My EFI 351W swap is done - Here are the pics

[Duke Nukem]

I finally got around to swapping out my 302 for a fuel injected 351W. The project is finally done and it runs great. I figured you guys would like some pictures, so here goes.

In this group of pictures you see the tired old 302 that I pulled from the bronco and the new engine on the engine stand. While I was in there I cleaned up the engine bay and welded up all the various holes that had been drilled over the years. I picked up a bedliner kit and sprayed the engine bay.

I re-used the same mass air fuel injection setup that I was running on the old 302. The brackets for the serpentine setup came from an econoline van and a t-bird. The intake is a standard truck EFI intake with a BC Broncos adapter to attach the mustang style upper.

 

[Duke Nukem]

Here are some pictures of the engine going in. My buddy Karl helped guide the engine in and is the one in the picture under the hoist. You can see how I trimmed the econoline PS pump bracket to clear the steering box. I'm also using a BC Broncos serpentine crank pulley and water pump adapter. The water pump is bi-directional so I was able to keep the existing radiator setup. For cooling I'm running a BCB HD 3-core radiator, which seems to do just fine keeping the new engine cool.

Finally there are some pictures of the finished install. The engine fired right up and runs great with TONS more power than the old 302.

 

[4x4man514]

nice job! im looking to do the same thing. didthe rest of the belt system (minus the ps bracket) come from the t-bird? i have a complete truck motor that i was gonna use the brackets off of but i know i need the van ps bracket to use the saginaw. i wasnt sure if all these parts would jive together.

 

[4x4man514]

do you have any body lift? it looks like the motor is sitting kinda low. i thought clearance would be a problem.

 

[Duke Nukem]

I do not have a body lift. The new motor will not clear the stock hood so I am putting in a fiberglass hood. Of course everything is a little tighter than before. The long tube headers fit but they exit closer to the floorboards and frame rail so I'll need to take it to a muffler shop to re-fit the exhaust.

The econoline PS pump bracket was used so I could keep my saginaw pump. The alternator bracket came from a late 80's t-bird and lined right up. I was going to pull the econoline alternator bracket but it looked identical to the passenger car bracket and I happened to have one laying around. I do plan to eventually add onboard air but that will be a project for another day. But the econoline bracket gives me a nice mounting location for a Sanden air compressor.

 

[lonesouth]

Got any pics of how the Intake adapter fits? Looks nice!!! Also, did you use a stock 5.8L fuel rail with the pressure regulator on the drivers side? Did the BC adapter allow this to fit?

 

[sprdv1]

Nice work brother... I bet you ready for that to be on the trail.. Thanks for postin the pics..

 

[Duke Nukem]

Got any pics of how the Intake adapter fits? Looks nice!!! Also, did you use a stock 5.8L fuel rail with the pressure regulator on the drivers side? Did the BC adapter allow this to fit?

If you look at the very first picture in my initial post you will see that the adapter is bolted to the lower intake. It is hard to notice since I painted both pieces blue. Basically the adapter bolts to the intake and the upper then bolts to the adapter. It is pretty straightforward, and a pretty cool product. Certainly a lot easier and cheaper than going with an aftermarket intake or tracking down a Lightning lower.

For the fuel rail I re-used the one I was running with my 302. It originally came from a thunderbird but it still bolts just fine to the 351W lower. Since it was too narrow I had to cut off the fuel line that ran between each side of the fuel rail and attach a longer piece. I just used high pressure fuel line and clamps and it works great. The pressure regulator is on the passenger side.

 

[lonesouth]

did you leave the EGR installed or remove it? I see the IAB, but did not notice the EGR. What did you do, if you did indeed remove it?

 

[Duke Nukem]

did you leave the EGR installed or remove it? I see the IAB, but did not notice the EGR. What did you do, if you did indeed remove it?

I do not run an EGR. The throttle body is bolted directly to the intake with a blockoff plate. Actually the blockoff plate is technically not needed anymore since the 351W lower intake does not have an internal opening for exhaust gasses to flow up through the intake. If you are running a 5.0 intake you will need the blockoff plate. I'm running an RJM harness that is already wired to not require the EGR, but it is something that is easy to do with any wiring harness. The only reason why I don't run an EGR is because my wiring harness is not set up for one, otherwise I would probably just leave it in and route the gasses from the exhaust manifold.

