Does anyone know if there are kits available for swapping out an inline 6 for a v8? Including engine mounting brackets, any needed adaptors, etc.

 

I'm sure there are, but if you hve not done this type of mod before you really are better of selling the current truck and buying a V-8 F150.

There are so many things to account for, out sourcing all of them will take more time and money than you realize.

At best you'll get the swap done, but what about the exahust, transmission, rear end, and suspension changes just to name a few items that may need addressing (depending on your choice of V-8)

At worse, the swap will go badly leaving you without a running truck and lots of money.

If this isn't your only vehicle and you have the time and money - go for it and keep us posted.

Jerry

 

you'll need to the engine mount towers on the frame. you can find them at the junk yard and cut them out. but the I6 and the 302 bell housing are the same bolt pattern. do not swap flywheels, thay are balenced differently

 

There is a lot of details to address when doing this kind of swap. The bellhousing bolt pattern is the same for an I6, a 302, and a 351W. Search past threads on this forum about swaps from 6 to 8, or 8 to 6. There are many, and I have awnsered most of them, describing the main considerations.

 

I'm in the process of preforming this swap as we speak, it's not overly hard, you just need frame stands, engine mounts, engine and all accessories, throttle cable, radiator, and fan, and wiring harness to go with it, other than that it's straight forward, as for exhaust, you can go 2 ways, get a factory Y pipe and adapt it to your existing exhaust, and or get a new exhaust system made up
oh yeah and the flywheel/flexplate is different, the clutch is the same tho,

 

So....basically, if one is doing a V8 swap and HAS an Auto Transmission already, the MAJOR parts to get are the engine stands/mounts and an exhaust system correct ??

My buddy is trying to talk me into swapping my ILL 300ci (collapsed lifter and NO Power) for a 351W. I'm pondering it...

 

engine stands, mounts, exhaust system, throttle cable, radiator and shroud, cooling fan, engine wiring harness (an asset), flexplate (for auto), downshift linkage, that's all I can think of right now, I'll let you know tomorrow, because that is when I'm doing the swap, the engine is all completed, and resealed

 

Just a quick note, I have done the swap, it took me 5 1/2 hours to pull the 6 out and to drop in the 8, I had to do some modifications to some brackets and exhaust, but other than that, she was a straight forward exchnge

 

Hey i_alone,

Could you expand on your experience a little bit for us ??

 

what are you looking for in the experience? over all it was a straight swap, engine for engine, I had to slightly modify the drivers side frame stand a slight bit, there was one rivit that I didn't want to cut off, and it was right on the end of the stand so I ground that little peice out,



and also I have a mechanical linkage on mine so I had to get the bracket that mounts the equalizer bar to the motor (no pic of that) , I had to do some slight modifications to that too to get it to bolt up.

the frame stands themself were fairly easy with exception of that one corner, just unbolt the old 6 cyl stands and bolt in the 8, the throttle cable was the same, unbolt the old one and bolt in the new, my p/s pump transfered over from the 6 to the 8, had the same mounting bracket on both engnes, and same with the alternator, I got the heavy duty cooling radiator and shroud, all I had to do was move one clip over a bit and it fit right in, I got the wiring harness off of the 8 cyl engine, so it properly grounded the factory tach right at the harness to make it work for the 8 cyl

6 cyl frame stands


8 cyl frame stands


out with the 6 cyl


and in with the 8


oh yeah and the exhaust, I got a Y pipe with the engine, so all I did is at the end of the Y, I adapted with a 2 1/4 ID to 2 1/2 ID adapter to my existing exhaust system (which consists of some 2 1/2" straight pipe and a flowmaster)





p.s. let me know if you need some more pics of the setup

 

Thanks Tom! Great pics!

I didn't realize there was such a big difference in the engine stands. The pics helped alot!

BTW, is that a 302 or 351 you dropped in it ??

What did you do with the 300 ??

 

it's a 351w, I wouldn't go with a 302, if you had a 300 in there, you won't feel any difference, the windsor gives you the best bang for your buck, even with the 2 bbl carb that is on there right now, the 300 that i had in there, which is the second 300 that i had, which was crap, I traded the engine back in to the junkyard that I bought both engines from... they can re-sell it and get it back again with the buyer complaining of lifter noise and bottom end noise

 

that's what we're talking about !!! I am going to do a similar swap
except the efi engine. But of course mine isn't NEARLY as clean !!
guess I know who i'm gonna ask if I run into a jam .....

 

lol, sounds good, like I said it's pretty straight forward, just remember to get the 351w computer and wiring harness, other than that you are set

 

Instead of swapping, I put a Clifford aluminum manifold and a Holley 390 cfm carb, as recommended by Clifford and Holley, plus Clifford headers. Also 4 speed OD, 4:11 gears and Detroit Locker.
I also painted the 6 with epoxy primer and Imron. Looks sharp.

I often pull a 25' boat, and I have also pulled my boat with a 350 Chev van, 4 speed OD, 3.73 gears, and I can pull just as well, if not a little better with my 6, and get a little better mileage and way more ease of working on the 6.