Ok thank you for taking the time in reading this thread. I have a plan that i have been thinking of for the past couple of days and need some opinions. My dad has a 1990 E250 with a fuel injected 351W. It has been sitting in front of his house for the past year or so. He told me that if i wanted to, i could take the engine out of the van and put it into my 86 f150. I told him i was gonna think about it. It would be nice in having a 351 in my truck. That big of a motor in that light of a truck would make a good sleeper vehicle if built properly. Since i would have the van, i can swap out everything from the van into my truck. Would it even be possible. If so, is there anything that i would have to look out for?
I know that in 86 the f150 came with a 4bbl 351 in it. Since the 302 and 351 are pretty much the same block, it should be able to bolt right up into the same location as the 302, right?
The only thing that i dont know about is that if i was to put it in, what my fuel miliage would be. Is it gonna be better or worse. I think that it should be better due to it pushing something that is about a ton(literaly) lighter.
Is there anything that i am missing, and what is everyones opions on it?
Thank you,
Scott
Edit: would this even be emission legal if i was to do the swap?

 

I would say go for it nothing like a good project and learning experience! Older engines are a little nicer to work with compared to this new can't but your hand 2 inches in the engine bay stuff...lol sorry little rant from having fun with an O2 sensor today..

 

Yea, i know wat you mean. Had to replace the alternator on my sisters neon the other day. Lets just say "fun".

 

it will be a drop in swap, as far as the the tranny and motor mounts go. If you're '86 is carb than you will need a carb intake for the 351 as well as a distributor b/c of the extra width and hight of the 351. And as far as the fuel mileage if you can keep you're foot out of it it will go up, but once you start getting on it it will go down like any thing else.

Just my .2 cents but I say go for it and enjoy the extra torque from the 351.

 

The 351 would be a healthy upgrade if you put a cam in it and upgraded the whole exhaust, but as it comes out of the van that motor isn't much more powerful than the 302 you have. A bigger motor will generally get worse milage around town but better milage on the highway, much depends upon the tranny and gearing in the truck however.

 

Since i would have it out of the van i was gonna plan on doing the cam swap. any suggestions?? My 302 is FI, but i would take all of the electronics off of the van (wiring harness, ecu, etc.) and put it into my truck. I was planning on running my AOD that i have in my truck already. I believe i have highway gears in my diff (2.55?? At 55mph, my tach is right at 1500rpm), so would that be able to take the abuse of the engine. Due to me going to college, i drive all highway to get to school. Also, i dont put my foot into it, i take it nice and easy, but you never know with this engine.
Paul, i see in your sig that you have a 351 in ur truck. What kind of gas milage do you get with the MAF, Heads, and the cam? Does it even pass smog??

 

i would go for it!

btw, you most likely just made a typing error, but i dont think they even make a 2.55 gearset. its probably 3.55.

id expect a good running, healthy EFI 351 to get 12-14 city and 16-20 highway. itll pass emissions if you run a cat.

 

Yeah.. I hope you meant 3.55 gears, anything below that is unsuitable for a truck, period, and a more powerful motor will drastically shorten the life of your tranny. Check your door pillar decal for the axle code Ford Axle Code Chart .: Articles
I figured your truck would be carb, but if it's already EFI then putting the EFI 351 is much easier. You should be able to reuse the existing engine wiring harness, just substitute the 5.8 computer and complete motor.
My combo gets 13 city and 17-18 hwy at 70mph, and passes emissions tests.

 

Typo on my part. After looking up the axel code, i do have 3.55 gear sets. It seems like it should be a pretty easy swap. If i do decide to do it, i would put in a new cam to help perk it up a little. since i would have the cam out, i would put a double roller timing chain. If i was to put a different cam in, what effect would it have on the stock speed density computer? would i have to convert it to MAF to get the full benefits from the cam? How would my stock AOD(~130K miles), and rear end hold up to all of the added abuse that the 351 would be putting into it.
How much money am i gonna be looking at to get this done completly with the cam and possibly MAF conversion if need be? Anything else that i am missing? Im not looking to drop too much money since i am still in college.
Sorry for all of the questions, just trying to price things out, and seeing all the work that is gonna need to be done to it.

 

Your profile says California. Are you in an area with biannual inspections?

Your engine swap will have to pass smog based on the year of the engine in this case. (engine or vehicle, whichever is newer)

Does your '86 run ok now?

 

Unfortunately i do live in LA county which is biannual inspections. My truck engine runs great except for a little rough idle, but nothing major. I had to get it smogged this past december and it passed everything with flying colors except for HC count. I blew a 130/131, dont know what is causing it.
I was just considering on doin the swap, not a 100% sure if i want to do it, just wanted to know how much $ it was gonna take, and how much time and effort I was gonna be looking at. My dad has been trying to sell his van for the past couple of months and he brought it up if this offer he has go through, then i can have the van. I was thinking if i do get the van, take the motor out and put it in my truck. I would just like a little more power in my truck. I know i could build a 302, but that takes serious mula, and dont got that kind laying around. I also like the sound of the 351 through the 3" exhaust that he has in the van, sounds menecing. Also, who else can say that they have a EFI 351 windsor in an 86 f150??? No one in my area.

 

The cam I have doesn't require a MAF conversion to run, this will be the most cost effective way to to do this upgrade. You'll need to use all the stock external bits if you have to pass CA emissions, air pump, manifolds and exhaust, and either the stock cat or a good quality aftermarket unit.