351 dilemma

[BOSStang50]

i have been thinking alot about putting a 351 in my car. I realize all that is needed for the swap and am prepared to buy all the parts. I know a guy who pulled a 1972 351 windsor out of an old truck and the block is sittin in his garage. He states there are about 35000 miles on it and there were no problems when it was in the truck. He said he would sell it to me for 100. I heard something about these old windsor blocks being some of the strongest production blocks ford made thats why i first considered it. Although im not planning on running insane amounts of hp i figured it would be nice to have a strong block in the car. But my question is should i take a chance with this block? I talked to my local machine shop about it and they said to be careful about blocks you pick up from junkyards and old cars because you dont know what your getting yourself into like more of a hit or miss kinda thing. Would you all take a chance with a block like this or would you go with a 351 sportsman block from ford? or would you get a shortblock 351 from dss or chp?

 

[urban96]

talk to your machine shop and see how much it would be to freshen up the block, if its more/close to a new block then get new

 

[a50sn95]

Use it!:
click another

 

[final5-0]

If you know this guy and feel you can trust him then 35k on that motor is nothing.

You will be using a flat tappet cam instead of the roller cam you find in the newer 5.0 blocks.

Later
Grady

 

[94TURBO5 O]

Where in VA are you? I have a 351w block in my garage bare. It's been cleaned, decked and honed already and I also have a fresh crank for it also. I was planning on building it but I have 3 long blocks and my stocker is still ticking for now. PM me if you're interested and I'm in NOVA by FT. Belvoir.

 

[RFMustangGT]

I'm into old fords an stuff and my latest buy was a 1969 mustang fastback. it came with the 1972 block. from what I have been told and I have read is that it is one of the stronger blocks but if you want the thoughest you want a 1969 block. I'm trying to find me a good one cause the 1969 block was the strongest and also the 69 heads had a higher compression than the other 351w heads. ford started in about mid 70s(I think) started to not make the blocks stronger cause there was no longer a need to support 300+HP thanks to rising gas prices and insurance. hope this has helped some.

 

[BOSStang50]

how much does it usually cost for a machine shop to clean up the block and get it ready? The guy i talked to couldnt give me a striaght answer cause he said once they magnaflux it and such then they will have a better idea of how much has to be done to it...on top of that how much would it cost to have a block bored to a 393?

 

[a50sn95]

Figure 3-400.00 to go through the block. There are lots of options, though, so it could go higher(Torque plates, line hone, add 4 bolt mains, etc....). The bottom of the cylinders need to be clearanced for a stroker. (393,408,418,427) The bore is no different, the crank is. You can do it yourself with a grinder, or have the shop do it, figure 75-80 bucks for that. ( If you clear it enough for a 427 now, you won't have to do it again later. AND if your buying Stroker parts, why not go as big as you can?....(427)....

 

[BOSStang50]

Here's the new info....evidently it did not come out of a truck it came out of an old fairlane with 60k miles on it....the motor had no problems while in the car but was swapped out to put in a bigger engine. Here are some pics of it....it looks like hell on the outside but i mean im only going to be usin the block....100$...should i even bother with it

 

[94GTLaserRC]

Use it!:
click another

Thanks for the links...good info.


JR: E MAIL ME!!!

I may be interested in the 351...Can I make it a 383???

RC

 

[DougNuts]

I paid $100 for my block. You can use retro-fit roller lifters so you can use a roller cam. Those cost $400 FYI.

 

[94GTNJ]

If your not gonna make big horsepower then Id suggest getting a later model 94+ 351 roller block. That way you can swap all the majority of your 302 roller cam parts into the 351. Flat tappet vs roller is a hot topic but I feel roller has more benefits if this is a daily driver car (my opinion). You can usually find roller blocks for like 400 bucks although finding it local might be challenging.

 

[final5-0]

Don't quote me on this but I think I saw a thread on Hardcore a while back that was about using rollers in early Windsors.

Something about the bores were too short for the longer rollers to allow reliable use.

Later
Grady

 

[titaniumsc03]

aren't the 86 351 w rollers? My dad and I were going to put one out of a 86 f 150 in his 73 mach 1. Thanks for the info
Russell

Oh yeah in my 90 f150 4x4 the 351 is a roller motor

 

[RFMustangGT]

yeah if you are going to go 351, find a newer 351. best and easiest way and more cost effective down th eroad.

 

[ef200098]

Don't quote me on this but I think I saw a thread on Hardcore a while back that was about using rollers in early Windsors.

Something about the bores were too short for the longer rollers to allow reliable use.

Later
Grady

im quoting you even though you said not to. this information is correct, but there are ways around it.

1. you can buy the crane retro fit hydrollic rollers for $400. ouch.

or you can use regular 302/351 rollers with a "small base circle" cam which you can most likely get from any custom cam grinder.

 

[94TURBO5 O]

Thanks for the links...good info.


JR: E MAIL ME!!!

I may be interested in the 351...Can I make it a 383???

RC

I sold it already.

 

[final5-0]

im quoting you even though you said not to. this information is correct, but there are ways around it.

1. you can buy the crane retro fit hydrollic rollers for $400. ouch.

or you can use regular 302/351 rollers with a "small base circle" cam which you can most likely get from any custom cam grinder.

I guess I'd have to do a bit of research to make sure but..........................

For a street car, my gut feeling tells me that you could make plenty of power with a regular old shool flat tappit hydraulic cam.

Later
Grady

 

[94GTLaserRC]

I sold it already.