389
Pontiac V8 389
Stock Appearance, Modern Insides — 389 for Pontiac V8s
A 389 Crate Engine Builder Kit is a complete Butler engine built on the GTO-era block and shipped unassembled. The block stays period correct, everything inside and on top of it does not — forged rotating assembly, hydraulic roller camshaft and a modern top end, all machined to fit before it leaves Lawrenceburg.
Butler builds the 389 as a stealth, stock appearing engine at 395 to 447 cubic inches, starting in the 390 to 425 horsepower range on pump gas. Builder kits ship in boxes and must be assembled by you or your shop.
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More About 389
1. What the kit is built around
The 389 kit is aimed at the car where the engine has to look right under the hood and still drive properly.
| Block and stroke | a Butler Process 389 block with main studs and dipstick tube, built at 3.75" or 4.250" stroke. |
| Bore follows the core | depending on core availability the finished bore lands at 4.092" or 4.122". On forty-plus year old castings the cylinders clean up differently every time, so final bore is set during honing and wall thickness is verified again at that point. |
| Rotating assembly | cast or forged crank, Eagle forged rods, Butler forged pistons and pins, Total Seal rings and C77 race bearings. |
| Output | starting at 390 to 425 horsepower on pump gas. |
2. Top end and everything around it
This is a full KIT, not a long block, so the parts that usually turn into a second shopping trip are already in it.
| Valvetrain | a Butler and COMP hydraulic roller camshaft, hydraulic roller lifters, Butler custom 5/16" pushrods with .116" wall, roller rockers and Butler billet gears and chain. |
| Heads and induction | Edelbrock heads out of the box or Butler built Edelbrock heads, a port matched intake and your choice of carburetor or EFI. |
| Oiling and cooling | high volume oil pump, stock type or Canton oil pan and pickup, TPP valley pan and a Flowkooler water pump. |
| Front and back | a new 11-bolt timing cover with plates and sleeves, harmonic damper, ignition kit and an IMI starter. |
| Details | engine paint and valve cover options, plus all gaskets and stainless accessory and ARP fasteners. |
3. Before you order
Every kit bought online is reviewed by a Butler engine tech, who sends a formal itemized build sheet before machining starts so changes and upgrades can be made while they are still free to make. Butler selects the smallest usable bore for your particular block unless you ask for a larger one and the extra cubic inches that come with it.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.