it, that will wake it up more than spending a bunch of money on a carb, cam and manifold that will only disappoint, because this is a heavy car that needs more low end than anything else
 
Few years ago I bought a 63 Fairlane and was told it was a 289 and had 6 bolt housing with a c4.It had a pass side water outlet looked stock. Some I dropped the starter and find the numbers it was a 1977 302 .I think the 260 and 289 had better heads.
 
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