[b-man]

Today I picked up an interesting and unique old Pontiac V8, a 10:1 compression 1959 280 HP 2-barrel 389. It was originally equipped with the 529472 letter stamp 'D' cam, the same profile as the 9779066 'N' cam. This same '472' cam was used in the 10:1 300 HP 4-barrel engines as well as the 10.5:1 315 HP Tri-Power engines in 1959.

Not sure what I will do with it at this point, but it certainly was worth picking up just to explore the differences between it and the later V8 offerings. The 1959 389 block has a reinforced casting in the oil pan rail area and is of higher nickel content than later blocks if I'm not mistaken. The 2-bolt main caps are also about 1/4" thicker than the caps on later engines. This block could very well end up as the basis for a future turbocharged engine project.

This was the first year of the 389 and the last year for reverse-flow cooling. These engines pipe water through the front of the cylinder heads first, then through the block. It was also the first year Pontiac used side engine mounts.

The engine code 'A' stamped in the front of the block just below the passenger side cylinder head indicates this engine is a 10:1 compression 2-barrel 280 HP version. The '295746' following the 'A' is the Motor Unit Number or MUN.



Block casting # on the passenger side 532000 confirms it's a 1959 389 block.



Here you can see the water inlets on the front the the heads and the cast iron timing cover with the corresponding water outlets on either side.







I was pleasantly surprised to see that it looked to be mostly intact after 56 years. Other than a few spliced hoses and various small repairs that kept it running over the years it looks to have retained all of the original equipment.







A thick sheet metal bracket mounts the power steering pump to the head and shields it from engine heat.



Cylinder head casting # 531395 was used on all 1959 389 engines.





Water pump casting # 518040. This is a 4-bolt pump that was used until the 8-bolt pump and timing cover was introduced in 1963 and used until 1967.



A road draft tube was used on these engines before a PCV valve was standard equipment, this one is still in perfect shape.



Intake manifold casting # 532119.



Note the unusual engine lifting loop that was cast into the front of the intake itself.



What looks to be the original 2-barrel carb. Later on I will clean it up and try to confirm this.





Both exhaust manifolds are still intact, the passenger side manifold has an interesting cast iron 'Y' connection bolted to it for both sides to feed into a single exhaust.



The Hydra-Matic trans is very heavy at over 200 pounds, most of the trans case is cast iron. In order to use a 1964 or later BOP pattern trans you must either buy or make an adapter. The trans is held to the block with big 7/16-14 threaded bolts, it wasn't until 1964 that 3/8-16 bolts were used here.

[Bill Hanlon]

Consider doing this http://www.pontiacsafari.com/L1Garag...ealUpgrade.pdf when you rebuild this engine. I'll be glad to loan you my alignment tool.

[b-man]

Thanks for the offer Bill, I will take you up on this once I get to that point.

Replacing the original front seal with a modern lip seal is a must-do on these early V8s.

I've wanted one of these for a while, and finding this one a mere 20 miles away was a stroke of luck.

I simply couldn't pass up this little jewel, it turns over nicely using two hands on the balancer and fells like it still has some compression.

After further inspection and some clean up I very well may rebuild the carb, pull the valve covers, put some new oil in it, replace the filter, squirt some oil in the cylinders to lube the pistons/rings and fire it up.

[CATBIRD]

Bart.....the cylinder walls of the 1959 389 also had a little extra meat. Back in the day, it wasn't unheard of to go .125" with the boring bar......John

[b-man]

Originally Posted by CATBIRD

Bart.....the cylinder walls of the 1959 389 also had a little extra meat. Back in the day, it wasn't unheard of to go .125" with the boring bar......John

These thick-wall blocks should be stable in a boosted application.

Built back in the days when over-engineered mechanical parts were fairly common.

[65nss4spdGTO]

Originally Posted by b-man

These thick-wall blocks should be stable in a boosted application.

Built back in the days when over-engineered mechanical parts were fairly common.

Great find Bart!

We have a few of these blocks including the original 4-bolt main version that came in my dads 59 Catalina.

I've sonic checked a number of them and they have been the thickest blocks I've tested with an easy over bore of .100"+.

I have a RAV block in the shop and the bottom is is very similar.

Good luck with it.

