351 Windsor or 302?

[CORE402]

Subject speaks for itself. I have a friend who's building up a 69 mustang. I was wondering what this forum's consensus is. 351 Windsor or 302. This includes aftermarket boring, stroking, everything. Light weight of the 302 and its abundance of parts, or the 351's displacement. What do you think? Thanks.

[stang_racer20]

Definitely go 351!

[ridge_runner]

the 351 is a torquey motor, i have one in a bronco (well my dad does) its fast, 0 to 60 in like 7 sec. runs the 1/4 mile in high 15, its stock, i can only imagine that in a mustang, but if you want a hot rod type car id go with the 302, i have a 302 in my bronco, its stock and its pretty slow, but im talkin about it 5000+ pound vehical, i think the 302 has more potential

[ridge_runner]

or slap a super charger on that 351 and your set

[john67]

Go with the 351W. Anything the 302 can do, an equally built 351W will do better. The 351W was a common engine in the 69's so there aren't any clearance issues.

[Tony H]

351w

[351wStang]

Thats a pretty heavy car but I love the side scoops. I'd go with the 351w, but then again I may be a little partial . Like has been said already, a 351 can do anything if not more than a 302. True a 302 can wind up higher rpms more safely but you dont need high rpms to make good power. In a car like that I would want more torque. You can get better torque from the 351 with a stock stroke then you could a stroked 302. If you go fi then I would still go with the 351 for thicker walls.

[67coupe]

There are many kits available for around $1,800.00 that make a 408 out of a .030 over stock 351. That's a 106 cube increase over a 302, hard for a any mods to make that up in HP. With a good set of heads that is a better install than even a big block due to weight.

[duplox]

"Thats a pretty heavy car but I love the side scoops."
Are you talking about the '69 coupe?
Coupes arent that heavy at all! I own one... The curb weight for the inline 6 coupe was 3121lbs, a v8 probably has 200lbs on it... Thats only 100lbs more than a 2003 GT mustang.

[Tony H]

Originally Posted by duplox

"Thats a pretty heavy car but I love the side scoops."
Are you talking about the '69 coupe?
Coupes arent that heavy at all! I own one... The curb weight for the inline 6 coupe was 3121lbs, a v8 probably has 200lbs on it... Thats only 100lbs more than a 2003 GT mustang.

It is heaver than earlier models though. Still not very heavy really.

[duplox]

Yeah.. I was surprised when I checked how heavy my car was... I thought it'd be at least 3400lbs. There is a lot of big heavy iron parts on the beast! I'm working on lightening it right now, stripping the interior, racing seats, removing the door handle linkage(going to shave the handles and put poppers on it). I've already removed all of the ventilation stuff under the dash(blower, heater core, all of the piping and such). Relocated the battery to the trunk, going to install a plastic or aluminum fuel cell. I might remove the wiper assembly as well, but I haven't decided if I want to yet. I'm not planning on driving it in the rain(a locker in the rear and over 400ft/lbs at the wheels would make it very squirrelly...plus the windows dont seal too well.), but just in case it starts raining while I'm driving, it would be a good idea to have wipers! I just replaced the big ol' c6 with the much lighter c4, and as an added bonus, the c4 sucks up a good 35-40hp less than a c6. I'm hoping to get the weight down to ~3000lbs with me in it.

[351wStang]

Originally Posted by duplox

"Thats a pretty heavy car but I love the side scoops."
Are you talking about the '69 coupe?
Coupes arent that heavy at all! I own one... The curb weight for the inline 6 coupe was 3121lbs, a v8 probably has 200lbs on it... Thats only 100lbs more than a 2003 GT mustang.

Well thats lighter than I expected but its still a heavy car. Im just used to about 2500lbs.

[duplox]

what car are you driving thats 2500lbs?? Hell a civic weighs 2400lbs... Unless you drive real lightened drag-only cars, 2500lbs is really really light. I'd say 3000lbs is a good weight to try to get your v8 sports car to. Even the fiberglass bodied 2 seater vette's are over 3000lbs. The only sporty car that I can think of thats under 2500lbs from the factory is the Saab Sonnett... I always wanted to put a 9" and a 289 in one of those. Someday...
I'm not saying a 2500lb v8 car isn't possible, but its rare and difficult to do. If you do have one, congrats! it must be fun as hell to drive. Maybe a GT40 or Cobra replica w/ a 289/302?

[Tony H]

The early I6 coupes (talking 65/66) weighed about 2500lbs give or take given options. A V8 added about 250lbs (again depending on options).

[duplox]

I didn't know that! Very interesting. Do you have an early mustang?