Want a site from folks that have done LOTS of these 351W swaps? They did my conversion, and I beat the hell out of my 351 Mustang for EIGHT YEARS! It's real strong, and the very thing that Cobra-R's are based on.
These guys started as mechanics in a suburban Detroit Ford dealership. They do excellent work, and I highly recommend them to anyone. No, I am not related in any way.
I started with my 1990 GT convertible w/AOD, a Ford crate 351W Lightning roller cam short block, added Edelbrock Performer RPM aluminum heads (.202 valves and milled 1/2"), and used many of my 5.0 parts. I kept my EFI, and just swapped injector wires at the harness plug, for the correct fireing order, which cost NOTHING. I bought a new cowl hood, General Kinetics Cam, A/C bracket, injectors, oil pan kit, Crane rocker arms, larger rocker covers, distributor w/steel gear, flex plate, double roller chain set, longer headers, a three core radiator, and larger intake. Add ARP bolts for a 351 and a gasket set, and it's serious race time!
SAFETY NOTE: This is not a car you let your kids take out on a weekend night. You might as well cock a handgun and let them play with it. It is for good, experienced, drivers, who know their car as an extension of their body. Serious business, do not let just anyone drive it!
It sounds simple enough, but there are a few changes I should have made. I kept the mechanical fan (BIG MISTAKE). After about a year of raising hell and beating everyone up, one day I jumped on it. I got through first, and second (sometimes it happens so fast you can't tell because the tires are still trying to hook), but when it shifted to third, the fan twisted the water pump shaft IN HALF, causing the fan to tear a nasty hole in my composite hood. Think about what I just wrote... the engine is doing 6,000 rpm, the trans shifts, and that mechanical fan acts just like another FLYWHEEL, driving the serpentine belt through a little water pump shaft.
The sound was horrible. But the 351 suffered NO damage. That mistake cost me a new water pump, radiator, and cowl hood (painted) When I went with an electric fan, all my problems went away, and I continued to tear 'em up every day, for many years.
Today, that 351W is in my 1955 Ford Customline. The Mustang's body couldn't take more than 16 Michigan winters, before it rotted away. But buying and converting that engine, was the best (and cheapest) thing I ever did. The fond memory of my 1990 Mustang still live on, every time I start my '55 Ford.
Dave Dare (248) 544-8834 Electrician, Ford Motor Company
im just wondering if i can use the truck fuel rails and just hook into my fuel lines that way instead of changing my lines around? i've got the great 2.3L in the car and really dont want to swap out the fuel lines all the way to the back of the car
Just a note on the stock fuel rails- My experience with a Prof. Prod. Typhoon lower Int. - They will not work. This may be true for others as well. I tried it to save money and they leaked fuel. Upon inspection, I happened to notice that the stock 5.0 Lower inj. ports as well as the fuel rail bungs are set at a slight angle. The new intake are straight up and down. It will fit and is real hard to notice, but will leak fuel. I would recomend getting a new high volume fuel rail set-up as I did. Any higher HP motor will need new ones anyway.
i was thinking strongly of doing a 351w swap into my 5.0 after i get out of wyo tech. so tell me this. my car is a carbed track car runnung a wimpy lil 308, what if i were to get a nice brand new pro bullet 357w short block from D.S.S racing. then i can take all the guess work out of it. and finding blocks and all that BS. and just get a nice enw oil pan. also would my march serpentine setup work on the 351? and basically all else i would need was a new intake. correct?
in short. i can buy the short block. throw my performer rpms on it. get a new intake throw a new cam in it, pop my carb in it and a new oil pan and call it a day????? :) hopefully.. :)
The truck rails should work. Where you can get into trouble is swapping after marktet intakes like I did. However, usually the 4 cyl lines are real small and will not support much horespower (1/4"??). What I did on my mustang was used the stock fuel lines up to the rails, and just put on a high volume fuel rail set up (professional products). But, my 351 is almost 500HP. You could always try it and if it starves for fuel then you will have to put bigger lines all the way back. I would recommend 3/8" lines at a minimum for a 351 unless it is a stock slug.
