Ford 289 V8 Engine

Ford first introduced the 289 V8 engine in 1963 and it was the third engine to appear in the popular Windsor line. The 289 was the most famous and highly desire engine used in the popular Ford Mustang built before 1968. (Unless you want to embarrass yourself by admitting you wanted a 200 Inline 6.). It was also used in the Ford Falcon and some Galaxy 500 models.

The 289 was offered in three different options when first introduced starting with a 2 barrel carb version that produced 195 horsepower as well as a 4 barrel carb version that produced 210 horsepower. For performance enthusiast, Ford offered the “HiPo” K code 289 that had higher compression, solid lifters, high-flow manifolds and many other performance modifications that put the HiPo at 271 horsepower. There are rumors that Ford produced a 289 HiPo engine block but this has been proven to be only hearsay. The HiPo engine block simply had wider main bearing caps that made it different.

The 289 HiPo would eventually be used by Carol Shelby and placed in the Shelby 350GT from 1965 to 1967 and produced 306 horsepower. The 289 continued its success up through 1968 until the introduction of the Ford 302 which replaced the 289 in the early part of 1968.