Originally Posted by nightowl_52
I don't want to be a naysayer but unless that 302 is in really bad shape, I can't see the advantage of going through all that work swapping it for a 351. You obviously have no idea what a job it is doing a shade tree engine swap on a van. I've done them, and I would rather do four swaps on a pick up, then one on a van. If your just looking to get a little more Wheaties out of your ride and the 302 is fairly sound, you should consider just doing some mods on that motor.
I'm well aware of it. In fact, the cost of doing the leaking valve cover gaskets alone is half the cost of the new engine! Putting in serious mods (not bolt on crap) in that little cavity is just as hard as the engine swap. The 302 hp is bad- really bad (<10mpg highway)- and it guzzles a lot of gas since it spends most of the time in second just to keep up. It's not in bad shape, but an '87 with 130k on it it's not a spring chicken. I have a trailer I need to tow from time to time and it's just short of being dangerously slow. I've done all the junk on front at one time or another, researched what has to change to make a 351w match up, and it makes a lot of sense.
So, back to the question- just how DO you shade tree that engine into place?