Engine choice

[Golfball]

So I finally got around to pulling the engine after my engine fire up at Super Celebration back in '22. I was originally going to pull the engine, replace the distributor, intake and carb, new clutch and drop it back in but this thing is tired and leaking from everywhere, it was probably rebuilt when Carter was in the white house. Rear main seal is especially bad and the water jackets are crusty. Now my dilemma is what should I put in its place. I have a 99 or 2000 Explorer engine with about 150k on it that looks really good, still has cross hatching in all cylinders and its complete so I have the serpentine system for it but I will stick with a carb, don't want to mess with EFI just yet. I can still use the new carb and intake that I bought with this choice. 2nd option is a 351 that is a fresh short block, I bought it as an unfinished project. Last guy was reworking the heads but didn't put them back together. I would love the extra cubes and torque of the 351 but would need to finish buying the rest of the parts like intake, maybe a bigger carb, water pump, flywheel/clutch, etc. I am sticking with the 3 speed and this block has the clutch pivot hole in the boss.

For those running the Explorer engines, has anyone drilled and tapped for the clutch pivot? I think the easier option will be the Explorer but I need to solve the clutch first, and I would also need a new flywheel too since its a 50oz system, but can I use the new clutch that I bought for the original setup? Let me know your thoughts, I really need to get my butt in gear on this and get this thing back on the road.

Some may be asking why I was pulling the engine to replace the distributor, well, the oil pump shaft stuck in the old distributor so I needed to drop the pan and do it right and it needed a new clutch so figured 2 birds/1 stone.

 

[Scoop]

If you're going to do all this work I think I'd be very tempted to do the 351.

 

[nvrstuk]

I'm with Scoop. You have two engines there. that are both really close to running for little money.

A heavy Bronco w/o a low first gear (running the stock 3spd) you will really appreciate the torque of the 351W. A cam and heads wake it up also.

You can stick that Exploder frt dress on the 351W and have the best of both.

Never regret more torque, never will.

 

[SteveL]

351 with a jet performance q-jet. Depending what the short block was built for you may want to change the cam.

 

[fordguy]

I will go roller every time, there are solutions for your clutch. If I was going to build a 351, it would have to be a roller block. we just finished a carbed explorer engine, cost us less than 1200 bucks to rebuild. Like you, we had carb and intake. We did not use serpentine.

 

[wildbill]

I will go roller every time, there are solutions for your clutch. If I was going to build a 351, it would have to be a roller block. we just finished a carbed explorer engine, cost us less than 1200 bucks to rebuild. Like you, we had carb and intake. We did not use serpentine.

Do the 351W its a great motor 4V headers nice cam RV typ and go . Bill

 

[Broncobowsher]

351 is the answer you are looking for.

 

[ntsqd]

Doesn't sound like the budget is there for a set of aluminum heads, but if it is then that should be the first choice. I would be looking at the 5.0 as a donor for the cyl heads and the front dress to be put on the 351.

And yeah, hydraulic roller cam for the 351 is the only way to fly. Even if you're going with a small cam, go hyd roller. It will be happier with low zinc modern engine oils and it will perform better than a flat tappet of the same general specs. If the 351 is a roller cam block and you don't have those parts then excepting the spyder the 5.0 would donate those too.

 

[nvrstuk]

OK, I barely even wrote a paragraph on my first response- lol. Hard not to share more details but others & ntsqd summed it all up well.

- Roller cam a must for efficiency and to reduce odds of premature cam/lifter wear

-Good alum heads- not stock 351w heads that need hardened seats put in

- Exploder frt dress because of serp belt rather than 2 V belts, no squealing & better packaging for radiator fitment

Did I mention torque?

 

[fordguy]

So I am going to say this, only do more if you want it. Disregard everything else. if budget is a concern , do the math and go with less expensive. There is no shame in building the 5.0. Your truck you decide, More is not always the best choice, every situation is different.