K, so i know there have probably been many 351w posts but i am not the brightest on the internals of an engine so if you can just help me out by posting on this tread instead of giving me links that'd be nice.


So I have a 351w that I am allowed to get for free from a friend, its a running motor and in good shape, I have a stock 360 in my 74 f100 at the moment.

I want to get a engine with some more power in my truck and there are a lot more parts for a 351w then a 360, and I don't really want a 390 if anyone is gonna say that.

Anyways, I know pretty much... nothing about performancing a motor and what to look for or what to get, I know a few things I need, but i don't know what type, how big, and whatnot. One thing I for sure want is a cam to make it have that nice beastly idle.

So I know I need
-4bbl carb, and an intake manifold for it.
-Cam and lifters
-Pistons and rings

1. I was looking and can get 60 over pistons and rings for a fair price, I have a spot to get the block bored out for them. First is that a good step?

2. Am I going to need new rods? I know new ones will be a lot stronger, but theres all kinds of lenghts and whatnot and i don't know what different rods will do for me?

3. What kind of cam would be good for the rough idle that i'm looking for? And if you can't find a cam with lifters as a kit how do you know what lifters to get?

4. Heads, I know stock isn't good but i just graduated college and i'm broke as hell, is there anyway i can use the stock ones with performancing it a bit? or can i put new something on it to make it work a bit better? ha I have no idea..

5. What else do I need? I know i'll need a new distributer and whatnot, but i'm more interested right now about the stuff in the engine not on it. But please tell me what parts i'm forgetting

When you reply put a number next to which part your responding about to keep it a bit more clear on here if you would?
I know this is a lot of stuff but i really need the help and will be very greatful.

IF you would be SO NICE! you could post links to parts that would work good, what I'm really hoping to get out of this is a nice list of links for the parts I should order, but remember again, I am pretty broke at the moment, I know broke and power doesn't go together but i don't want a jet, i want an engine that will smoke the tires and get me going really fast

 

I don't understand your question. You start out wanting to install a good 351w then you switch to a rebuild of your 360 but the kicker is you say not to mention converting a 390.
The only thing I can think of is that you don't realize the cheapest performance you can get is to rebuild your 360 into a 390 for just a little more than rebuilding your 360, or do you really want the 351W???

 

First off, if you're broke, just put this on hold.

As for a 351w swap, it is not the same bolt pattern, and possibly will need motor mounts as well. Thus, you will need a new bell housing to make this work. If you have an automatic, you will need a different transmission, or bell if you have an FMX.

So even if you put the 351w in there as-is, you are into this for some time and money to convert. Cooling, exhaust, accessory drives, linkages, etc, all add up, even if you get them from the scrappy.

OK, on to your upgrade questions. It depends on what 351w you are starting with. Some need heads to make any real power. But cam, intake, carb and higher compression pistons may all be part of it. Headers too.

1.) .060 over pistons. NO. Once you are down to the bare block and know how much it needs to be overbored, you do the MINIMUM overbore. Usually .030.

2.) Rods, you can probably keep your rods.

3.) Lumpy rough idles can mean poor low end performance. That what you want? And then you need heads and valve springs that will take the rpms needed to make the lumpy cam work. For a truck, an RV cam makes most sense. Also, is your 351w a roller motor?

4.) Heads. Need to know what you have first. Some are hopeless.

5.) Distributor, oil pump, water pump etc etc. Do you have electronic ignition on the 351w?


As this is all new territory, let's go back to square one. Does your 360 run ok now? The most economical way to power here is the FE and an upgrade. 390 or bigger.

Temporarily, you can bring that pooch up to at least a good trot with:

--headers and dual exhaust. FE manifolds are the worst. Headers will cost some bux but they are the single most important thing to do for an FE as all other mods are pointless until you can move the exhaust out of the motor.

--4bbl intake, stock "S" code manifold or aftermarket aluminum dual plane.

--500 or so cfm 4bbl.

