Ok i have a 1995 Ford F150 Supercab 4x4 with a 302 v8 and automatic transmission. my question s this. I have the chance to get a 1978 400 v8 that supposedly has headers,cam, roller rockers and maybe a few other modifications. Will this motor fit in my truck and will it mount up to my transmission. I would also like to know how much an engine like this is worth. Supposedly it ran 10 years ago when the guy drove it into his garage and it hasn't moved since? any information would be greatly apreciated.

 

the bellhousing will not match up you would need the bellhousing that fits a 351m/400/460 from the years when the 400 was produced probably have some other stuff to modify (motor mounts, etc) just wanted to throw the bellhousing issue out right from the start

 

It would probably be more work that it is worth to do the swap. If you are dead set on a bigger engine, a 351W would be a much friendlier swap.

 

or a PAW 418W stroker real nice motor, you have mass air? obviously you do , its a'95 5.0 ROLLER ...it would be rare not too. I'd do it.

 

It will physically fit, but like the others said, you will need a new tranny. As to what it's worth, it's basically worthless because it's been sitting for so long. If an engine hasn't been used in a long time, the seals can dry out and leak when you try to run it. Rings can rust in place, etc. All kinds of bad things can happen to a motor when it's been idle for that long.

 

If an engine has been sitting that long, its likely you'll have to tear it apart and freshen it with a gasket set and seals at a minimum but a 400M is not a bad engine at all, they are nice and torquey. Since you have a 92-96 body style, you can go find yourself a EA0D automatic with the big-block bell housing and put it into your truck along with the engine. The connectors will plug in so its just a matter of finding a good transmission that's complete.

Note that the 400M is not fuel injected, like your truck, so you're going to either have to convert it to EFI or dump the EFI in your truck completely, which makes the swap that much more complicated. Both are doable, however you have to be careful not to disable the ABS in the process.

If you live in geography that requires emissions testing now or in the future, converting the 400M to EFI is a must-do. And this in and of itself isn't difficult, its just not cheap.

If you want to do this yourself, I'd be happy to tell you how to do so, but know up front it's not a 1/2 day project. I converted a 400M to EFI before, it took me four weekends to get it mechanically setup for the ford EFI bits. It's running in my friend's 96 F250 extended cab at the moment.

 

have you found anyone to make a intake that will fit the 4V heads to the 400M?

 

If you want to keep the efi set up you can you just wont be able to run the thermactor crap Intake adapters theres some cost to them but you can run the 302 intake, you could run the thermactor piping by removing the plugs in the back of the heads but only thing that does is for emissions. If you have to go into the engine and roller is another thing you want unlike a chevy the non roller fords can easily be converted to roller comp cams sells a kit for around $45 lifters ford racing $120 custom pushrods will get you, and for a cam thats roller for a street vehicle I would call up cam craft he can set you up with what you want.

Curtis

 

the amount of money and headache you will spend in installing a 400M will be more than installing a 330 stroker (302 block), or you can goto a 418/420W (351W block). which for the time and money would be your best bet. I have BOTH engines a 400M(4v Heads), and a 427W stroker (351w block). the best thing about the stroker is that you get to retain all of your OEM equipment etc... and it LQQKs stock!!! Go here and order you a catalog http://www.pawinc.com/

 

I don't know of anyone offhand who makes intakes for the 400M, but converting it to EFI isn't terribly difficult. Just time consuming and depending on what machinery you have access to, will determine how much you have to outsource.

We made the bungs ourselves out of aluminum round stock, however VW sells pre-made threaded bungs that might be easier to install into the intake. Fuel rails you'l have to make, and all it is is four short aluminum tubes soldered, brazed or welded to a longer perpendicular tube, which is the actual fuel rail. Then drill down the center of the shorter aluminum tubes into the main rail, avoiding penetration out the other side. Since the tubes are round, you use a same-diameter bi-metal hole saw in your drill press to make round cuts on the short pieces, so they mate cleanly to the main rail. We used a oxy/acl jewelers torch with a product called www.durafix.com. Worked very well. We also used that "solder" for the homemade bungs.

The 400M aluminum intake he had was very close to the 460 EFI intake as far as shape and dimension, I don't recall what it was but the 460 gooseneck bolted right to it, so we used that piece, with the 460 EFI throttle body, and IAC motor. Solved 2/3 of the problems right there. Nice when things bolt up.

The rest of the EFI job was adding sensors, grafting a TFI module to the dizzy, and going from there. Wasn't all that bad, just took a while to figure out each piece one at a time. We had some problems with the TFI module and the original 400M distributor, so my friend picked up an aftermarket distributor with an HEI head, and we spliced that in no problem.

 

i think the 400 & 460 DIST are interchangeable

 

Taking that statement one step farther, if you live in an area that either has California emissions standards (several states now do) or live in an area that will have these in the future, this swap is a no-no. You can't swap an older block into a newer truck and ever expect it to pass emissions. It doesn't matter if it burns cleaner than a hybrid, if it's older, it will fail.

My buddy had a '78 toyota landcruiser that he couldn't get to pass emissions. It passed the sniffer with flying colors, but someone had done a motor swap - they put a Chevy 305 into it. They'd taken the motor from a corvette, and by looking at the block numbers, California determined that corvettes of that year with that motor only came with automatics - and my buddy's cruiser was a four speed.

So it failed automatically. That's the kind of logic (and I use the term loosely) that the bureaucrats use when making decisions.

 

Valid point AndyM, and it requires a bit of research.

When I lived in CT, who adopted Cali emissions standards, never opened the hood unless the vehicle failed emissions. I squeeked a few interesting vehicles through no problem, because I tested emissions first.

 

yes the motor will fit PHYSICALLY! NO it will not mount to your trans... These engines are'nt worth very much. they were available in most of your full size cars& trucks FORD made in the '70's. Especially the later 70 engines were SMOG PUMPS from about 74 on up. the later 70 engines have better block castings but the heads are worthless you'll have to go back to 70, 71, 72 for the good 2v heads. So i would highly recommend you not doing it stick with the same engine 302/ 351 you'll be better off... MY $.02...
If you are fixed on going bigger a stroker is the EASIEST way to go. BTW, a 427w,420w,418w,408w stroker has the same crank as you buddy's 400m!