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To HiPo or not to HiPo

Hi all

Narrowed down a few candidates for my 65 Vert purchase. They all have 289s which is what I'm looking for, but I'm aware that there were 4 variants of the 289 produced, from the 2 barrel to the 4 barrel to the HiPo.

My question is, does it really make that much difference in the car's performance/ sound, etc?

Thanks all!

JB

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A well tuned 289 with a 2 barrel is enough power for normal and a little spirited driving. A 4 barrel is better. Anything more like a HIPO is wasted $$$ unless you are tracking.
 
4 barrel carb for the win. You will notice both power and sound difference for the better with secondaries of a tuned 4 barrel. A real HiPo car will carry a very significant increased price point which makes little sense for your purposes of a family cruiser. Not too mention given the rarity they are typically treated more as a show car than driver.
 
Thanks gents for your sound advice. Makes sense. This is all new to me and I'm very excited.

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I would like to ask, if I buy a car without factory Aircon, can this be retrofitted and is it expensive to do so?

Also, if I buy one without a power top, is it a hassle opening and closing the roof? Is a power top a must?
Thanks!

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Two things:
1) you can get stroker motors (331 or 347) that will produce many ponies
2) I bought a factory 66 AC unit but have since converted it to R-134a
Do some digging on both
 
Aftermarket air conditioning would be the way I would go. Better performance for sure. You can buy complete kits that are an easy install. You would likely spend as much or more trying to get an original system restored to the same level.
 
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