 

[Ryan]

Looks real good Mike!

 

[la77]

hey duke, looks really nice and clean setup you have there, have you had any issues with the computer going from 302 to 351, idle etc. is your new 351 basically a stockish 351 and stockish cam? just wondering because going to replace my wfi 302 with 351 as soon as I can destroy my 302 to convince wifey I need a new motor. and curious if the change requires custum chips or whatnot or if you only need to do that if tryin to do that with biger hp 351

 

[Dusty]

Nice work Duke. I've got one of Chuck's adapters that I'll be using very soon to drop a 5.8L in my wife's rig. I used GT40 stuff on the 5.8L in my trail rig but that stuff ain't cheap. How long til you can start it up?

 

[Duke Nukem]

hey duke, looks really nice and clean setup you have there, have you had any issues with the computer going from 302 to 351, idle etc. is your new 351 basically a stockish 351 and stockish cam? just wondering because going to replace my wfi 302 with 351 as soon as I can destroy my 302 to convince wifey I need a new motor. and curious if the change requires custum chips or whatnot or if you only need to do that if tryin to do that with biger hp 351

No issues at all. I'm using an A9M computer. It's basically no different than an A9L except that it's made for an auto tranny. When you rev the engine and then let off the throttle the A9M keeps the idle a little higher for a few seconds before dropping all the way down.

The engine is a '69 block with a fresh rebuild and is basically stock except that it has a mild lift cam and headers. Nothing wild. The mass air efi system is the same exact setup I was using on the 302. It uses all the stock sensors, 19# injectors, computer, intake, etc. I re-used all the components with the exception of the lower intake and distributor (the 351W has a larger distributor shaft diameter). I found a '91 econoline van in a junkyard and pulled the lower intake, distributor, and PS pump bracket. With this efi setup the engine idles and runs perfectly, and the best part is that it uses nothing but off-the-shelf stock components.

A standard mass air system should meet your needs unless you are building an engine a little more on the wild side. Since mine is fairly close to stock all is good.

I like your idea of blowing up the old engine as an excuse to get a new one. Good luck with that.

 

[Duke Nukem]

Nice work Duke. I've got one of Chuck's adapters that I'll be using very soon to drop a 5.8L in my wife's rig. I used GT40 stuff on the 5.8L in my trail rig but that stuff ain't cheap. How long til you can start it up?

I've already been running it. All I can say is that I had no idea how gutless my 302 was until I dropped in the new motor. I don't have any plans to dyno the engine but I can tell you that giving it a lot of skinny pedal will push you back in the seat. My bronco has always been kind of a dog off the line since I'm running 33" tires with 3.50 gears, but now it has some real go power. It is a HUGE difference. I'm in the process of sanding and priming the fenders and grill before I put them back on. Hopefully I can finish it up soon so I can take it out on the trail to see what it can really do.

 

[lonesouth]

I always love hearing that the 302 is a dog. I'm running 35"s with 350 gears and it feels like it has plenty of get up and go...I'm thinking that when I drop in the 351 and regear, I just can't even imagine...Going to put the EFI on the 302 and then put in the 351...think that will be easier than 351 then efi.

 

[Duke Nukem]

I always love hearing that the 302 is a dog. I'm running 35"s with 350 gears and it feels like it has plenty of get up and go...I'm thinking that when I drop in the 351 and regear, I just can't even imagine...Going to put the EFI on the 302 and then put in the 351...think that will be easier than 351 then efi.

I agree. There are just too many variables for me to have considered doing an engine swap and EFI upgrade at the same time. By having my EFI system in place I was able to just bolt everything back up and turn the key. And since I'm running a flat tappet cam I didn't want to be struggling to get the engine to run before having the cam burned in. The best part of having the mass air system is that I was able to re-use every single part of my old EFI system, except for the lower intake and distributor, and it runs perfectly.

 

[70EB]

Looks awesome Duke. Glad to see you got it done.

Bill

 

[powernapster]

Thanks for posting this. Helps me out a lot.

 

[4x4man514]

same here man!