I had one on my 289, no difference from the cast iron original other than being made from lighter material. At the time that’s the only change I made. A couple of years later did more extensive mods but still wanted more horsepower
The Performr RPM did make a difference but with a cam/header/aluminum head  change as well.

Without addressing other mods that improve "breathing” I don’t think that an intake manifold change alone will  make much difference.

Last edited by Rudi (10/11/2025 9:27 AM)

I put one of the Chinese copys of the Performer looks exactly the same with out the logos a good bit cheaper (about $200.00 cheaper) it was on Ebay. Steve put me on them when I was building the 302. I had a Eldebrock 289 on my old car.

Intake Manifold For Ford Small Block Windsor SBF V8 289 302 Dual Plane | eBay

Last edited by BILLY WALTON from GEORGIA (10/11/2025 11:02 AM)

BILLY WALTON from GEORGIA wrote:

I put one of the Chinese copys of the Performer looks exactly the same with out the logos a good bit cheaper (about $200.00 cheaper) it was on Ebay. Steve put me on them when I was building the 302. I had a Eldebrock 289 on my old car.

[url=https://www.ebay.com/itm/204373873063?_skw=302+alluminum+intake&itmmeta=01K7A35SDKV2SGV6Y212J0RPSS&hash=item2f95a1d1a7:g:UjIAAOSw9Zlmpy04&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1dZERmbOkj1S6I8WkJk2tleHHnShxhC1ZODRbBt45yUlZrJnEEBs2H5KTUZ77z8Gdit9QNQFzi4PhnydgZj5%2FNDcT68iOpzi3QlLNoHrASR1pcy%2BJniiXsJV9I0pgQ7B4cOki8xiMgQV6%2B0e8bR%2BSNgrTvEKbPekTv3cjKcmU8%2BlDvwOXmViIPlzkT%2BkIhgcsMU5%2BFqnIH2FBhiOLGBmbES7JzCngpoiYJKwSRZJ6FicxajTnR2x9paGf%2FgroE1Y2Hr%2BzA8F60InYc%2FHVPGGLMXC5EGlvnY1GDvmFYnaxRKtA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBM7JeXw7pm]Intake Manifold For Ford Small Block Windsor SBF V8 289 302 Dual Plane | eBay[/"url]

 
I’d like to see one of those sectioned so the internal runners could be examined, a core shift would surely play havoc with a nicely distributed flow rate.
Hopefully they are better than most of the junk from China.

To be clear, the Performer is designed for idle-5,500 RPM.  The Performer RPM is designed for 1,500-6,500 RPM.  There's no benefit of the Performer over the stock iron manifold, other than its lighter weight.  

I'll pay the additional cost of the Edelbrock for 2 reasons: first, its made in the US, and second IMO its not okay for Chinese companies to steal US IP and undercut those companies.  Part of the reason US made products are more expensive is because of this (they end up selling less so development costs, etc. are spread over less product; raising the price).  I get that this has become political and highly charged with debate over MAGA and anti-MAGA, but my point here is not political.  This has happened over the past 40+ years, so the idea that its the brainchild of one party or the other is gaslighting nonsense.  To me its a business issue, and as the owner of my own business I can't stand when I get undercut, after having done a lot of good faith work for a customer, by some hack who is less qualified and cuts corners.  

Ok, thanks everyone for the feedback.

I'd love to get the heads reconditioned with some port work, but I reconditioned the engine 21 years ago and I'm thinking I'd be better off holding out until the entire engine needs a full rebuild? I am wondering though...

Its quite surprising that 21 years have gone by and the engine is still holding up this strong.

TKOPerformance wrote:

If the heads are not GT40 or GT40P I don't think I'd spend any money on them anyway.  IMO you'd be bucks ahead to buy a set of entry level aluminum heads vs. having a bunch of work done to the old iron heads.  Just something to consider in the future.  

I was wondering that... If I went with aluminum heads, Inld probably go with the Edelbrock Performer heads. Comparing the specs with them to what I can find on the original cast iron heads, the Edelbrock has larger intake and exhaust valves, so they are a better flowing head already.

My other question... Is it worth whacking Edelbrock Performer heads onto a bottom end that was rebuild 21 years ago or should I wait to rebuild the entire engine. If the engine was showing big signs of wear, the answer would be obvious, but it seems to be holding up well. Very well actually.

3 weeks ago I did some spirited driving on a racetrack and going down the main straight, I was seeing revs up around 6500 rpm or just a bit more each time and the engine seemed happy doing this.

Last edited by Toploader (10/17/2025 6:35 AM)

How old are you ??! (Very important in your decision IMHO)
6sally6

6sally6 wrote:

How old are you ??! (Very important in your decision IMHO)
6sally6

Well Sal... let's just say that I'm 11 years younger than my Mustang. 😉

By the way, I missed seeing you at the Bash this year. Maybe you can host the Bash for next year and recover from "the Bash that got cancelled" title 🙂

Last edited by Toploader (10/17/2025 4:19 PM)

I'd do a compression check, but at only 50-60k miles the bottom end should be fine.  Most carbed engines will go 100k or more, and if you've only logged that kind of mileage in 21 years that engine should last you almost indefinitely.  

Quicksilver wrote:

What about an Edelbrock AIR GAP intake?

Great manifold. If you have a 65-66 Mustang, it does not fit under the hood.  Performer RPM does.  If you have a 351W under that 65-66 only the Performer will fir.