Okay all. I am over my recent bout of Temporary insanity. :16suspect Awhile back I put in a poll about a 460 in a Chevy Malibu. Not happening. I am going to put the 460 in my 85 Bronco and then take the 351W and stuff it in the Maverick. Now, with that being said, how hard is it really to do the swap into the Mav? I know that there is going to be a reduction in the space between the shock tower and the head making spark plug changes a little more difficult than the 302. All the measurements I have say that the 351W is 1" wider overall (1/2" per side). I have done a search for this but have found a lot of "opinions" and a few facts intermingled. I am having a time sorting out the "junk". Questions: 1. Will the 302 header fit the 351W head? (I think yes) 2. Is there a header made for the 351W in a Maverick swap? 3. How hard is it to get the C6 to fit the trans tunnel. (My car is a '72) 4. If a no go on the C6 - will the C4 bolt up to the 351? (What changes will I need to look out for - i.e. flex plate tooth count, torque convertor, driveshaft, etc...) Shifting linkage is not an issue due to the fact that I will be using a B&M floor mounted, cable operated shifter.
1) no,...the 351 has a taller deck height, so it wont work. 2)yes, tubular automotive makes them, and probably one or two others 3)you mention a hammer in your signature...the quick and dirty way will require the use of said hammer. 4) yes,a c4 will bolt up, I belive you just need to find the correct bellhousing and related parts....sorry little foggy on this one right now.(just woke up) good luck on it
1: They will bolt to the engine, however they do not really fit in the car. A couple of folks here have done some mods either by BFH or retubing some cylinders depending on the member and got them in. Either BFH mods or retubing are bad options IMO. Either the pipes are flattened or they had non-mandrel bent tubes put in by an exhaust shop. They try to keep 1 5/8" tubes, and end up with something that flows less than 1 1/2" tubes. 2: Heddman and Tubular both make 1 1/2" primary swap headers. Hooker makes a 1 3/4" header for the 65-66 Stang with 351w... It will fit with either some mods to the car or the header. There have been several posts here about the mods. 3 trouble spots, all on 'soft' parts of the car that can either be trimmed or BFH'd. Rather than hard parts like steering box and steering links as the 302 headers face. 3: Don't know much about that. I have done C4 to C6 in other Fords and know the basics... Driveshaft must be shortened and rebalanced. The rear mount (crossmember) is much further rearward, which is fine on other Fords because they have adjustable crossmembers. Our cars don't. Also, most SBF headers will not clear a C6. 4: Now this I know the most about... Any transmission that will fit the 302 will fit the 351C/W engines. Same goes for flexplates (or flywheels for manuals) and torque converters. Bells are the same as are engine mounts, balancers, pulleys, etc... Very easy swap. If you compare a 302 long block to a 351w long block, the only parts that will not swap straight over are distributor, oil pan, and intake manifold. Even those parts are not different enough to stop the swap. You will need a car style front sump oil pan is all. Extra: I don't know what balance the 85 351 crank uses, but that is the only place you will need to pay attention. All Maverick V8s used 28 oz balance. In the 80s some V8s used a 50 oz balance that needed a matching flexplate and balancer. Other than that, they are the same. You will probably need to undo the engine mounts and raise the engine for plug changes if you choose not to shave the shock towers. I don't know for positive on the Windsor... I did the Cleveland swap and there was NO getting the plugs in the car. Good luck Dave
Okay, so far I will be doing this swap using the 351 and the C4. Any other folks have input on this? I have a front sump pan on the 351 now. Now all I need is a garage to do this in. Thanks for the replies so far.
If it is out if the Bronco, it will probably not fit a car chassis. That is why I said car oil pan. If it is a car pan, then nevermind.
Ratio, I'll check it sometime in the next day or so. Not so sure it would work in the car either. The pan has a spot on the front driver side that looks like there was a patch welded into it in the front corner. Maybe it was put there to clear the oil pump or something as I have not seen this on any other Ford oil pan before. I do know that when I crank the engine over with the kill switch off, the oil pressure goes up to 30-40 lbs after about 5 revolutions of the engine. Kick azz oil pressure. At least a good oil pump.
Well, you already have the 351, so your decision might already be made, but if I wanted 350 cubes in my Mav, I would stroke a 302. That way everything else fits better, and 347 short blocks are not that expensive, especially if you have an engine that needs work. If I were to put a 351 block based engine in my mav, I would notch the shock towers. I would also stroke it to a 408!
Okay, so I am now seeing a 408 in my future. But until the money comes in I will have to just use what I have. If this house I am looking at comes through, I will have a garage to do some notching. Then my neighbors will be calling me "that redneck that loves cars" as they are asking me to work on theirs. Why not, it puts money in my pocket for my next Frankenstein idea.
When you rebuild that 351w, just do everything like you would normally, except use 302 replacement pistons and a cast 3.85" stroke crank... That way you have spent little more than the cost of a stock rebuild, but you end up with 393 cubic inches.
You will of course, have to notch the block, maybe machine the counterweights on the crank, and if you use a high volume oil pump, probably have to trim that too. And if you go near 400 cubes you really need to use competent aftermarket heads, or you won't get your money's worth.
if you have the cash go for a stroked windsor, just remember you can go further then a 408.. and if you do have the funds take care of the shock towers properly... i didn't have the funds so i heated the shock towers up and its not pretty but it worked... wished i had the funds to put a aftermarket mustang 2 front in mine..... oh yeah it was hard to change plugs but i could do it... the problem is the exhaust manifolds i had were touching the shock towers and talk about vibration but i'm a 351w nut so i may need commiting..........
I did the 351w swap in my 69.5 and to be honest, I'd stroke a 302 next time !! My 84 351w came out of a Bronco and we had to pitch the oil pan for a car front sump oil pan. I think the one from the Bronco actually had a front and rear hump in the pan. You also have to change the pick-up. I think all 351w have a 28oz imbalance. There are a few on the board that use Hooker 6901's and "message" them in. I on the other hand didn't have the patience and ended up "over messaging" and rendered the headers useless. Then I went to the Hedman 88300 ($134.00 at Summit), still needed the BFH, I was just a little more careful !! I would eliminate the power steering just for overall ease and not using a drop bracket. The shock tower mod does nothing for header clearance ! Only makes changing plugs easier. Because of where the harmonic balancer sits I had to eliminate the front sway bar (no big deal just FYI). Overall not a bad experience, but with the same or better results from a 302, I'll go the 302 route next time.
Wow, I didn't know you had to notch for the 393! I knew about all that with the 408 and larger stuff. Why would you have to machine the counterweights on a new crank made for that specific application? That would just piss me off. High volume pumps don't do anything but steal power and put extra pressure on your distributor IMO.