For the most part, your 351 swap should work. You would have to drill out the head bolt holes and get new head bolts since they are larger on a 351. I re-used my serpentine belts but had to get a different belt. You may need the FRPP A/C- PS brackets as well. The big kicker is the headers. A 351 really benefits from a good set of headers. It sure helps it breathe better. The 302 LT's will not work. They hit the floor pan. My BBK ceramic coated 351 Swap headers cost me close to $500!! But they are 1 3/4" primaries. I am not sure if 302 shorties would work, but most of them are 1 1/2" anyway and would hender exhaust flow. On the oil pan, you would need the p/u tube as well. I just got the FRPP oil pan kit. It includes everything. It's only a 5 qt but you can do like I did and add an external oil cooler to make up extra capacity. If you even need it- that is.
i know i need the ps/ac bracket for swap but does the alternator bracket work? Also i overheard a freind say that the radiators are the same between the 4 banger and small blocks. i found that a little hard to belive.
I got a radiator from advance auto for the small block and it was a two core. if ya want something bigger ya got to order the ford racing one for a cobra, summit racing has em, funny thing is they are both aluminium with plastic ends and they are nearly the same price. With the larger cobra radiator you need to get a new bracket piece so it will fit cause the stock mounts are not going to hold it. It is a few inches taller then the regular GT radiator.
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408ci, 11:1, eagle forged bottom end, victor jr top, .644/.643 lift 290/302 duration Doug Herbert solid roller. Holly 4150 950cfm to top it all off
We used the JBA Headers on the 351 in the Dominator GTA when we updated the drive train to a 5.8 in 2002. The Part number we used is 1629JS. JBA has not made these headers since 2005. Let me know if you think JBA should produce a run. I may be able to get a run made for mustangforums.com members.
I have a few engine shots of the 351 in the Dominator on my website. www.teamdominator.com
I just finished a 351w with a Vortech S-Trim into a Fox. The project ended up costing ALOT more than budgeted, and was filled with quite a few little annoyances. Email me if you have any specific questions. jvaughan2003@msn.com Pics of the motor:
Just letting you know your motor looks badass!
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90 Mustang Gt Convertable. Stockish 3.73's, locker, cam, pro 5.0 shifter. R.I.P 5.0... Hello 5.8!!!- Installed and broke lol.
This is a great thread ! Answered alot of my questions, But the ball got dropped on the headers needed for a SN95 platform. I have a '98..... Where can I get headers that will work if they have to be "special" ? I read someone say shorties will work? Which would be a better set up for a 408?
Good point on the fuel lines too. I need to crawl under mine while I have it up on stands and see how big mine are being a V6.... My luck they are smaller.
I plan on going carbed just because I am on a budget, but maybe one day way down the road I will chang it over to EFI. I just cant afford the thousands of $$$ extra to get the extra componants and have her tuned right now. Found a block for $100 Finally! Waiting on my hood and fuel pump so I can go paint the car and pay for the block.
Since there seems to be alot of knowledge here for the 351's, where is a good place to get a solid forged bottom end? Not looking for the cheapest stuff I can find, but I dont want to be spending a fortune on it either. looking at making it a 408. Any suggestions? Which brand is preffered by alot of you guys?
Posts: 366
Joined: 10/27/2003 From: United States Status: offline
Eagle or Scat crank and rods. Best bang for the buck. check with adperformance.com. They have good deals. When ordering a kit make sure you know what deck height your block is. Remember a 69 block has a shorter deck height and may cause issues with some stroker kits.
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96 S351R #13 99 S351R #46 99 S351R #14 95 Mustang "project on a Diet" 03 S281SC #279 "Sold" Hollywood HP car 95 Cobra R #162 "Sold" 94 Cobra 351w swap "Sold"
hi im new to the fourm im thinking to do a swap from a 302 to a 351 4v carbed out of a 84 bronco but i want it to be fuel injected so im wondering if my stock fuel injection computer for a 302 will work on a 351w 4v and will a fuel injected 351 manifold work on a carbed engine
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RE: 5.8 conversion - 
Answered alot of my questions, But the ball got dropped on the headers needed for a SN95 platform. I have a '98..... Where can I get headers that will work if they have to be "special" ? I read someone say shorties will work? Which would be a better set up for a 408? 
