331 or 351???

[1slow95]

Now that my car is painted and looks great, it's time to start on the engine. It'll probably be winter before I can afford to start on it, but I need some ideas of what to go with...Im probably going with a D.S.S. Racing block, but I saw their 357 block is cheaper than the 331. How much harder would it be for the 357 swap? What additional parts would I need?
Also, should I go with AFR 165's or 185's? I was thinking about going with the Edelbrock Performer intake...or will this be too restrictive? I plan on using the car as a semi-daily driver, so it needs to run decent in traffic. Im going more for a fun-to-drive street car than an all-out drag car.

Oh yeah, I know a guy selling an assembled 306 block, forged pistons with 8.5:1 compression, no H/C/I, very low miles(1000 or less) for around $700-$800. Should I go with this or hold out for the bigger engine?

 

[KingDiamond]

If you're going to be driving on the street you probably want a more torquey motor for more fun on the street. You'll need a new hood, headers, lightning distributor, injectors, balancer, dropped motor mounts, I probably forgot a lot of other stuff, I bet you could find it if you did a search.

You should also consider a 347, the most cubes you could have without doing a 351 swap.

You should probably go with the 185s with the 331 or anything bigger.

 

[KingDiamond]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the new paint job cost you?

 

[1slow95]

Yeah I definitely want more torque! I was planning on replacing all that stuff anyways, except the motor mounts, but thats not a problem...and I allready have the hood . Will a 5.0 intake work on the 351's?

 

[1slow95]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the new paint job cost you?

Just under $2000 after tax....worth every penny

 

[BlackVert]

i'm planning on going 347 stroker (CHP) in a few years after i scrounge up the money. that will fit under a cobra hood, won't it?

 

[KingDiamond]

A 347 stroker has the same exterior physical dimensions as the stock 302. So yes it will fit.

 

[SlowGT]

Will a 5.0 intake work on the 351's

No. Taller deck = greater distance between the heads.

I'd go with the 347.

 

[1slow95]

Are any of the reliability/oil burning rumors about the 347 true? Remember, this is going to be a daily driven street car.

 

[Joes95GT]

Are any of the reliability/oil burning rumors about the 347 true? Remember, this is going to be a daily driven street car.

Untrue. All those rumors between 331 and 347 have been solved with modern day technology. The 347 is going to produce more horsepower than the 331, while using just as much oil as the 331 would.

If I were you, I would stick with a 302 based stroker, for several reasons. Parts for the 351 get to be very expensive, and they start to get "so big" that they are not street legal anymore. If you are going to drive the car on the street, these parts are no good. A 331 with AFR 185 or Edelbrock RPM heads will run great. The Performer will work in a pinch, but it would be worth it to go with either a Holley or RPM II manifold.

Joe

 

[Numbles]

For the 357 there are a few 5.0 maniforlds you can use.

The Edelbrock performer manifolds have a 351 lower that you can buy from edelbrock that they even say is for mustang 351 swaps.

Of course there is the sypder intake that will probably flow the best but then again I dont think it will pass emissions.

Then the trickflow 5.8 intake that has the R upper. That is a good peice but then again, I dont think many of these pieces are made for emissions viehicles. All of them are good, but some need porting more than others.

Why not go with a 408 while you are at it. I know you said you had a cheap 306 available but thats limiting you. Id go with the winsor. The more and more I look into it, the more and more I see how I can make it work. The 357 from dss is the exact same block I am looking at right now. We need more 351's in this forum. I think there is only like 2.

For heads, the 185's will be good. But if you go the stroker route you might wanna find something bigger. Maybe some heavily ported trickflows. I know Vib showed pics of his new heads, I wonder what they are going on .

Its up to you, and it will turn out to be more expensive in the end. But if you have all summer to save up and do it. Then just do it. Everyone has a 5.0, some have 331,347's. But even fewer have 351 or stroker 351's around here.

I thought I had a point to make but forgot it, owell, hope the info helped.

 

[GTJake]

For daily driven I'd go with the 347. Like Joe said, a 351 swap can get very expensive. Then when you think about stroking it, it's even worse. I built up a 357 in school for my dad's 70 Mach1 and just that was expensive enough and we didn't use any real expensive parts(iron heads, shelf cam...etc.).

Upper 300's to 400 rwhp is a reality with a 347. If you want it to be pretty streetable you could pull upper 300's, somewhere around 370rwhp and more torque. When I crap out the 302, I plan on doing a 347 build up and hopefully make over 400rwhp and run low 11's...dare I say high 10

Jake

 

[1slow95]

What kind of difference will I see between the 357 and a 302-based stroker? Will the 357 and the 347 feel about the same powerwise? How long can I expect either one to last? Im looking for a good 100K+. Im not really concerned about emissions because I don't have yearly inspections here...allready running O/R pro chamber and no smog pump .
Im thinking the 357W sounds like the better option for me, since I plan on replacing everthing, transmission and all. The 408 is just a little more than I want to spend, its $800 more than the 357. Anybody know any good websites with 351 parts and information?

 

[GTJake]

Here's a few good things...

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=367882

http://www.mustangworks.com/articles/powertrain/351swap.html

Jake