351 for cheap??

[hardball_7]

Ok I found this site while looking for some information on a new engine, and I was wandering if it sounds resonable to you guys. They offer a 7 year-70,000 mile warranty on all of their engines also. They say that they come with heads and everything, would that stuff all be stock of what would normally be on the engine of that certain size? Last of all if I were to purchase one of these engines, how much trouble would it be to swap out my 302 for the 351?

Here's the site

http://www.ford-motors-engines.com/f...gines.html#351

[Godshinto]

Not worth it I had a 305 and with a couple of mods (ie headers ported, new cam shaft, roller bearings, fuel injectors.) you wouldn't believe the amount of power you can get from just those few mods you can change a 302 to an easy 450, 500 and most of those mods have chrome and anodized accessories and it's cheeper than buying a new engine believe me I did the math.

[vbrpete]

Your 305 had ported headers,and roller bearings,and probably a hi-flo fufu valve?What the hell are you talking about?

Anyway,what are you looking at putting it in?What year,trans,etc?This makes a big difference.If you've got an '81 it's incredibly easy.If it's an '87,a little tougher based on whether you want injection or carb.'94 and up it gets tougher still due to the more complex electronics,ABS etc.

Regardless,a 351W is a great engine for cruising.Got one in my '85 LTD LX with an AOD,3.55s etc.It runs mid 13s even though it's loaded and has 4 doors,yet gets decent economy due to the EFI setup.

Yes 302s are easier,but not cheaper.They work out about the same costwise.The only way to get 400 plus out of a 302 comes in a box with the Vortech name on it...

[Unit 5302]

You've got more power in that 1995 GT engine than what you'll see from just about any of those 351s. The 351W almost without exception was a turd from the factory. Bad fuel economy and low hp were two real consistant characteristics.

[GTStang]

If you look at my post and know my motor i love 351W if your gonna build it up. Striaght out of a car, van, truck, or a stock rebuild they suck.

[hardball_7]

Ok so the majority seems to feel that I should stick with my 302. Is the best route to take getting headers, heads, RR's and a cam. Why wouldn't the 5.8 liter 351 put out more power, if I jsut purchased it at the time being, and then made these same mods to it later down the road?? I am wanting to make some changes to my motor, and I just want to know what the best route to take in the long run will be.

Thanks,
Hardball_7

[vbrpete]

The 351W will respond to any and every mod that a 302 will.You can take an old junkyard truck motor and redo the thing with a roller cam,SEFI with any one of four off the shelf intakes,headers,heads,blower....anything.Cost wise,about the same as the 302.
351s work better because of the longer stroke.I always ask customers,why build a 302 stroker when you can have a 351 for half the price?The ONLY negative of the 351 is the large main bearings that limit the top-end rpm to about 5500.When peak torque is reached at about 3600,your shift point should be around 5000 +/- 300,so what's the problem?The same large main bearings mean you can spray the hell out of it or strap on a blower and not worry about your spindly little 302 crank coming apart.

[hardball_7]

So what kind of time are you looking at in order to swap out a 302 with a 351? And also is that a good deal for that particular engine in the site listed above, or would you just be better off going to some yard and pulling one out of a car?

[vbrpete]

Not familiar with the site.I usually just hit the yards,or better yet the classifieds,U-Sells,etc.Last month I bought an '82 Grand Marquis,351W,C6,8.8" 3.55 locker,etc.with only 143,000 kms on it for $300.00.The old guy that owned it had to quit driving and had to dump it.That engine and trans are now in an '84 coupe,with only a 4 barrel intake and headers(no cam swap) and it runs low low 14s at 98.6 mph.

Buying a complete car may be more of a hassle,but at least you can usually hear it run,and maybe get a motor you don't have to fully rebuild.

[hardball_7]

So can any 351W go into my 95 GT. It doesn't matter what I pull it out of?? See I am not really familiar with the swaping of engines so any information will help. What exactly should you look for when picking one out of the yard?

[vbrpete]

Any 351W will work.If looking at the yards,just look at the overall underhood condition;cleanliness,replaced parts etc.Find one you like and pull the valve covers-are they all sludgey or are they clean?This tells if it's had regular maintenance or not;If sluged up,it didn't get oil changes and the bearings and crank are probably scored.

All you need is a LONG BLOCK.This means block and heads.You don't need the intake(unless it's an EFI truck motor)or any accessories,etc.

EFI trucks are the best to get because they come with a SEFI lower intake,half of them came with 24 lb.injectors from the factory,they have the correct TFI distributor and wiring harness.

The motor mounts,accessories,even headers(can) fit the new motor,and the Mass-air SEFI system is a perfect match for the Windsor for wiring,sensors etc.

[Unit 5302]

You'll have to look around for some special motor mounts or a new hood if you're planning on mounting the 351 under your hood. The extra 1/2 deck height of the 351 engine will make it too tall in most cases.

As far as modifications go, don't expect the 351 to beat the 302 down in power production with the exact same modifications. There is only a 16% increase in displacement, and the 351 isn't as efficient at making power as the 302 is. Also, unless you get some high performance components together, all the 351 will be doing is wheezing.

To me, the 351W is a waste of money unless you're looking for more than 450hp, simply because the only way you're getting to over 400hp on either engine with a street setup is to go forced induction or N20. The 351 will peak out in a N/A street EFI setup at about 400hp, and the 302 at about 360hp, and that's assuming more expensive/more aggressive parts on the 351. Why spend the extra money to get the 351 under the hood when it's not going to do anything for you?

The reason the a stock 351W won't increase your current power level are the differences in internals. Your camshaft, compression ratio, in many cases heads and intake (weak as they are) are still better than nearly all the stock 351W parts. If you put all your current stuff onto a 351, don't expect to pick up more than about 20hp, btw.

[vbrpete]

Motor mounts don't NEED to be swapped.But you CAN put in some drop mounts that'll drop the motor up to an inch so there's no need to change the hood.Most Mustangers change their hoods,anyway to a fibreglass one,soooo...

As far as the other points,the 351 makes what we pushrod guys call TORQUE.It has the exact same bore,but a longer stroke.This gives you the bottom end grunt that a 302 has a hard time matching.

5.8s are nearly identical in a lot of ways-on '87-up truck motors,they use the exact same heads as the 5.0.just with bigger bolt holes for the 1/2" head bolts.Nice to have when you spray 'em.

5.8s aren't as sensitive to manifold tuning as a 5.0,so the factory truck lower,ported out by hand and matched to the heads,coupled with a simple box upper makes a great intake for half the cash of an aftermarket piece.ALL aftermarket Windsor heads fit either motor.Works great with the same-as-a-5.0 9.0:1 compression ratio truck motor.The Duracast crank and forged rods are nice too.

[hardball_7]

Thanks guys, but either way I end up going I think I am going to have to do alot of looking around before I make my decision.