this is my second bronco. my first was a 76' w/ a 302. this one is a 68' w/ a 351w. there doesn't seem to be much of a power gain w/ the extra cubes and theres other issues like air cleaner clearence and my water pump intlet points the wrong way for my radiator. i have a 3 foot hose that goes from my water pump across the radiator to the bottom radiator port. is there a different timing chain cover that i could use to get my water ports on the correct side?

 

You may just need to swap to a Bronco 302 water pump, depending on which front cover you have. Or you will need the complete front cover assembly and water pump for a Bronco 302.

Jason

 

are the front covers interchangable? if it's as simple as changing water pumps that would be great.

 

I **think** the timing covers are the same with the exception of many cars had a oil dipstick in the cover. This could be removed and plugged. This should be the only difference.

You should be able to change out the water pump only.
The Bronco had a passenger side inlet. There was a car that shared this same waterpump. I can't remember the model though. A parts store should be able to look it up for you. 302 pump bolts up to 351W.
http://broncograveyard.com/bronco/i-...ump__66-77.htm

While your checking out the engine, make sure you have a dual sump oil pan for the trucks. If you have a car pan, you can starve the engine for oil while on steep slopes.

 

I forgot, the 351 does use a different bypass hose than his little brother due to the taller deck height of the 351w.

 

you can swap just the water pumps as the covers are the same. the only way they would be differant is if it is a late model cover with the short non-v belt water pump

 

A stock 351 will put out good torq compared to a stock 302.
A good 302 will be about even with a dog of a 351.
A well built 351 will smoke the tires at will ,twist stock 28 spline axels off at the flange and run circles around the stock Bronco 302! Rebuilding costs should be about the same.

 

ROFLMAO... no gain from a 302 to 351? Must be a 200K + mile 351.

I had a mildly built 351W in my 71. My buddy had a 347 Stroker (BUILD 302) in his 69. I could SMOKE his Bronco any given day. Both were estimated @ or around 320 HP. But, my torque OWNED the 347 Stroker. And, he was geared and locked, I was still running 3.50 open on larger tires. He had NO CHANCE against my Bronco.

Do yourself a favor, get an aftermarket radiator. Aluminum preferrably. Will be MUCH better in the long run then swapping in all the crap you'd have to swap just to use your older less reliable, less efficient radiator anyways.

 

i don't know much about this bronco or motor. i just got it. it doesn't use oil and seems to run good. i may be having an issue w/ carb set up though. it has an edelbrock 1406 on it. i added the off road needles and seats, a .092 primary and .089 secondary w/ a .065x/.047 metering rod. w/ the stock set up it was way too rich. i'm in wyoming at about 5,200 feet and do most of my wheeling at about 7,500 to 8,000 feet above sea level. i do have the 3.50 open diffs for now. that will change soon. my 76 bronco had a decent 302 and had locked 4.11's in it. maybe thats the reason i don't feel i have much more power than the old one. thanks for your input. any advice is always appreciated.

 

Having the radiator ports in the stock location will save a lot of headaches and make for a cleaner installation. If you decide on upgrading the radiator down the road, then it is a off the shelf part.
I would recommend a quality aluminum replacement, but if you run a manual trans and the engine is stock or mildly built you can get by with the stock 3 core for a while.

There's a lot more to the 302 vs 351 debate then "mine will beat my buddies".
Gearing, tire size and type, traction, weight, how the engines are built, transmissions, induction, etc all factor in.
Before I changed the gears in mine, I made one last trip to the dunes. Other than the stroker W's and really stout Windsors, there wasn't many that I couldn't out run on the beach drag strip (with a 150K mile SEFI 5.0, 3.50's, 35's and a 4 spd.) I would start out in 3rd low, run it up to about 5500, grab 4th and pull all the way to the rev limiter. I could run high range, but the shift from 2nd to 3rd is slow with the 435. I'm not saying mine is the fastest thing around, but on that day, I had the perfect combination. With lower gears, it will still hold its own, but it gets to the top end much faster now (almost 3000 rpm at 65 mph)

Generally, the Windsor has a low end advantage over the 289/302. But you can get more RPM's and quicker with the small block due to journal size, rod length and stroke.

Jason

 

Are you refering to Coos Bay?
Been there once. What a good time!!!

 

Yeah. It's only a couple hours away. I haven't taken my Bronco over there in a few years tho. Been riding quads lately.
Went to Sand Lake 5 years ago for SOB which was a lot of fun. Not as much area to roam, but lots of Broncos. Every time I plan to go again, something comes up. "Maybe next year" has become a annual tradition

Jason