351W in 80 lincoln ?'s

[quicklinc]

hey guys and gals, this is my first post here and im in search of info on the 351W. i just got an 80 lincoln mark 6 with a 351W and AOD tranny and im pretty sure a 8.8 rear end. right now its dead stock down to the 2bbl carb and single exhaust and its killing me. i want this thing to be quick so i can embaress all the riceburners here in town. id like to get it to be a 14 second car.

-are the pistons on a 80 351 cast or forged?
-can i swap the 5.0 efi onto it? i live in california so its gotta pass smog.
-are the AOD trannies pretty strong?
-does anyone know if these cars came with 8.8" rear ends? what axle spline count are they? will gear and a posi out of a mustang work?

thats enough questions for now.

thanks, tom.

 

[battyice]

You're dealing with an engine that was produced around the peak of the smog era, that means hideously low compression and terrible heads. In order to get a car as heavy as yours into the 14 second range you're going to have to do some serious modifications.

 

[408stroker5.0]

You have Cast Piston's, low compression smog head's, etc. etc.
Chances are the rear end is an 8.8 with 28 Spline axles, and yes gear's and posi can be interchanged from a Mustang.
Stock an AOD is fairly weak... they cant take much of a beating from a mild 5.0. They can be built though to handle some serious power.

The EFI setup from a 5.0 will not work. For one thing the lower intake from a 5.0 will not fit a 351 and the computor will not reconize the different 351 unless certain mods are carried out. You could get into a Mass Air Setup and some other detail's but I won't get into that as I'm not much help in the EFI area (I'm a Carb Guy I guess)

Not to discourage you or anything but it would take alot of work and money to get a heavy car like that into the 14's. It's possible but a better idea would be to find a cheap 5.0 Stang or Capri and start throwing some mod's at one of those. Atleast you'll have a bit of a better starting point.... Or Hell!! Be different... throw a Performer Intake and 650cfm Carb on that Lincoln, and throw a 100HP shot of nitrous at her and giver till either the engine or tranny let's go!

Shon

 

[Daggar]

On the other hands.... You could have fun with this too. I wouldn't be looking for any 302s to put inthat car though. Pull that 351 and work it over then stuff it back in. I'm with 408stoker. Seems like a carb would be the way to go. A built up 351 will take an awful pounding and keep on ticking. I have vision of a nice low rumble from the cam and a large displacement (stoker) followed by some eye popping when it's opened up. hehe. I think 14s could be done without completely breaking the bank. Look at all the Grand Torinos out there. Dump the AOD and put something with some meat up in that biach. Make lots of bottom end torque and top it off with the juice. I think it'd be kewl as hell.

 

[tjm73]

The only thing any good in that car is the 351W block and the rear end, which BTW will be a 9", not an 8.8". Early AOD's are virtually garbage. It would make a good boat anchor, but that's about it. Well maybe it'd be a good core ona rebuild.

The cars are heavy so it's likely it has a 31 spline axle, but most likely it has open diff. It might be 5x4.5" bolt pattern but some Lincoln's in that era use the Chevy truck pattern which is 5x5" (I think, I'm not a chevy guy). It probably has enourmous drum brakes too. 11x2.5" drum is the biggest Ford ever put on a 9". A big car like that probably got them. Mustang traction-lok will not work. But 9" traction-lok's are pretty common in pickups, so you could find one pretty easy if you hunt the right places for them.

 

[Hotrodsun]

Why not get a mustang pull the 351 of the lincoln and stuff it in the stang. throw on a set of heads, cam, intake, and carb. then run her till something brakes. It not that bad I just bought a 82 mustang with munch quarter panel for 50 bucks. good luck, Adam

 

[quicklinc]

thanks for the help everybody. i took the tag off the rear today and it says 8 5 after the ratio so im guessing its a 8.5" then? its not a 9" completely different style with a drop out center section. it has the 4.5" bolt pattern too.i dont want to pull the motor and junk the car. that would be stupid. my goal here is to have a fast luxury car that doesnt look fast. id like to keep this bottom end for now if possible. i dont have 1000's of dollars to just drop on a motor and i have 2 other cars im working on right now.

problem i have is it has to pass smog!

 

[tjm73]

The Mark VI is the same as a Crown Vic. Is this kinda like what you have?

 

[tjm73]

As far as I know Ford doesn't have an 8.5" rear it's 8", 8.8" or 9". 8.8" didn't exist yet in 1980. My guess is the 8 5 is code for something else. Maybe it has an 8" with code 5 gears/differential. I don't know.

Does the gear carrier load from the front? Is the center "pumpkin" round or kinda oval (kinda flat on the top and bottom)?

 

[408stroker5.0]

Like I said earlier it will be an 8.8.... Trust Me.

 

[quicklinc]

thats the same car as mine.

its not an 8" or a 9", i have an 8" outta a 78 granada in my 72 duster, so i know what it looks like. i have a 79 lincoln mark 5 with a 9" and i know what it looks like. it has the cover on the rear, no drop out centercection. im pretty sure ford does make a 8.5" rear end,(this is just what ive rear on the internet) alot of people confuse it for a 8.8, i found this out when i did some research for the 8" i swapped into the Duster. wouldnt a 8.8 say 8.8 after the ratio numbers on the id tag?

first things on the list to do are posi, 3.55 gears and exhaust.

 

[quicklinc]

oh yeah, are there any easy mods that can be done to the aod to increase the strenth and durability?