Ford Mustang 289 Engine Rebuild.

One of my favorites! Classic Ford Mustang 289. Actually, it was my first car, I miss that beautiful car. I had a ’66 coupe. My sister had a ’66 Fastback. When I had a heavier foot, we would speed all over the San Fernando valley. The ticket gods must have been shining upon us since we never got pulled over or got a ticket. Sadly, I sold it decades ago.

No car pics here, but we do have cool looking Ford 289 4.7 V8 engine that we are about to rebuild for a customer.
Rebuild Plan: Teardown, Inspection, Magnuflux, Hot tank and clean.
Machine Service: Bore and Hone engine block, Grind crank and cam, Valve job on cylinder heads.
Engine Rebuild Kit- New pistons, rings, engine bearings, full gasket set, freeze plugs, oil pump, and timing set.
Clean, Paint and assemble.

Before shot of the 289 long block. Such contrast in colors, somehow the valve covers stayed really clean.

First up we tear it apart and everything goes into the hot tank, melting away the first layer of gunk and grime. Then we scrub all the nooks and crannies with all sorts of wire brushes.

cylinder head and intake manifold Ford 289

hot tanked ford mustang 289 engine block

Engine block cylinders are bored to the correct size and finish. We order the Pistons and rings now that we know the size. We hot tank it again, then put on a coat of paint to seal out any debris. If the block needs decking, we deck it. It’s ready for short block assembly and parts.

Ford 289 Machine Services

Cleaned, bore and honed engine block Ford 289

Cylinders bored on Ford 289 engine block

Valve Job

Basic Valve Job- Grind valves, Cut valve seats, Resurface, Clean, Paint and assemble. Any broken or missing parts get replaced.

While the block work progresses, we work on the cylinder heads, performing a valve job. Heads get resurfaced to a nice surface that will mate up nicely on the block, we grind the valves and cut the seats. Install new guides, clean and assemble.

During the tear down, we found the culprit of this engine failure. The oil pump froze up due to a piece of gasket getting lodged in the oil pump gear and housing. Since the gear wouldn’t move, the oil pump shaft keep twisting until it broke. Check out a new straight one next to the twisted on we removed. That’s a bad engine day.

Full unit of the oil pump shaft, gear and housing.

Now that we have all our engine components prepped and cleaned. We’re ready for the short block assembly, then the long block. New pistons, rings, engine bearings, gaskets, oil pump and timing kit are going on this Ford 289 engine rebuild. Few more parts on the long block assembly and she’ll be ready for pick up.

Assembled Ford Mustang 289 long block engine

As you can see, we had a little mismatch on the paint colors. Nothing a little paint won’t cure.

Ford 289 Engine Rebuild

It’s done, remanufactured Ford Mustang 289 ready for pick up and installation. Extra gaskets and parts go home with the customer. He’s strapping it in and ready to start his next big job, the install.

We have been rebuilding Ford engines since 1978 from the same location. I love the net, it’s so easy for us to share pictures with you and show you the progression of an engine rebuild.

We rebuild Ford 289 short blocks and long blocks, so bring in your Mustang engine for a rebuild. If you’re doing the rebuild yourself, we have your parts and provide machine services if you need them.
Just like this Remanufactured Ford 289 engine- Machine service and Engine rebuild kits are available.

Call us at 818 767-6603 or use the Contact page to email.

This link takes you to our online store to buy the engine rebuild kit

65-68 Ford Mustang 289 Engine Rebuild Kit