I am a novice mechanic and basically know how the parts of the engine work. I don't plan on rushing my setup and plan to do every mod myself. Please help me find good quality parts for my 289.

I have a mainly stock 289 with a Holley 600cfm carb and an original Ford 4bbl intake. The engine has 30k miles on the rebuild.

I plan on pulling the Holley and replacing it with an Edelbrock 600cfm (just cause I hear Edelbrock holds the tuning longer). I'm also thinking about replacing the intake with an Edelbrock as well. Is replacing it a good idea or just stick with the stock 4bbl intake manifold?

Next I plan on replacing the exhaust manifold. I've read up on Hooker, JBA Shorty, and Edelbrock. I'm kinda favoring Hooker and Edelbrock just cause it goes all the way down. If you can recommend a better one that would be great. I'll finish the exhaust off with either some glass packs or flowmasters

Going down the list... I plan to buy a modified cylinder head set. I "was" favoring Trick Flow for a while, but when I read up that the stock pistons weren't going to clear the valves on their heads I decided to keep on looking. I've been looking into Edelbrock heads and I think they have a setup to where I can keep my stock pistons. If there are some better heads out there where I can keep my stock pistons, please let me know.

For the camshaft, I'm not exactly sure what to get. There are so many out there, it's hard to choose. I just want one where it won't push the valves into the pistons.

Same goes for the distributor and ignition systems. Not sure in that category as well. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

The engine has a 3 row radiator and a freshly rebuilt C-4 transmission. Would a 4 row radiator be recommended or is a 3 row sufficient?

I've been looking into the B&M shift improver kit and it seems pretty cool, but does it mess the transmission up over time?

I know this post is very long, but I'd like as much input as possible. I basically want to do as much mods as I can without pulling out the block. Come to think of it...can cylinder heads and camshafts be replaced with the block still in the car?

I plan to do these mods within a span of 1-2 years, no rush.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

You could go with glass packs if you favor that sound, however, the Flowmasters either 2-chamber or 3-chamber (2-chambers have more of a drone and louder interior resonance) have a nice sound to them. Also, if youd like, you could try Smithy glass packs (Im not sure how theyd sound on a V8, but they sound great on my six! - 26") -- they come in 22", 26", and 30" and only cost $25.

You could probably stick with the 3-row radiator, at least if it had worked alright before! -- if you want to add some cooling potential, you could go with an Electric fan, or just get a fan shroud. The choice is yours

As for the B&M shift kit, my bro just had a Beauman Shift Kit installed into his '89 5.0 AOD and according to what people have said as well as the company to which he spoke personally, the shift kit can actually extend the life of your transmission

Ignition - you could get rid of the points system and convert to a Pertronix Electronic Ignition, match that up with a Pertronix Flamethrower coil, and get some better plug wires and voila! you have a better than Stock setup! However, for more of a PERFROMANCE upgrade, MSD and Duraspark offer great ignition modules and distributors

and i do believe that is all i can help you with haha
have a good one, post often, enjoy this place, dont be shy to ask questions, go over to Sams Place and introduce yourself and FINALLY get some pics of your Stang for us!

Alex SteveL, and SteveW are pretty experienced fellas and will tack some stuff on here (correctly my bad advice) as well, give them a couple days.

My advice based on what you've said is to not do things twice. IE, it costs too much to buy a pertronix to eliminate the points and then take out the whole thing in favor of a duraspark or MSD etc. Pick what you want and do it.

Also, the cam can be replaced with the block in the car, but you have to pull the radiator and maybe the grill too. Here again is where you don't want to do things twice. Since the intake has to come off to change the cam/lifters, don't change one until you already have the other lined up. Its a wasted gasket set if you change the intake then pull it again a couple months later to change the cam or vice versa.

I know Alex recommends the C90X intake, he says it is hands down the best small block intake ever, it is the 302 intake that came on 69 Shelby's. I just bought one myself for my car. Even though its a Shelby intake, you can buy them cheaper than the earlier 65-66 Shelby intakes and I think its cheaper than the Edelbrock RPM Air Gap too. I bought mine through a private deal, but I've seen the C9OX sell on ebay for $150-$200. I paid a little bit more than that because I trusted the seller's quality better than I do the scammers on ebay. The Air Gap intake is Alex's second choice I believe.

For the heads, it's hard to beat the price of Windsor Jrs. Edelbrock Performer rpms are a couple hundred more but lighter.

Everything else has been covered.

Your cam depends on your compression and where you want the power. This will also determine the intake.

I have 3 chamber flows. They sound great but are very loud. As I am a bit older than I was when I started all this I might switch to Super Turbos to quiet the car a little.

Oh yeah and Dan, You're Wrong! I'm not sure why but you are.

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Dan~
1965 Coupe "BeeBop" 200ci Straight "6"~2.77 3-spd w/Hurst Shifter~Pertronix Elec. Ign.~Flamethrower Coil~Flex-Fan~Clifford 6-2 Header~26" Smithys~3" chrome tips
https://mustangsandmore.com//ubb/TheIceman.html
http://www.motorcities.com/contents/01GF9250033520.html
Nothing Beats Six In A Classic Mustang!

The 270H cam is great
Jr heads are worth the bang for the buck (58cc ones now)

I'm using both.

www.1968mustang.org
click on "My 289"

I really dug the sound of glasspacks on a H-pipe exhaust.