I just recently purchased a 1977 Ford Bronco. The truck did not have a engine when I purchased the vehicle , it was originally a 302 V8. I decided to upgrade the engine to a 351w. The original owner gave me the remaining parts to the engine he had: flywheel, starter, alternator, radiator, transmission, transfer case, all pulleys and etc.

My questions are, are there any complications that might come up with switching to a larger engine and can I used all the parts the previous owner gave me?

I would really like to minimize all the gotchas etc.

Here's a pic of the Bronco.

 

351W gotchas... these motors IMHO are really good in a bronc... here are the probems...

1. hood clearance.... this will kill you with these things every time.... Other than stock intake on a 302 the only intake that will clear the stock hood with stock body mounts is the first notch edelbrock 4bbl intake... anything taller will hit... by the time you get the wing nut on the air cleaner stud you may find that the wind nut hits the stock hood brace... you can either relocate the brace... cant really remove it... or better run two... outboard... if you can weld its pretty simple... that buys you 7/8" of an inch..... with a 351w.... its still not enough...

The next cheapest step is the pop rivet on fiberglass hood scoop with two braces... it works for a 351w.... or one step up is the 400 buck fiberglass hood...

Then you have the 1" or 2" or 3" body lift... but that kinda opens the can of worms... because a lot of the time you need to weld to weld in big washers to fix the rusted out factory holes in the body mount locations.... still the body lift is not cheap.... you have gas filler necks, wiring harness, clutch linkage, out linkage, shifter, column, radiator, brake lines... what I am sayin is you end up spending as much as the hood to do it....

2. throttle linkage: increase height of the engine may cause trouble with the throttle linkage and you may find yourself needing to create a custom bent link bar...

I did my 351W swap in my rig with the 2" body lift.... I used a borgeson lower shaft between the stock column and then box... ss braided brake lines extended... new longer tank filler rubber, and welded spacers to the non stock gas tank as spacers....

I dont run a hood on this thing... it has a manual.... I cut up and heater/bent the AA shifter thing for their toploader conversion for a shifter.... headers are hookers and they work.... but again they may hit with a stock body mount setup.... and I adjusted the radiator... Also I have the tall valvecovers to clear rollers... so I had to adjust the throttle linkage...

Most important.... make sure the flywheel is balanced for the engine... 351w used a 28 oz balancer... later 302 used 50.... Start by putting the 351w in the chassis and then start connecting stuff up and when you encounter a problem... you just work though it..

 

On the throttle linkage... I mean to say... had to remember here itz been a while... I wrapped the area that is held in the plastic bushing with a cold wet rag and heated the arm that the link bar attaches to to bend it up or over, or both to clear valve covers... with torch

Also... my 351W rig has manual brakes... I think the 351w will hit the stock power booster without a body lift...

space under the hood of a bronco is a hot commodity

Also you need the 164t flywheel and 164t starter... or truck flywheel...

Hope this helps...

 

"...flywheel, starter, alternator, radiator, transmission, transfer case, all pulleys and etc..."

I believe all you've listed will wrk (not sure bout the "and etc" you've listed). What's the problem w/the '77 302? Why is it being discarded? (so can c what exactly IS useable from that engine). 240/250/289/300/302/351 (not sure re 351c v 351w) are all from the same 'family' - ford's word for small block/big block.

 

Boba Fett, thanks for the input. The bronco does have a 3" lift which will take care of many of the issues. Like you said I think its just a matter of puttng the 351w in and work around all the problems for there.

 

If it's a truck engine it will B harder than the car - see Boba's #1) point (Plenum hits).

"...The bronco does have a 3" lift..."
If a BL I believe there will B no hood clear. prob.

Some of the folks that hit Baja each Nov. use just what you'll end up w/as "pre-runners" down there (road side mechanics, tire & gasoline suppliers, etc).

 

Nice Bronco