It's been a while since I have seen a 289 Ford engine and I think they have 6 bolt holes where the bell housing bolts up., am I correct? HRP
Early 289 had 5 bolt bell housing. Somewhere in the long production run they switched to a 6 bolt bell. I think the changeover was about ‘64 or ‘65.
Easiest way to tell them apart is to check the size of the bellhousing bolts. If it's 3/8-16 it's a five-bolt, if it's a 7/16-14 it's a six-bolt. The five-bolt 289 didn't make it into any '65 model cars (other than 64.5 Mustangs which technically were '65s), the 260 was the only five-bolt to actually make it into '65 and only for a few months before being discontinued. Ford donated all left-over five-bolt 289s to trade and high school auto shops as soon as the six-bolt reached production in the fall of '64. You can also separate '62-64 and '65-up cylinder heads the same way. '62-64 heads had 3/8-16 accessory holes in the ends of the heads, '65-up were 7/16.
I thought the Easiest way to tell is count the bolts on the block.... That how I have always done it....lol
The engine in question is in a wrecked mustang and the owner said the engine had been changed at one time or another, it may even be a 302. HRP
went and looked at the car this morning and from what I can fell it has a 6 bolt bell housing, so it could be a 289 or possible a 302, it does still have the top loader 4 speed and the drive train is all I am interested in, the rear axle is bent from the wreck. HRP
Danny, I think the 289 and 302 both look basically alike just looking at them in a car but I believe the 289's had the dip stick in the front of the engine and the 302's had the dip stick in the side of the block. It's been a long time and you need to see if anyone else agrees with me.
After I posted I did a little digging on th internet and found this, the 289 did have the dipstick on the front of the engine and is part of the timing chain cover. Hope this helps you identify what the engine is.
I think it was later 302s (around the time it became the 5.0) that had the dipstick hole in the block...the older 302s used the timing cover location. I expect Crazy Steve will know the answer.... And the 4x4s had it on the pan.
Timing covers interchange, so it’s possible to use the early front dipstick one on a later block. 5.0 did move it to the pan rail for use with the rear sump pan. I did just than on another car, late 5.0 block fitted it with old timing cover and front sump pan, plugged the pan rail hole with silicone.
Ford switched the 302 from a pan-mounted dipstick to the block location in '81-82. All rear-sump pans prior to that had the pan-mounted stick which were prone to leaking. Ford waited on the 351W, finally moving it's dipstick to the block around '89. The timing cover posted by @3W JOHN is the first-gen '62-65 cover, specifically a '65 because it's got the shorter alternator-style dipstick tube. There's two versions of this cover, the '62-63 one had a oil-fill tube pressed in, these are now popular with the guys using 'other' valve covers with no oil-fill capability. But Ford quickly found that this design did a poor job of venting the crankcase, promoting sludge build up in the heads from condensation so they deleted the oil fill in '64 (although the spot for it was still present on the casting) and went to the now-familiar valve cover fill. The one pictured is the '64-65 version. This same condensation issue was also known for rotting the ends of the dipsticks off on the '62-64 generator cars as they used a longer stick/tube. These also used an factory aluminum water pump, so were popular with the racers at the time. This cover was only available with a passenger-side pump inlet. They had one other problem though; because the cover formed the back wall for the water pump, they were also known for eroding/corroding behind the pump if antifreeze wasn't used and if it started leaking dumped coolant right into the pan. These are not being reproduced, although you can still get the water pump. Ford switched to this design in '66... This is the timing cover commonly found if you don't have a late 302/351W and the one you want if using V-belts. Used from '66 until serpentine belts with reverse-rotation water pumps started to appear, a new cast-iron water pump with a steel plate separating the pump chamber from the cover fixed the corrosion issue. And the pumps were available with either side inlets. This is a 'generic' reproduction, there is a few minor variations concerning mountings for the timing pointer. You can get 'exact' repos for more money if that's an issue. With now-easy availability of aluminum water pumps in place of the cast-iron OEM pump, there's no reason to use the early cover any more.
One more thing.... If you have a late model timing cover without a dipstick, a lot of them have the boss on the casting. It's a simple matter to drill the hole for the dipstick and use it. I have done this myself a few times also.
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