There really wouldn't be any improvement, sometimes things are done for personal satisfaction in which case swap in that small ford!
I'm doing the same thing with the coupe.....#8 just likes oil too much. But rather than change to a Ford from a sbc, I'm going from a 350 4 bolt to a 383 balanced stroker. short block. Why? The price was right for the short block and I already have the intake and carbs, a nice L79 cam and a set of new 64 cc. 2.02 valve aluminum heads. Only prob is I may have to mix fuel as compression will be about 11 to 1 and we only have 90 octane up here. On the plus side, it should go like stink!!!!
I'm doing exactly what you say, I'm going from a 350 Chevy to a 302 . The major difference is my car, 47 Lincoln Zephyr, has tons of room for the slightly longer Ford engine since it came with a V12 originally. I haven't got to sitting the engine and AOD trans in yet, just finished putting in a Saginaw power steering box and column. I will have to build new mounts, new transmission linkage, lengthen the coil wire, change the front of the exhaust, and build a new trans mount as well as maybe a new driveshaft. Is it worth it? I hope so. My transmission went out and I had to pull the engine anyway to get it out, so now was the time to do it. When I bought the car, I loved the style, but wasn't crazy about the Chevy engine, so I figured one day I would change it back to Ford power. As to the oil sump and oil filter, I'm using a Fox body style rear sump pan. The oil filter I'll have to wait and see, but if it's in the way, it's simple to put on a remote style filter or maybe even use one of those 90* adapters that Ford used on some of the vans. If you want it bad enough, there is a way. It might set you back some bucks and take a little longer, but that's all part of it.
Aluminum heads are better than Iron ones at carrying away heat from the combustion chamber. You might be able to get away with it. Some head gaskets are thicker than others, and you can get intentionally thicker ones to pull the compression down a little. For example: https://www.holley.com/products/gaskets/head_gaskets/parts/1130G http://www.goodvibesracing.com/SBC_Head_Gaskets.htm
302 has a 3" stroke, a 350 has a 3.480" stoke. A 302 is a high winder without much low end torque when compared to a 350. Make you desision on how you use and drive your car. If $$$ is no object purchase the LS-3, trans,and computor from Chevrolet Performance at a dealership and have a ball.
A sbf for a ford would be original a true ford that way. Would be nice. But if it already set up for the sbc. Then why h***le? Less work Imo. plus im a chevy guy. Good luck
I've never read any or talked with a anyone complaining about the SBF, good/great engine, I'm sure, IMO you just have to decide if the $$$ difference is worth it to you, changing ******, motor mounts, exhaust, etc, etc. From a resale point, IMO, don't think it matters, The Important thing is what floats your boat, your vision, your ride ! SBC, it's all been said, had them, have them, from a economic stand point, can't be beat, the crate 350 SBC, watch for sale, Jegs or Summit, $1495 w/ free shipping. To rebuild an engine properly, will cost near that or more, do it 1/2 A$$, less, If you need to say I built the motor, the $$$ does not matter anymore, just my opinion this AM, AGAIN, what trips your trigger is the whole ballgame. Good Luck w/ your project !
i would vote crate 350---don't even bother rebuilding the 350 unless you own a machine shop or know a machine shop very well. Because the whole car can be running in 8 hours or less. Will the throttle cable from the 350 work with the 302? This little "incidental" might take longer than you might think to solve. Now, if you LIKE the 302 then that's a good enough reason to run it but be aware it may take months to get it all together and running especially if you only mess with it for a little while at night after work. i mean, i would love to run a GMC v-6 or a pontiac but it would take too long. So i stick with chevy.
Since we are a traditional site there's not much older than 65 for 302 "dress" in period garb. Maybe this project doesn't even matter in that regard, and we all see how fluid our cars are in some cases. At the end of the day more cars like yours ended up with anything but a Ford unless it was a hopped up flatty. They got Hemis, Cadillacs, Olds, and a lot of SBCs. I will shamelessly go on record right now regarding my 39 Tudor. If ever I tire of it's flathead she gets a nice period dressed SBC. My swap will be more nuts n bolts in nature than anything else, other than findng a smokin deal on a hot flat motor, but the return on effort will be exponentially much higher. Performance, reliability, ease of access anywhere in the US, and I won't have to check part numbers to make sure I get the "right" part for my 302. It's Ford guy denial to say there's no worry there. C94E won't fit with D94E, D0VF won't fit E0VF, and on and on and on. No, those are not real part numbers, just illustrating. Hell even the timing pointers are different from one SBF to another. Vibration dampers, flywheels, early crank flange vs late, some don't even maintain consistant firing orders. Great motors where they're born but I never felt they took well to foster care, more needy than many others. Now that I've expressed my personal opinion you need to seek your own. The most dedicated Ford guys know those caveats like I know Packards. Are you one of those? I'd be in the long line that's gonna fix the SBC or swap it for another just like it. You might find a good runner 2 blocks away...!
I have a 37 Chevy p/u that I have been threatening to drop a Ford motor in for years and if I can come up with a good enough to drop in 302 or 351-W before I get time to tear it apart to drop in another 235 thats on the motor stand then its on.
