Comparison 340 / 289

Love this thread. As other has stated, the true Hi-Pro 289 was the K code and were very quick if properly maintained and a low gear (at least 4:11). Biggest problem, people wanted to modify them and it seems with each change they just got slower and slower. Not one else brought up the 71 Boss 351 with the solid lifter 351 Cleveland. That was the quickest of the older Mustangs. Ran in the 13's from the factory with 3:91 gears. They were big but quick.

Back then, a lot of Mopars suffered from the same issue that the Fords encountered. Most of the machine shops and speed shops worked mostly on Chevy engines. When someone took in a Mopar or Ford, they tried to set it up like a Chevy and ended up making it slower. Was hard to find a shop that specialized in these brands, especially Mopar, but when you did watch out, those suckers could run with a few specific mods.

Modern engines are a lot different. I also own an 08 Bullitt Mustang with a 4.6 (281 CID). Even with the factory somewhat inefficient tune, it runs mid 13s...off the floor. The new Challenger R/T with a 5.7 runs about the same times. It would be a drivers race. Granted that with a few mods, the Challenger will eat the Mustang for lunch, but I am still surprised what the current Mustang can do with a 281 engine.