Has anyone installed a 351w in a shoebox Ford? Any problems with clearance, weight or does it go in as easy as a 302? Front or rear sump oil pan?
Just as easy as a 302 just make sure to get the dual sump pan and you’re good to go. The 351 has a taller deck height that’s why the intakes are wider and they also make for a great stroker motor.
I’d run either a pan filled C4 or an AOD with the factory 3:70 gear if it’s not an overdrive. If it is you’ll have a 4:11
That 351W and AOD combo is what I'm going with. I've got insanely tall gears (5.14) but 17.5-inch tires. It has a 600 cfm Holley 4160 vacuum secondary, Edelbrock aluminum heads with 1.90-inch intakes with an RV cam that keeps the torque high from off idle into the upper 3000s. Keep us posted.
Actually, I'm thinking about using a Muncie close ratio 4 speed using a bellhousing available from Speedway. Ill decide on rear gears after that.
If you keep the original column and steering box you will have to trim the exhaust manifold on the driver side to clear the box. See my thread here on that issued. Also, unless you install a floor shift, you will need to either find a 51 or newer automatic column shift set up or rework your shift arms to connect to the automatic.
351 engine dimensions on the lower block are the same as the 302 except for the main cap diameter and uses a different oil pan. As stated, you will need a rear sump pan. Shoebox Central I believe has the motor mount kit that Butch's Cool Stuff had. The radiator will need to be bolted to the front of the radiator support for fan clearance, and the gravel pan may need to be trimmed slightly. It is tight at the steering box, but since a 351 is a little taller than a 302, it helps. The exhaust on that side will need to dump between cylinder 7 and 8 with either a cast manifold or headers. I used SS headers made for early M-word cars in my 53, which shares the shoebox ch***is. If going the Muncie route, Ford made a Z-bar support bracket that picked up the lower two bell housing bolts and had the ball for the Z bar tube. Ford used them on early 70s F-100/150 pickups w/ 302 column shift. The ball location is off a little but can be easily modified. The 6-cylinder shoeboxes had the accelerator linkage set-up that works better with the 351.
The parts list will change a bit depending on what year your 351 is. In rear sump applications some '90 versions had the dipstick in the block like the '5.0', the ones that didn't had a pan-mounted stick. Those are known to leak, do yourself a favor and braze the 'adaptor' to the pan before installing the motor. You'll have to remove the gasket first. The Z-bar pivot mentioned is also easily available in the aftermarket as a similar item as Ford deleted the cast-in boss on the block for that on the 5.0 versions and later 351s. If you want Ford cast exhaust manifolds, look for '70s full-size cars or later ('80-90s) trucks. Some had some pretty large reinforcing ribs cast on them, you may have to do some grinding.
One area you may have trouble with is the drag link. Shoebox flatheads were "mid sump". Sometimes this is an issue. It may require a dropped draglink.
Bronco oil pan is the way to go and you can used the Fox body tube headers on it with very little modification. I ran BBK shorty headers on mine with a C4 and the automatic column from 51. Lokar throttle cable set up with their shift linkage for the column shift. Only thing is I had to beat on the transmission tunnel a little bit for the a fittings for my transmission cooler I had mounted under the car. You can leave the radiator in the same spot but run a serpentine belt set up with electric fans and you have plenty of room. It’s the easiest swap I have ever done to a car
Unlike the 302, the 351W actually had the boss for the equalizer bar pivot cast in all the way to the final F4TE roller block, but it wasn't machined, i.e. spot faced, drilled and tapped. To clear the steering gear, would the Exploder manifold, or the early Comet manifold clear?
Steering sector might be in the way if not the shifter linkage might give you some grief but those do look like a viable options for the swap!
The Jalopy Journal
