Machine shop if you’re planning on building for power. Otherwise, there are plenty of builders online that offer long and short blocks for less than what a machine shop would charge. An engine swap is a one day job. Pull your old engine before the new arrive. It’s a one day job if you prep before it gets there.

 

I looked on www.carpart in your area. When I put your truck in, there are 3 different 351w's offered that year.

5.8L, VIN G (8th digit, 2BC, 8-351W), from 8501 GVW
5.8L, VIN G (8th digit, 2BC, 8-351W), thru 8500 GVW (EEC IV)
5.8L, VIN H (8th digit, 4BC, 8-351W)

Looks like a 2bbl version (the one you have?) a 2bbl version with the computer system, and a 4bbl version. Here's what came up when I picked the non-computer 2bbl. You possibly could buy one of these and get it rebuilt locally depending on the core price.

1985
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F250 5.8L, VIN G (8th digit, 2BC, 8-351W), from 8501 GVW,5.8L-99K 99,000 A MM0082 $Call M & M Auto Wrecking, LLC USA-WA(Moses-Lake) Request_Quote 509-431-8375 Request_Insurance_Quote
1984
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F250 CORE 163,068 A 7132 $Call Horseshoe Lake Auto Wrecking, Inc USA-WA(Southwest-Bremerton) Request_Quote 360-674-2515 Request_Insurance_Quote
1983
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F350 5.8L, ND2RN X 200048 $Call Barlow Auto Wrecking USA-WA(Rainier) Request_Quote 1-360-446-7800 Request_Insurance_Quote

 

I read on the internet that 1994-up 351w's had roller cams. Here's a search in your area on those. I am assuming it's the same formula as a 302. Strip all the fuel injection stuff off, put the carbed intake and carb on, and do something about the fuel pump.

1996
Engine Assembly
Ford E250 Van 5.8L RAN,A/T,FED EMISS CK AIR 250,000 C G181181 $850.02 Gundies Auto Recycling USA-WA(Seattle-Portland) Request_Quote 1-800-444-4344 Request_Insurance_Quote
1994
Engine Assembly
Ford E150 Van 351,EFI,AT,RWD,Factory 141,000 A 202229 $850 Economy Auto Parts USA-OR(Portland) Request_Quote 1-866-433-0880 Request_Insurance_Quote
1995
Engine Assembly
Ford E250 Van 5.8,AT,150-170 COMP 30LBS OILPRES X 14137 $750 North Verde Auto Salvage USA-OR(Ontario) Request_Quote 800-772-1648 Request_Insurance_Quote
1994
Engine Assembly
Ford Bronco 5.8,160-170 COMP,30LBS OILPRES X 14116 $750 North Verde Auto Salvage USA-OR(Ontario) Request_Quote 800-772-1648 Request_Insurance_Quote
1994
Engine Assembly
Ford E150 Van 5.8L,AOD,05/94,EFI,RWD X 1817E $550 B and K Auto Salvage USA-OR(La-Grande) Request_Quote 1-800-233-9640 Request_Insurance_Quote
1994
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck F350 parts/core lost a valve-0MI X 40-155 $Call Simpsons Used Parts LLC. USA-WA(Port-Angeles) Request_Quote 1-877-246-7278 Request_Insurance_Quote
1997
Engine Assembly
Ford Truck 250 HD CORE ENGINE. X 9483D $Call B and K Auto Salvage USA-OR(La-Grande) Request_Quote 1-800-233-9640 Request_Insurance_Quote
1995
Engine Assembly
Ford Bronco 5.8, CORE X 13693 $Call North Verde Auto Salvage USA-OR(Ontario) Request_Quote 800-772-1648 Request_Insurance_Quote

 

Agreed, but I'm not THAT organized. My timeframe isn't super tight. Several days or even a week is fine. I just don't want it to stretch into a month-long mess. In case of shipping delays, or damage in transit, I want to wait until the new engine is in hand before pulling the old one. Even with very low compression on two cylinders, the truck is still quite driveable in the meantime. I could just imagine a delivery problem and my new engine winds up in the hauler's local warehouse, but I'd have no reasonable means (read: cheap) to get it.

I ran into a similar problem when I had to replace a door on my car. Some mouth-breather (exactly who did it isn't important...) clipped a big decorative boulder in a parking lot and demolished one of the doors. I found a decent replacement at a wrecking yard in Texas and had it shipped to Oregon. Shipping a big crate halfway across the country went fine except for the last 20 miles. The final delivery turned into quite the fiasco, but luckily I had my truck available to pick up the crate once I convinced them to hold it locally at their warehouse.

 

Yes I have, but as lazy as I am, I don't want to have to do this job twice.

I visited my local NAPA yesterday, as we get a hefty discount through my employer. But alas, they didn't have any remans in the pipeline.

I did find what appears to be a good deal at S&J Engines in Spokane:

https://www.sandjengines.com/product...Ford~F-250~837


With tailgate delivery, the total was just under $1800. I plan to call them Monday to check all the details.

