351W Qs

[Snowblind]

I'm looking at swapping out my tired 302 in my '77 and was wondering if there are any good "how to" sites to switch in a 351W. Also, is there any preference to the 351W or are they all the same from any year.
Any pittfalls to avoid as well or is it a pretty straight forward swap.

Thanks in advance,

SB

 

[JWMcCrary]

One of the Bronco Driver issues has a very good write up on swapping from a 289/302 to a 351W. I can't remember which one it is right now, but you should be able to order the issue if you don't have it. Also, I belive someone posted the article on here, you might do a search and see if you can find it.

I have a 351W that is all original, (never been apart) out of a 73 or 74 Gran Torino that I later plan to rebuild and put in mine. Right now my 302 runs too good and I have to many other things I want to do that I have put ahead of the engine swap. Just about everybody says the 351W is the way to go.

 

[mustangmarty]

Best tip I could give is add a 2" body lift before even gettng started. Will save lots of headaches later. Other than that, my 302 to 351 swap was pretty much straight forward. Also, make sure you take care of the extra cooling the Windsor may need. Mine ran about the same with both motors, but every motor is different. Have fun.

 

[RajinCajun]

I agree with doing a 2" body lift... I will be doing mine here in the near future after the fact..it would have been a lot easier with the added clearance.

 

[broncnaz]

look for a 76 or earlier 351W they had bigger valves other than that they are all the same

 

[SteveL]

The earlier years are better. Most shoot for the 69-70. On the later years they lowered the comp. ratio for smog reasons. You can swap on the earlier heads and get the the better ratio. You can fit it without a body lift if you run the low ford manifold. Otherwise you will need a hood scoop to clear the air cleaner.

 

[casadejohnson]

The 351 Windsor is a great swap! I did mine about 10 years ago and I love it!

Like everyone has said, the early ones are better because of the larger valves. When I did mine, I had no body lift and it fit fine with a hood scoop. I later lifted the body and went back to a stock hood. You will need the dual sump oil pan ( Ford Racing part # M-6675-A58 ) and a 351 intake ( I used an edelbrock performer intake and carb). You can even reuse your 302 accessories if you get the brackets from one of the Bronco Parts Houses (Got mine from James Duff ). My 351 is bored 30 over and I have never had problems with overheating using the stock radiator. Some people have had to switch radiators to control overheating but I have never had problems even in the middle of summer at MOAB. One part that I needed for mine that I was not aware of was the shaft for the oil pump. The 351 shaft is larger than the 302 shaft. Its only a $ 10 dollar part but it can be difficult to round one up on Sunday night. I was lucky enough to have a friend that was a Parts Manager at a ford dealership. I drug him out of bed at 11:30 on Sunday night so that I could install my distributor and test fire the motor. I think I still owe that guy a favor or two.

I was able to do my conversion in a weekend by myself.

If you search this site and the sites of the Bronco parts houses you will find a wealth of information on the subject. Also, if you get stuck someone on this site will be able to answer your questions.

Good Luck!

 

[74bronc]

Here is the article that appeared in Issue #2 of Bronco Driver. I think I will send it to Jon and have him make it a tech article here on this site cause so many people want it. It doesn't have the pictures included because I can't find them on my computer right now, but you can get the gist of the swap from the article. I will try to scan and PDF the actual BD Mag article that includes the photos.

FYI, I didn't have a body lift when I did my conversion either. It works fine without it but I did have to cut a hole in my stock hood to clear my air cleaner. I have since installed a Wild Horses 1" and it does fit better.