new guy with an agenda: a 351 swap

hello all,
im new to this community. :bananaman i own a black 1977 maverick w/ 250 ci. recently however it threw a rod and im trying to find out wat all i need to do to put a 351 in it. somehow i ran into a guy with one for sale so i am very happy as long as i can put it in. so if u have any information it would greatly be appreciated for u to share. thanks

 

Cleveland or Windsor? Windsor will be a little easier, do a search on the site, that'll help with the info you need.

 

Check with Grabber71. He has a 351w in his 71 Grabber. He didn't have to touch the shock towers. His car use to be a 250 cu in car...

 

check this out....ebay #4630406900

 

a 351w will fit right in. it will be a little snug, as in, you'll never want to change spark plugs though. cutting the shock towers back would be a help. especially in fitting headers. i used to have one in mine. welcome to the board.

 

welcome aboard

 

351w has been covered...
351c is about the same...
It fits with or without tower shave, but plug changes are very difficult without shave.
The 351c can use big tube headers with the swap because the exhaust ports point downward and do not have issues with tower clearance. The 351c is a little harder to find parts for on a budget (compared to 351w).
351m WILL NOT SWAP...

Some 351w notes that may not have been brought up:
Most swap headers are small tube. 1.5", which is smaller than most 302 headers for our cars.
There is a Hooker header for 65-66 Stangs with 351w swap that can be modded to work. It has 1.75" tubes. However the modding to make it work is pretty in depth and even involves notching the front subframe from what I have gathered.

The big thing you need to do is find the things you need for swapping in a 302 and those parts will directly swap to a 351w or 351c.
Some things that won't swap from a 302:
Oil pan (you need a car pan for whichever 351 you choose)
Distributor (use a Duraspark, you will need a 400 or 460 for a Cleveland)
Intake and exhaust...

Good luck
Dave

 

welcome to the board!

What part of KY. are you from?
Let me know if there is anything I can help with.
Several folks have done the 351 swap.
JF

 

reply and new question

i live in the southern part of KY. small town called cave city. and after discussing everything with my dad, i think we are just gonna go with a 302 and just go all out with that. but right now time and money is tight so it might be awhile for this to actually happen. got another question though, has anyone in here ever had any problems with the brake light wiring? for some reason, just before it quit, the brake light wanted to stay on, even with the car shut down. any help would be appreciated.

 

Use Platinum plugs and you will never had to change them ...

 

I know were Cave City is....Been through there many times.
We have a mini-meet in Somerset every year in June....
visit:
www.maverickcometclub.org
Check out the calendar of events....yell if you need anything.
I think you will be happy with the decision to do the 302....

 

I have a 351c in my 74 Mav, and let me just say, she is a tight fit. As a matter of fact I am having some trouble trying to get the exhaust manifold of of the steering box. My brother and I will be installing a front torque bar this weekend to see if we can bind the motor about a half inch. I will let you know how it goes. Any other ideas out there?

 

custom headers.

 

lose the manifolds and look into tubular automotive , they have swap headers for the C


W will fit pretty tight as far as headers...

C the heads are pointed down and W are straight at the towers...

 

Sounds like you are saying the engine is moving...

Are the engine mounts (specifically the driver's side) good?
Were the exhaust manifolds ground down when swapped in?
I did the swap once with stock manifolds, and every little unnecessary bump, boss, hump, nub, etc... that stuck off the casting MUST be totally ground flat. For some reason 351c manifolds have about 10 lbs of useless iron protruding in every direction.
Most of these protrusions will hang up against stuff in a Maverick.

Or you could get with Tubular Automotive in Weyland, Mass...
They make a 10 piece header for the Cleveland in our cars.
I had a set of those too. Good stuff. Expensive...
Each of the 8 tubes are individual and bolt on one at a time.
Then there are a pair of 3.5" collectors that bolt on when you get the tubes up.

Are your towers shaved?
If not, you have it really tight!
Mine weren't shaved, and there was no way the valve covers or spark plugs were coming out with the engine in. The tall Moroso covers were a big factor in that though.
If you are curious, a deep Moroso pan works fine...

If you are running points, you can get a mid-70s 351m/400 Duraspark and throw on there. A good Duraspark distributor teamed up with aftermarket ignition parts is as good as any aftermarket distributor.

Dave