Is anybody familiar with the differences between the regular 2bbl (VIN G) and Hi-Output 4bbl (VIN H) versions of the 351W? Obviously the carb and intake manifold will be different, but are the internal details the same, such as heads, cam, compression ratio, etc.? The listing at their website seems to imply the long block is the same for either version, but there's one line near the bottom saying 4bbl only.

 

Not that you're looking for any consolation but your experiences sound just like what I deal with every time I dive into a "big" job.

 

Have you thought about the support items you'll need, such as oil and filters, coolant, any other fluids...?

 

Yes. I've got one of these on order to speed things up at my local auto parts store:

 

I've always understood the differences to be carb, intake & camshaft. I don't think there was a c/r increase.

 

I have heard the camshaft is slightly different also, the rebuilder probably doesn't worry about it. A long block will not come with the intake, so you can put your 2bbl setup on the 4bbl engine and keep on going.

 

A bit of good news. During some Mandatory Family Fun (MFF) yesterday, I got to talking with my wife's uncle. He runs a repair shop and says they have used this outfit on many occasions with excellent results. He even said he is planning to use them for his personal project, a '59 Apache. It was nice to get a vote of confidence from someone I trust. I was a bit unsure as they came in several hundred dollars cheaper than other vendors.

Been busy with various other crises around the house today. Planning to call tomorrow (and hopefully place my order) when I'm back at work for some peace and quiet.

 

A new problem cropped up yesterday and today. Now I've already decided it's time to replace the engine with a reman, and don't want to go overboard with any troubleshooting. But I am perplexed about a most recent problem and am curious if anybody has any ideas what happened.

The engine has two adjacent cylinders with very low compression, 30# or so. I confirmed this with three separate tests. All other cylinders were okay, around 120-140#. I have not done a leakdown test as the poor engine is old and tired. I have no intention to fix the compression issue as it is time to just replace the whole thing. I've been milking this engine and need to stop pushing my luck. The only symptom was a small loss of power and a light stumble below 2000 RPM. All seemed good at higher speeds, surprisingly.

I plan to only use the truck very sparingly until I can get all my ducks in a row for an engine swap. Once again, it ran very well. Yesterday I had to make a run about 40 miles away. Truck ran very well there, and several hours later, it was fine most of the way back. I stopped for gas and after starting up again (5 minutes?), power was way down for several miles. It slowly got better, but not back to the previous level for the last few miles home. The problem began immediately after starting, before I even pulled out of the gas station, so I don't think I got bad fuel, as it would take a minute or so to consume the previous batch in the carb bowl.

i had to make a shorter run this morning, about ten miles away. Once again, you'd barely know anything was wrong with the engine. Stopped for about an hour and all was groovy for most of the return trip. I made a second stop, maybe 5 minutes, and all was still good. But then I made a third stop, roughly 20 minutes, and I didn't think I was going to get home. Power was WAY down, and the truck could barely get out of its own way. I've got a fuel pressure gauge and it was normal at all times.

The engine would barely rev up unloaded in neutral. I thought it might have been some heat-related issue with the fuel, so I pulled over and revved the engine for a few minutes to be sure I had cool fresh fuel in the carb. No change. I was able to limp this last mile home, but it was dicey.

I let the truck sit about an hour and once again, all was good. Any ideas what in the world is happening? I'm still planning to replace the engine, but am puzzled what is going on. I'm especially confused about the intermittent behavior. No signs of overheating or rich exhaust smell. Fuel and oil pressure good, too.

 

IGN box?
If you have a spare pop it in and see if it dose the same thing?
I am thinking the heat and it being off for a bit the retard timing is staying on when you re-start it and why no power.
I say this as the boxes have shown, in posts, some crazy things happening that you would not thing would be the IGN box.

Like they say they work or dont but we know they can heat up and stop making spark. Let it cool off and you got spark?
If the work or dont it would not start working again when it cools off.
Think there was one with a miss at different times. Got around to changing the IGN box as everything else was changed and miss went away.

The only other thing would be the pick up in the dist. but the box is easy to change first.
Also from the sound if it cools down it runs normal so testing would be hard I think.

I dont see it being a fuel issue from what you posted.
Dave ----

 

Agree ^ ING box.

 

Thanks, I do have a spare and I will try that.

Do you think driving around on 6 cylinders could have overstressed the ign box? I'm totally perplexed why this new problem suddenly reared its ugly head.

As a bit of history, I did replace the distributor about a month ago:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...tator-gap.html

Maybe the new pickup coil has gone bad?

I also got to wondering if carb icing could have been present. I have the heated intake tube from the exhaust manifold, and have verified its operation with a thermometer inside the air cleaner housing. But maybe low vacuum (from the 2 dead cylinders) caused the actuator to relax and shut off the warm air? Conditions were ripe for icing, approximately 45 degrees and high humidity.