--new timing set, make sure it's "straight up", not retarded timing. (a pre 1971 set should be the right one, just ask about it when you buy)

If your 360 is sound, those mods will take you up to and maybe beyond most stock pickup 351s for a lot less money than the prep work to swap in the 351w.

Do more research, buy a book or two also.

Good luck with it.

 

without any money for some parts, like heads, you're wasting your time and (money) swapping a windsor in place of a 360.
you could install the same parts in your 360 as what you would in your windsor for pretty much the same money and not be plagued with such a bottleneck of a head. Cam, Pistons, Intake and carb are going to be reasonably the same price for either engine, AND you dont have to swap mounts, trans, etc.....

 

Ya what they said

 

The 351 that I am getting is out of the same kind of truck as mine so I will have all mounting parts and hooks up so i can just throw it in, and it has a good tranny behind it as well so that won't matter about hooking that up.

My 360 is self rebuilt, all stock, i just put in new gaskets and this and that and it runs fine at the moment, i have headers on it already, and dual exhaust i just finished. I just thought using a 351w there would be more ways to get more power out of it then the 360 to a 390 which i never hear much about.



So when you said "390 or bigger" do you mean the putting in different parts to make the 390 bigger or swap for a bigger motor?


So to start this out, I read all the 360 to 390 stuff before but i am slightly forgetting how exactly it works again, you use the 360 pistons? and swap the rods for a 390's and keep the 360 crank? or is the crank also swapped.


How many choices for a 4bbl intake are there? I have looked before somewhat and didn't see to many.
I know putting that size of a carb would help it out and i was thinking about that long ago but couldn't find a good intake, any thoughts on where to find one?


Probably a dumb question but why a new timing set? is it going to be same as stock or am i looking for a certain aftermarket set? (And you said a pre 1971 set should be right? I have a 74 360, or do i want that older style?)



What else will I need to do for some decent power adders? can I throw in a better cam into it too?(hopefully one that can make it idle like a beast?) and what type, I'm sorry that I don't know more about these things but this is how you learn i guess?

And what other things will the 390 need?

 

It ain't what you want to hear, but the others are absolutely right. With a severely limited budget, you are much better off doing upgrades to the 360 one at a time than starting oer with a 351W. A 351W can easily suck the parts right out of the tailpipe of a stock 360 or 390 equipped truck - but not without heads. You're looking at $500 minimum worth of parts and the requisite labor just to get a stock 351W put in where the 360 was. Now you're going to have to have a set of heads at $1200, a cam and lifters at $250, and your intake and carb are going to run another $350. You'll have a money pit of biblical proportions on your hands and nothing to try to fill it in with.

 

All the high performance stuff ya can think of is out there for the FE and it has been around and raced a lot longer than the pony motor.

 

A 360 is merely a De Stroked 390, they have a different stroke crank, same bore, same rods, and in some cases same pistons. thats not a misprint. inside many factory 360's there are 390 pistons in them leaving them WAY down in the hole from factory.

 

So i do need a new crank too huh.. wheres the cheapest besides a junk yard?

 

Put headers a four bbl carb and intake an RV cam and straight up timing set in the 360. She will smoke the tires off and give ya the FE rumble ya want to hear. Plenty of power.

 

k so i found a set of pistons and rings, just to get new ones for the build,
and many spots for a decent price crankshaft.

Now i looked for a set of connecting rods for a 390, and I can't find a full set, I found a spot to get them individually but for a price to ridiculous that i will be paying more for rods then the crankshaft which doesn't make any sense, so the question turns from where can i find a cheap crankshaft to where can i find a cheap set of rods for a 390? any links to a site would be helpful.

 

Thy Napa. They work for me

 

Reread post #9. 360 and 390 rods are the same pieces. Unless your engine is knocking or has a broken rod, the ones you've got will wiork fine. Just swap to a 390 crank and pistons and you'll have an extra 30 cubes. Just be advised that you really need to have a machine shop rebalance the rotating assembly after you go swapping parts in the bottom end.

 

I have always got by with using the flywheel and harmonic balancer from the 360 crank when I have upgraded without any problems. That is if they are in good enough shape.