1959 Pontiac 389 tri power HO engine

Lyn Smith · 11-23-2011, 12:21 PM

Just found some parts and pcs for a 59 389 HO engine. have the manifold,carbs,dual point one exhaust manifold,and the short block.no heads.Will someone with knowledge of these engines please PM me with a phone number.I have some questions to ask. thanks

Dave Ley · 11-23-2011, 12:29 PM

Lyn ,
I forwarded this link to my good friend , Phil Szupka, he is a walking encyclopedia on old Pontiacs.

bob3240 · 11-24-2011, 11:46 AM

Lyn, I looked in McCarthy's Pontiac book and found that the high hp engines were called 420A. They had either 1-4bbl or tri power and 4-bolt mains. 531395 is the head no. The block has the shrouded trans mount so it wont fit the late trans. Bob Michael.

Adger Smith · 11-24-2011, 12:26 PM

I think I might have a set of those heads. I've had them stored in my core rack for 25 years. They have a different water passage on the intake side than later model heads. This is form my old memory.. new have a round port and the older have an L (dog leg) shaped opening....What is the casting number & date code you need?
Monday I pulled apart a 1960, or might have been 1962, 389 for a customer that is doing a restoration. Looks like it sat around with the carb off and water made it's way into the cylinders.Stuck so bad we had to pull the crank with the pistons stuck in the bores. We drove the pistons down and bead honed the cylinders before being able to driving the pistons out. What a mess!!. It was interesting how the torque converter was attached to the tranny. Let me know on the heads...

Adger Smith · 11-27-2011, 10:15 AM

Lynn,

I took some pictures of them last night. I couldn't locate the springs and retainers, but they should be here, somewhere.. Looks like they have a 1960 date code of D-5-0 which would be April 5th 1960 as the date they were cast. It looks like I have run them through the vat and magged and bead blasted them, a while ago. Some surface rust has formed. Nothing that can't be cleaned off.

I'll get my wife to download them this morning. I'm not the one to use the computer that way!! :~0

Adg

11-23-2011, 12:21 PM	#1
Lyn Smith VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Pontiac,il. Posts: 1,193 Likes: 272 Liked 950 Times in 189 Posts	1959 Pontiac 389 tri power HO engine Just found some parts and pcs for a 59 389 HO engine. have the manifold,carbs,dual point one exhaust manifold,and the short block.no heads.Will someone with knowledge of these engines please PM me with a phone number.I have some questions to ask. thanks Last edited by Lyn Smith; 11-23-2011 at 12:54 PM.

11-23-2011, 12:29 PM	#2
Dave Ley Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: South Jersey , The 51st. State Posts: 424 Likes: 1,785 Liked 241 Times in 44 Posts	Re: 1959 Pontiac 389 tri power HO engine Lyn , I forwarded this link to my good friend , Phil Szupka, he is a walking encyclopedia on old Pontiacs. __________________ Dave Ley

11-24-2011, 11:46 AM	#3
bob3240 Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: lebanon ohio Posts: 251 Likes: 3 Liked 16 Times in 5 Posts	Re: 1959 Pontiac 389 tri power HO engine Lyn, I looked in McCarthy's Pontiac book and found that the high hp engines were called 420A. They had either 1-4bbl or tri power and 4-bolt mains. 531395 is the head no. The block has the shrouded trans mount so it wont fit the late trans. Bob Michael.

11-24-2011, 12:26 PM	#4
Adger Smith VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Texarkana Ark/TX Posts: 2,446 Likes: 575 Liked 880 Times in 311 Posts	Re: 1959 Pontiac 389 tri power HO engine I think I might have a set of those heads. I've had them stored in my core rack for 25 years. They have a different water passage on the intake side than later model heads. This is form my old memory.. new have a round port and the older have an L (dog leg) shaped opening....What is the casting number & date code you need? Monday I pulled apart a 1960, or might have been 1962, 389 for a customer that is doing a restoration. Looks like it sat around with the carb off and water made it's way into the cylinders.Stuck so bad we had to pull the crank with the pistons stuck in the bores. We drove the pistons down and bead honed the cylinders before being able to driving the pistons out. What a mess!!. It was interesting how the torque converter was attached to the tranny. Let me know on the heads... __________________ Adger Smith (Former SS)

11-27-2011, 10:15 AM	#5
Adger Smith VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Texarkana Ark/TX Posts: 2,446 Likes: 575 Liked 880 Times in 311 Posts	Re: 1959 Pontiac 389 tri power HO engine Lynn, I took some pictures of them last night. I couldn't locate the springs and retainers, but they should be here, somewhere.. Looks like they have a 1960 date code of D-5-0 which would be April 5th 1960 as the date they were cast. It looks like I have run them through the vat and magged and bead blasted them, a while ago. Some surface rust has formed. Nothing that can't be cleaned off. I'll get my wife to download them this morning. I'm not the one to use the computer that way!! :~0 Adg __________________ Adger Smith (Former SS)