About the first thing my boss asked me this morning was: "How much do you want for that 351 Windsor?"

And I said I planned to drop it into a Ranger truck - but I had a 302 Mustang roller engine I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with...

Well shucks - he asked what I wanted for THAT, and I said I really needed an 89 or 90 Ranger chassis. No engine or trans - just a frame, cab , bed, and suspensions. He said "Stand by, Bud. I think we gonna do some trading..."

As of quittin' time there's a Ranger - same year and wheelbase as G-I, that is looking real good.

The whole plan is to build TWINS!

Here is the engine by the way - tuff to tell in this light, but the upper intake definitely says FORD 5.8 EFI:

 

What heads are you gonna use on the 351? The stock ones don't flow very good.Edlebrock & dart make some good ones. I'd make your 351 into a 408 stroker if I was building it to race.

 

I'm open to suggestions. Not a lot of folks run 351W's from what I hear - but they run 'Stangs anyhow. This is a new idea...

And then there is "Second Hand Power" right down the road from us!

Much is possible.

I think I need to go shopping down there, and talk to that man...

What is available is going to determine a lot. I AM on a budget with this. Not one bit of machine work can happen until I gather up what it will be made out of.

 

You are doing it right then. You need to know what heads & cam you plan to run before you start a build. My buddy that ran Horseplay built some strong 351 stroker motors. He built 391s & 408s that screamed in Mustangs

 

I should probably talk to that man, and learn everything he thinks is useful

A 302 builder is not the same as a 351W builder - I don't need anyone to tell me that! It's plain common sense!

They are close - but not the same at all in the long run...

Can you PM me a land-line?

 

He isn't in business anymore. I'm not sure where he is now. He was working at a Mercury dealer the last time I saw him. I'll check around & see if I can find him & get you his number.

 

Okes. There is always J. Biddle American...

I know they went a long way with them.

 

More news - I began ripping the engine out of the donor frame today, but got stuck when I realised my star bits were at work... RATS, NUTS, DRAT!!!

And there in front of God and myself was a star fastener snearing at me from the center back of the upper intake...

It occurs to me that a Holley 4bbl will eradicate that problem forevermore

On the other hand - I wonder how a 5.8 EFI would perform on a 302 Roller engine? A TRUCK EFI, no less (much more flowput)

 

(Not to mention a daylight shot of the intake markings on this machine)

 

Intake and exhausts are off, it looks a lot more like an engine now. Is it just me? Or is every stock EFI system a royal pain no matter what kind of engine it's bolted to?

The above star fastener required shortening a star bit socket with a bench grinder in order to get around some clearance issues. If I use the upper intake from this system on anything else - the first thing that will happen is to modify that area with a die grinder so this will never be a hassle again...

I have tomorrow off because it's the slow season for RV's in Memphis. By the end of the day this beast will be on an engine stand!

The Edelbrock Performer RPM series might be a good place to start, but a crank is something I need to consider very carefully. RODS are also something to think about - they are a major weak point. Once the crank, rods, AND ROD BOLTS are decided on - the rest will follow.

 

I've heard good things about the Edlebrock heads. A buddy of mine used those with a matching EFI intake kit on his 347 stroker mustang. He ran low 10s at MMS with it. I doubt the stock efi intake flows very good. I've always heard they were a weak point on the trucks. It would be nice to find a set of P40 heads & intake for your 351. They flow good.

 

If a suitable lower intake could be matched to the upper - it might work well on a 302 as a low-buck approach.

My boss is kind of hedging on acquiring the 302, so I may end up with it after all.

Shucks - I could do worse than to turn out some engines from my shop in addition to working full time! My entire philosophy on engines at this point is "AIN'T SKEERED!"

It has kind of odd looking ports in it though - picture a football shape. Oval, but with pointed ends. I'll have pictures tomorrow when the tarp comes back off it.

I always heard that the truck EFI's flowed better, but this could easily turn out to be nothing but "KLUDGE"

THERE IS A BRIGHT SIDE! Very little gunk accumulated in the valley area, so it might be fairly fresh but still a seasoned block.

 

I have heard that the truck intakes flow better than the car intakes. The Holley intakes use a truck bottom with a different top, I believe. The ports look the same. The truck intake is too tall to fit under a car hood though. Not sure about a Ranger.
408's are getting pretty common these days. Here are some good kits if the link works correctly. http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...115+4294832640
With 408CI you can build it a little tamer and make big power.
If you could find a 1st gen Lightning (93-95) they had a GT-40 efi intake on them and GT-40 heads as well. They use a cheaper Mustang style throttlebody too.

 

The tool dealer for MATCO in my area is going to bring me a special TORX bit just for these mean EFI upper intakes. It was special ordered wednesday, and should be here next week.

It's a 3/8's socketed TORX that is 8 inches long.

I'm still not sold on running carbueretted, but it's an excellent way to get things rolling.