289 vs. 302

[MrWesson22]

On a street car, try to make as much lowend torque as you can hook. In the real world, all other things equal, a 300hp 460 will smoke a 300hp 289 because of the huge torque difference. There's an old saying - "Horsepower sells cars, but torque wins races". Destroke an engine to rev to the moon, and you've effectively made a larger, old tech, honda V8. Stroke it, and you've made your smallblock much more like an old school big block (ie 427cid windsor vs 427 side oiler). In a street driven 289 vs 302, it's not going to matter. There really isn't going to be enough difference to really feel. If you want to go stroker, it's better to get a 302 block because of the longer sleeves. The only differences between a 289 and a 302 are the length of the stroke, as discussed before, and the actual length of the cylinders. There's no problem putting a 302 reciprocating assembly in a 289 block, or even something like a 331, but I wouldn't personally put a 347 or 355cid stroker kit in a 289 block when 302 blocks are so cheap and easy to come by.