The famous 5.0 that will set your eyeballs back in a mustang, doesn't do as well in a heavy truck. You could change the gearing some, but it would be screaming going down the road empty. If you think about it, the 302 in a light car has a pretty easy life, with short bursts during playtime and burnouts, but most of the time cruising along in overdrive pulling a very lightweight car. It won't have such an easy time of it hauling a load of wood or towing a trailer with a car behind it. It will do it, I have had one before, but the 351w has a much easier job of it.

 

Hold out for a 351W.302 is best suited for a mustang not a fullsize pick-up truck.Building costs will be similar between the two engines.Do a price comparison between Canadian suppliers and U.S. suppliers.I get my project parts from Summit or Jegs for substantial savings over Canadian suppliers.Not sure of prices in eastern Canada,but in BC parts can be quite pricey.

 

I just finished up swapping the 300 to a 351W. All told, it cost me about $2500 US. There are tons of little things at the end that will nickel and dime you to death. The machining was ~$700 and the kit I got, hypereutectic pistons and all brand name parts was about the same. I got the comp cam, and it added a little to the price. I think I got all of them from RPM Machine(Engine Rebuild Kits -Your Domestic Engines and Import performance Kits). I have the receipt tucked away somewhere, where my wife will not find it. They seemed to have the best price at the time. One thing I did not realize until the last minute, was that you will need different engine mounts for the 351. The block is 2 cylinders shorter. Good luck and it should run strong.

 

So would I be better to just buy the 351 engine and buy the mounts and pump wiring harness etc?

 

I don't think so. I looked at buying a crate engine or rebuilding one off of craigslist. I found that it was cheaper to rebuild this one. You still have to put in a lot of time to install the engine anyway, so might as well put in a little more and do it yourself. It was my first rebuild and, thanks to my friend, it went great. I thought it was going to cost around $1700 but ended up about $800 more. Still cheaper than a crate engine and you get the enjoyment of buildong it. I found the engine on craigslist. We had to pull it from a F-150, but that was also part of the fun. I think I got it for $200.

 

RPM also has cheaper rebuild kits too, so you could probably save ~$200 there. The machine shop is one cost that was higher than I anticipated. I thought around $500, but it was a little north of $700. That was bored .020 over and the heads were done too.

 

Could you have saved some time and money by buying the whole truck? That's what i have found out is the best thing to do. It seems to eliminate the nickel and dime stuff, and the swap turns out looking factory with no modifications.

 

Absolutely. X2. You are going to find that the radiator for a six has the fittings on the wrong side. The perches on the frame are different. So is the wiring harness if you have a tach. On and on. Buy the truck and then sell the remainder for scrap. Or, part it out and make some money - but be warned, it takes a LOT of time to do so.