Too big of cam and intake for my 289?W

[Joepruss]

When we purchased our 61 S-22 post it supposedly had a 302. Having sat for 6 years outside with no carb on it would reflect the care given it by the mechanic I bought it from. Taking the opportunity to sell it to a know-nothing like myself, he kept information vague, knowing I would just take his word. You all helped me with block I.D. to learn it is a 289. Have had a reputable mechanic do some work on it, but am told the cam is too big and the Torker aluminum intake is also a problem contributing to no luck in getting a demon 600 to run right. Tried a manual choke first and then went electric only to have same results. Edelbrock says a 500 will work better and the mechanic says it needs a different cam. Has nothing off the line, has a floor 3-speed, does pretty well the higher the rpm. Have to bring it up to temp by foot as it won't simply start with 2 pumps and a turn of the key let alone idle. It's been quite awhile since we have done any work on Haileys Comet. Healing Hailey.com Our beautiful granddaughter. Since our son Tony is no longer with us, don't really know who will get the car eventually. Am finishing up a small garage to hopefully do some of the work, along with your help please. Thanks for your help!

[comethead]

From the factory a standard 289 4V got the 480cfm Autolite 4100. The Hipo 289 got the 600cfm but it was built for high RPM.
I just helped a guy tune a 65 Mustang with a small cam and a 500cfm Holley and the car ran great!

Do you know the cam specs?

Joe

[Lip Ripper]

2 7/8 stroke equal's not much power off idle. A large cam and open plenum will ad to that. In other word's move the rpm range up more before developing torque. I say get to know it's personality and you'll be fine.

[CALIFORNIA CALIENTE]

I run a 670 Vacuum Secondary Holley on a dual plane intake on my 289 with stock 9.5 pistons,idles great,responds quickly,565 lift hydrolic roller cam,AFR Street Heads and 15/8" full length headers!289s DO NOT make much torque,need RPM to work well,put some gear in the car,at least 3.25,3.40 or 3.55!! JMO , ROY.

[ec164]

one thing you can do with out much expense is install a 1/2 or 1 inch 4 hole spacer which will help that open top intake work better for you down low. With less camshaft you will need different intake also, real can of worms you could open. Roy is right on adding more gear, he has done or helped with many of those engines over the years..............Al

[Rocket989]

The original Torker is a really good intake IMO. It's pretty much the same as my favorite (Weiand 7515 - X-Celerator) but has the twisted carb pad. These intakes have a small plenum area and runners. I haven't seen them give up anything on the low end and they run great buzzin' higher RPM's!!

My first experience with them was about 25+ years ago. To allegedly gain back low-end, on a mild 289 with early 351W heads I swapped out an X-Celerator for a factory cast 4V intake. And gained NOTHING on the low-end and it killed performance over ~5500rpm!! In your case, don't believe the typical "you need a dual-plane" BS!! Typical dual plane intakes like the Performer will lose power vs. what you've got and stuff like the RPM and Stealth are too big!! I've tried them all over the years! Intake isn't your problem!! Sorry for the rant!

Anyway, I'd check the following:

-Base and total timing
-Run a compression test - without knowing what heads are on the motor, compression could be low. If so, with a "big" cam cylinder pressure will be lower at bottom RPM's and it'll be doggy until it winds-up!
-Try to find a known good carb. I've read there was a period of time that QC was horrific on the Demon stuff.
-Echo the above, 289's like to buzz. Gears are good!

JH

[Joepruss]

Is that the carb you are recommending Roy? Does anyone have an Edelbrock they might suggest, so I might be able to get some exchange credit. Thanks for all the input, and hope I'm taking it right.

[Rocket989]

You've got a litany of ~600cfm carbs to choose from. Did you mean Holley? IIRC they bought the Demon line awhile back.

Edelbrock:
1406 - 600cfm Electric Choke
1405 - 600 cfm Manual Choke
-On these, the elec. choke carb is setup leaner; no idea why...

Holley:
Tons, but for vac. sec. carbs, all 600cfm:
1850 electric or manual choke
80457 same as above but with non-adjustable floats
80670 Street Avenger - the zinc body SA actually flows 600cfm

Summit:
600cfm electric choke
Their carbs are actually Holley 4010/ Autolite 4100 derivatives (annular boosters, top cover, etc.). I read about some early QC issues but the one I saw recently looked really good, especially given the price.

Quick Fuel:
HR-580-VS
They also have at less one Slayer series 600cfm.

Lots of choices but good chance any of the above would likely work fine. Make sure your getting a full 12-volts to any of these chokes. Tapping off the coil for instance, with the resistor wire in place, will cause the choke to open slower than it should.

JH

[CALIFORNIA CALIENTE]

I always use HOLLEY carbs,only had one bad out of many good ones!!Tried a 570 Holley on my latest 289,could not get it to work right all across the RPM range! In my opinion,if you want all out horsepower go with a single plane intake,good street manners and decent power,go with a dual plane,I liked that OLD Torquer intake,but the newer single planes seem to work better.I tried a SUPER VICTOR on my last 347,did not perforn as well as the VICTOR Jr.,think I needed more cam and heads!! I agree that you really need to find out your actual compression,it will help in finding what cam-intake-carb will work best!! ROY.