I have posted here a while back and been raising some interesting question myself to myself. My truck is a 1978 F-100 and I beleive the original motor was a 300 6 cylinder in it. The former owner put a 1972 302 Mustang motor in the truck (as I was told by him) and for a while retained a three speed manual transmission shifted on the column. I had a chance to buy recently a 351 (not sure if it was an "M", a "C" or a "W") but thanks to the fine folks here and the newsgroups learned it wouldn't bolt to my bellhousing. My first question is what motors do bolt to my bellhousing? I know the motor I have currently is a older block as it has a rope rear main seal which failed and in turn began allowing the crank to hammer the mains, upon removing the oil pan and pump I found bits of hard plastic in the bottom of the pan and lodged in the pick up tube. These bits led me to believe that I was looking at peices of the timing gear which doesn't help matters any. My second question is what if I got another truck and swapped out the whole drive line what would I need off the donor truck? Thogh I am not even sure if I am keeping the truck as it is really bad shape! Thanks for any help.

Jeigh

 

The 300,302,351W share the same Engine to transmission bellhousing bolt pattern.

So those are your choices.

Does this 351 you are talking about have a Thermostat outlet on the intake manifold or does it come out of front of the block ?

 

I am not sure the guy never told me what "letter"" the 351 is, and without seeing the motor I am not sure I know after hanging out in here the other two 351's have a different bellhousing and that is fine but I know that the motor I have currently has to be at least a 302, but I doubt it is out of a Mustang as the air filter element is off to one side of the carb. Something that an old mustang fan such as myself have never seen in a mustang before and I have owned three of them! Heck as far as I know at this point the motor could be 289 as if memory serves the 289 and the 302 share the same mounting castings and should be the same bellhousing as well! But in any case I am not sure if I should just sell this thing for parts (as the body is pretty rough after years in upstate New York) or fix it.

 

Does the air cleaner look like this?



Jason

 

The air cleaner is similar to that other then it is shorter and the air horn poke out the front The borrom o fthe element chamber on mine is right on top of the valve cover.

 

You really can't ID an Engine by the air cleaner, since it quite easy to switch the air cleaner.

 

Wasn't trying to ID the engine. Just showing an example of an air cleaner assy that sounded like what he was talking about.

Jason

 

Jeigh, you need to answer our questions to determine what engine you have to, in turn guide you about what you are asking about swapping over things.

answer my question in post #2

or
Casting numbers...I need ALL the casting numbers from the block, heads & Intake.

 

OK Dennis please follow me on this... I Dunno! I do know my motor is a 302 as the VIN says the truck originally had a 300 six in it. Further I know this as the original owner told me that "he" put a 302 "Mustang" motor in the truck, but the motor is a relic and knowing the original owner who is a major "BS" artist and a cheap MF to boot it is most likely out of something like a bronco or heck could have even been an LTD for all I know. I just know that the motor is a 302 also by the emissions sticker on the valve cover as well as the sticker on the air filter (both look original to the motor). I know the transmission is the stock "three on the tree" as well as I replaced the shifter with a floor shifter recently due to bad bushings in the shifter on the column.

Now the info for the 351 is anybody's guess I haven't seen the motor to know where anything is but I know that the main 351's I have been seeing are 351M which I know won't fit my current bellhousing as it is for a 300 6 popper. When I talked to the guy I asked him for either a 300 or a 302 as I know they will fit, but he kept insiting on selling me a motor, mind you over the phone, I haven't seen or even heard run. And like I say I have a truck that the VIN tells me is originally a 300 and has the original three on the tree (The former owner told me he liked the trans and never replaced it which I do believe). The motor I do currently have has the thermosat housing on the manifold but your question was does the "351" have that, and my answer is I dunno as I haven't seen it, and I am not aware of what the motor is other then what "some guy on the phone" was trying to sell me sight unseen. I am not trying to upset anyone or even rant on wildly, but I am giving you all the info I have. I could give you casting numbers off my current motor, but at this point it would be pointless. The bearings are roasted down into the bronze (which it is amazing I able to run the thing 360 some miles during that) and I found pieces of the timing gear stuck in the pick up tube screen. All this and I have no place to build a motor without moving the truck to my work as my boss is pretty cool and without a running motor I can't even do that without a ton of money for a tow. The only other thing I can tell you is he mentioned it was from a Ford truck and most all I have seen are 351m's in them as far as the the 351 goes but if I bought it then I would most likely need a transmission unless out of some miracle it just happened to be a Windsor motor which I doubt it is, as he said it was slightly newer.

Further I know that the newer motors don't have the right timing cover case as the electric fuel pump is in the tank and my old truck needs the opening for a motor mounted mechanical pump. Which most likely was the case on this 351 but I didn't ask and should have. Plus I don't think he was looking to sell a transmission with it or at the very least a bellhousing as he kept telling me "it would drop right in" but he wouldn't give me any info on the 300 or the 302 he told me he had but (for reasons only him and god knew) he was holding on too. So you see as I finish my book I dunno is the only answer I can give, I wish I did, but I was curious to what motor mount to the bellhousing to start with. Perhaps it is a 351W it would be nice but to finish with another little problem I have is I have no real way of going to get the motor currently. My truck was the only vehicle I own and here it sits at my apartment whle I ride public transportation which major sucks!

Before I close though I do want to say thank you Dennis for your help! I know you are trying at least. It is good to know that there is a lot of people out there in this group that will at least try to understnad where you are coming from! I tried the newsgroups and got so stranger answers to seemingly easy questions that made no sense at all.

Thanks again, Jeigh

 

Jason

Yeah teh air cleaner is similar as I said but only slightly different, what is that motor in? Looks like a Bronco perhaps as I notice the vents in the underside of the hood. My air cleaner cover is shorter and the element chamber sits right over the valve cover and the intake nozzle is pointed straight to the front. This is what tips me off to it not being a Mustang motor as I know about five diffent 1972 Mustangs and they are all normally round sitting centered over the carb. I am an old Mustang fan from way back. I notice too in your picture that there is a jack and lug wrench on the inner fender so I know I am looking at a truck. I know that they air cleaners can be changed but the guy I got the truck from isn't the type to go ahead and change the mounting brackets to the head and such just to make it "look right" either. He is kind of lazy actually and is probably the worst welder I have ever seen not to mention mechanic. More or less he likes to tell ya stories making you think he knows so much but when you catch him he changes his tune fast! By the amount of rust around the brackets holding the air cleaner on I can tell it has never been off the motor, heck five of the spark plug wires look vintage to 1970 "Whatever" and I ought to see if I can't find their date codes, but just have been working crazy hours.

Thanks for your help!

Thanks again, Jeigh

 

If someone is trying to pass off a 351M for you to use, I would say "No Way" to that person and try and find a 400 instead to go tough all the trouble of the swap.

ask the 351 person about where the thermostat housing is located.
Or if it has 6 or 8 valve cover bolts.

70's Vans came with 351W's and a rear sump oil pan to boot.

80's 351W's as I just found out and you may be aware came with all sorts changes from the 70's.

Hydraulic clutchs for one,so you need to watch out for this little item.

 

It is a 70's Bronco, a 75 I believe. The V8 air cleaners for the Bronco all look pretty close to what that does with a few minor changes.

Jason