some advice please?
- Thread starter GodsCry05
- Start date
Short answer is yes / no / maybe.
You can drop in a 5.0 as is and things should be ok. it may sit a little lower in the front but not too much - and most people like the look of a dropped spring - it'll probably sit about 1/2 to 1 inch lower in the front.
the rear lower control arms from the 2.3 are supposedly better/stronger than the stock 5.0 ones.
you will need to change the rear axle to an 8.8 as the 2.3 axle will not handle the difference. If the 2.3 is a manual trans - the driveshaft is the same and will work on the conversion.
The one thing they do recommend on a 5.0 swap is the front brake conversion as the 5.0 has a bigger / better disc setup. I have seen many that don't bother - but braking distance does increase.
As for fixing up the 2.3 and selling - you are most likely wasting your time fixing it up - millions are in the yards everywhere and found on not only Mustangs, but in Thunderbirds, Pintos, and millions of Rangers. So unless it's a 2.3 Turbo motor - I wouldn't dump any money into it to fix up to sell.
You can drop in a 5.0 as is and things should be ok. it may sit a little lower in the front but not too much - and most people like the look of a dropped spring - it'll probably sit about 1/2 to 1 inch lower in the front.
the rear lower control arms from the 2.3 are supposedly better/stronger than the stock 5.0 ones.
you will need to change the rear axle to an 8.8 as the 2.3 axle will not handle the difference. If the 2.3 is a manual trans - the driveshaft is the same and will work on the conversion.
The one thing they do recommend on a 5.0 swap is the front brake conversion as the 5.0 has a bigger / better disc setup. I have seen many that don't bother - but braking distance does increase.
As for fixing up the 2.3 and selling - you are most likely wasting your time fixing it up - millions are in the yards everywhere and found on not only Mustangs, but in Thunderbirds, Pintos, and millions of Rangers. So unless it's a 2.3 Turbo motor - I wouldn't dump any money into it to fix up to sell.
65ShelbyClone
Founding Member
You first need to tell us what your realistic goals are for the car. To answer an earlier question, no it would not be worthwhile to rebuild the 2.3 before selling it.
An ideal situation is to have a wrecked 5.0 to take all the parts off of.
There is a ton of 2.3 to V8 swap information in the 5.0 forum.
An ideal situation is to have a wrecked 5.0 to take all the parts off of.
There is a ton of 2.3 to V8 swap information in the 5.0 forum.
my goal is i am out of the military now and my wife is deployed. so its not a daily driver just want something fun to work on and tinker with and in the end have a fast car to ride on the weekends.
Are you sure that it is a 351 cleveland? One of the toughest engines to identify. Do you know what to look for?
There were 351c's that came w/ 2v open chambered heads that are junk. There were 351c's that had factory4v heads that only have two intake manifolds currently as aftermarket options. Additionally, there were two garbage look alikes ford made in the early 70s through the early 80s- a 351m and 400m. these engines were in every land yacht and light truck ford made for 10 years.
While a true 4v Cleveland would be different in a fox, and would fit, and will accept all of the transmissions currently available, your exhaust hedders will be limited to custom, or maybe a set of headman huslers w/ really big primaries for street driving.
yeah i know its not a 351m and i think it is a 70's engine. i am still on the hunt for a 302 that i can stroke or i would like to put in a 351c. i am unsure for other identifiers between the 2v and 4v i am sure its a 4v block but the heads i think are 2v but unsure on how to tell with out tearing it apart before purchasing. i do have to say looking at your vid on youtube made me home sick as i am from bama and im over 3000 miles away in yankee land! also i am having an issue with the wiper blades i am trying to figure out a way to trouble shoot the switch as they are stuck constantly on and i have to pull teh fuse to make them stop. the turn signals work but that is it.what can i pull i had a 79 with a 302 c4aod that was tweaked a little but this is my first venture into a computer controlled can that has wiper delays. i also have 68 convert. that is my next project. how long will a 2.3 t5 tranny last behind a 5.0? if i am not mistaken there is a huge diff in the 2.3 t5 and the t5 with a 5.0 sorry i know my questions are that of a noob. please bear with me!
65ShelbyClone
Founding Member
What makes the 2v Cleveland heads "junk" and all 350M/400 engines "garbage" to you? The 4v 351C heads are huge and sluggish in most street driving situations.
1.) Does it have four-bolt mains?
2.) The input shaft and gear ratios are the biggest difference in "world-class" T5s and the gear ratios are the biggest difference in durability. A 2.3's T5 will last anywhere from days to years behind a 5.0 depending on the application and how it's treated. A lighter car with less traction and less torque is going to be easier on the gearbox than a heavy car with lots of torque and hookup. Stock T5s are not really an ideal choice to put behind anything making more than ~325ft-lbs.
Fun fact: some 351M blocks had both 385-series and Windsor bellhousing patterns.
Any 2v cleveland head ford made in the usa is open chamber. Open chamber heads are ripe for pre ignition and or detonation. Now Aussie 2v cleveland heads are closed chamber and all of the above goes away w/ the chamber "quench" (flat area). But thats just it,...there are no american ford closed chamber 2v "stock heads".
I agree 4v heads are pretty bad for the street "as is". But there are several companies making exhaust port restrictors to decrease some of the sluggish 4v street diveability issues. If you are a cleveland guy, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that.
The point being that open chamber 2v heads are undesirable over even big assed 4v ports.
351m and 400m engines aren't worth the time and money spent trying to improve them. The aftermarket abandoned those engines even while they were new. There may be AN intake, and a few "torque profile" cams made for those junkers, but the oiling system sucks, the heads are weak and they weigh too damn much. If I was gonna make room for a 400m, I'd bump it up and make room for a 460 instead.
I guess for a truck or a 4000 lb LTD they had a place. In a mustang????
Better off hotrodding a dumpster, because that's what a 351m and 400m is best at powering.
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