Calvin Hill
Hill Performance
708-250-7420

[421-6speed]

Nice score... Looks pretty complete and appears to have a small base carb which is a hard piece to come by.
When I rebuilt the engine in my 60 Ventura I machined my timing cover to accept a lip seal. I did mine a little different then Bills outline using the 63-66 timing cover seal as I did not wish to bore all the way through the cover and wanted a lip to seat the seal so I spent some time matching up seals until I found National seal 710356 that had the same ID but a smaller overall OD and depth witch allowed me to leave the lip inside the casting. I also did a speedy sleeve on the balance and made a centering tool for install but guess I didn't take a pic of the centering tool. Here are a few pics.

[b-man]

Found the date code: E 25 9

May 25, 1959



Here's a picture of a 1959 block showing the additional metal cast in to reinforce the block next to the pan rail on the passenger side. The 1960 blocks had this feature as well.

Note there is no provision for a block mounted starter.

[JD311]

I bought my 59 block out of a junkyard that's about 20 miles away back in nov. 2007. I may pick up a 60 as well they have. I plan on boosting mine with Edelbrock heads and 4 bolt splayed caps using a standard 400 bore size. I did all the work at the yard to pull it except for the actual pulling. That 59 was a big car, but cool looking.

[tom s]

I dont think the E carb has that large fuel inlet,at least the few I have owned did not.Tom

[b-man]

So what's the consensus on the reliability and parts availability (slim to none is my guess) for the Hydra-Matic trans?

Did they have a good reputation back in their day?

Good core for a '59 Pontiac owner?

Boat anchor?

[Bill Eveland]

Might be good for a parts trans for someone. Or a trade in for some work at a local trans shop that rebuilds these older transmissions.

On the cover seal I used Bills tool and just used the front seal that comes in the newer front cover kits, don't have a part number. But it has a metal lip not a full thru deal like in his article. I had to contour away the bottom half because of the angle of the cover in that area. This was from my Hurst mount thread.

[CATBIRD]

Bart.....the economy 2bbl did not have the big idle air adjustment screw at the rear of the carb. The choke housing was mounted up on the side of the air horn. The standard (large) 2bbl had the choke housing mounted down at the throttle body. The economy 2bbl had it's own intake manifold machined specifically for it's smaller bores and stud pattern. It is correct that the throttle body, fuel bowl, and air horn of the economy 2bbl are the same as the 59-65 Tri-Power center carb. Your pictures appear to be the standard 2bbl......John

[JD311]

Originally Posted by b-man

So what's the consensus on the reliability and parts availability (slim to none is my guess) for the Hydra-Matic trans?

Did they have a good reputation back in their day?

Good core for a '59 Pontiac owner?

Boat anchor?

The one on the back of my engine I left at the JY, didn't want to pay extra for something I'd never use and also didn't know what if any market there was for them. It's ashame really, the thing had cherry red fluid in it.....

[Dick Boneske]

The Super Hydramatic used in '59 was a four speed automatic with a very good reputation--so good that Lincoln used them on their early '50's sedans.

Finding someone today who could rebuild one may be tricky. If you're building a '59 car, I'd recommend using this transmission.

[Bill Hanlon]

Lincoln (among a bunch of other car makers) used the Dual-Range Hydra-Matic (like Pontiac used into 1956), not this model. The Dual-Range was even licensed to Rolls-Royce, who built their version into the mid-1960s.

[U47]

Originally Posted by Dick Boneske

The Super Hydramatic used in '59 was a four speed automatic with a very good reputation--so good that Lincoln used them on their early '50's sedans.

Finding someone today who could rebuild one may be tricky. If you're building a '59 car, I'd recommend using this transmission.

I wish I had a couple of those in my 62 & 63 Catalina's. Not that Roto is bad, but it's just that the 2-3 range, or 1-2 shift going from 2.93 to 1.56 is a huge ratio jump plus when it shifts there is no fluid, just direct mechanical connection.

[b-man]

The 1959 Pontiac along with the new big-cube 389 ushered in the true beginning of Pontiac street performance and the start of the wide-track era.

Pontiacs pretty much ruled the streets starting in '59, the 389 was the bread and butter standard offering up through '66 and provided plenty of power.

Now looking to scrape up a '59 Tri-Power intake for this future project.

Old is gold.

[blueghoast]

I think I have one that belongs to a friend of mine.
He wants to sell it if your interested?

GT.

[b-man]

Originally Posted by blueghoast

I think I have one that belongs to a friend of mine.
He wants to sell it if your interested?

GT.

Needs to be the correct 532422 casting #.

Sent you a PM to discuss.