I'm a Ford guy for more years than I care to remember. Having said that, in reality both the small block offerings from Ford and Chevrolet are good solid engines. So, the question that comes to my mind is why would anyone go through all the trouble of extensive reworking a car to take a different engine, albeit a good one, to give up 48 cubic inches? Unless the smaller one is some exotic thing with great power and eye appeal? Stick with the Chevy and use the money that would be spent caring up the engine compartment and frame and apply it towards rebuilding or replacing the 350. No engine is cheaper to rebuild than a 350. If it worked good before, it will work even better after a good heart transplant. And, use the money you saved to buy go fast goodies!
You also can check for different filters there are a lot of different size filters that can be used on a SBF.
I have a '31 "A" Hiboy roadster with a 355 SBC and a '40 coupe with a SBF 306. The Hiboy is a pure, in your face Hot Rod. It's loud, unruly and fast. The'40 is a smooth cruiser, quiet inside the car and a very slight lope @ idle. I built the roadster, including the engine, myself, all but bodywork and paint. The '40 I bought already built, and I've not changed it at all. The Hiboy is on a '32 frame, and the SBC required no firewall surgery. The coupe had some firewall surgery, and the '37 in your avatar appears to be super nice as it is now for appearance. It's up to you, spend the whole winter, and take a chance of banging up what appears to be a nice exterior, alter and repaint firewall, pedals, etc all to have "a Ford in a Ford", or spend a few hours changing engines to replace the tired engine with a crate SBC. Or you could rebuild the existing SBC and put it back in. And you would still have way less time and money in the deal than the SBF.
I just want to know who was the first to not put a Ford in his Ford ? A Chevrolet in a Ford is kinda like " A Turd Floatin in a Punch Bowl " to me . Fords may be a bit harder , but do it and don't look back ! Use early water pump and hoses will be same sides as the Bow tie ! Just remember Henry does wear BowTies! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
It's a purity thing! Keeping the bloodline pure! Putting a Chevy in a Ford is like putting a cats heart in a dog, it might work the same, but it just ain't right! Besides, some of us like to be different than the belly****on crowd. Go to any show or cruise in and count the number of Chevys in a Ford vs Ford in Ford. It's probably easier to go the Chevy route, but where's the fun in that? I like a challenge! Now this is all in jest, don't go getting your feathers all riled up. Do what you want, as long as you drive it, you're a winner anyway....
Hell if that is the case , how bout 427 ? Just a FURD 427 , really all in fun do what you feel best doing and enjoy the sport ! It's really a good one with many good people to enjoy it with [emoji41] Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
If you want a change so your car stands out in the crowd, sorry, a SBF isn’t going to do it. So you might as well rebuild the SBC. To stand out, you’re gonna have to swap in a vintage Flathead/Hemi/Olds/Cad/Y-block/Stude/etc.
You don't really say "Why" a 302, other than a slightly comical Ford in a Ford comment. Do you Have a 302? Was that just the first Ford motor that came to mind? Or is there some other reason why a 3020 in particular? When I got a big offer on my 37 coupe I decided to let it go partly because it had a wheezy worn out 327 Chevy. I'm a ford guy at heart and had planned to swap the Chevy to a Ford at some point. But the offer was good and I had another cat to build, so it and it's junky bow tie went bye bye. As to the complexity of swapping to a Ford, it depends on how good you are and what you have. I bought a 34 Coupe that had a BBC 502 and I swapped in a 347" stroker ford and C-4 over a three day weekend. Drove it in the garage Friday morning drove it our Sunday night. Couldn't have done a complete rebuild in that time period what with machine work and such. A customer had me swap a 350 in his 40 for a 302 and C4, it took us less than a week in the shop to do so. Really not a big deal. If I wasn't building the 32 RPU (which has a 351C/4 speed by the way), my 37 would have got a 351W with an AOD, it would not have been any thing all that major. This isn't rocket science, it's simple engine swapping.
Looking at your picture, this makes no sense at all, I can't see anything under the sump. Unless this car has IFS, like a Mustang II? If so all you have to do is notch the crossmember to get the motor lower. My 32 has a 351C, which is bigger than your 302, is Front Sump, and I son't have ANY hump in the floor for the trans.
There are very good reasons why everyone puts Chevys in fords. Having said that, I have a 302 from a 69 Torino and a C4 ****** in my A Coupe. But it does look silly with the firewall set back to where the rear cylinder pipes are in line with the front of the cowl just to make room for the water pump and fan. The Chevy / short pump just plain fits and looks better in the space. Also cheaper and easier to hop up. Having said that, one of my favorite cars at Bonneville was the X cl*** Camaro with the flatty in it. Br*** Balls to the max.
Ok again this is my first Hot Rod, I came from the c5 vette world, this car was built 2006 and all i'm saying that compared to the 32 high boys in the group I run with that all have CHEVY engines my engine sits higher in the frame which makes me have a larger trans hump. compared to their rods. I could lower the engine lets say 3 inchs, I would have to go with a remote oil filter and the rear sump pan would be about 3 inchs of the ground, which then I could go with a less oil quarts oil pan or how about I leave it like it is and just wish it had a CHEVY engine!
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