Engine swap
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 849
Likes: 14
From: Fayetteville, NC
Engine swap
How hard would it be to swap in a 351W in place of the old 302 in my 70 model F100? Are the motor mounts the same or am I going to need different ones? I just purchased a 69' 351W and plan on retiring the stock 302 that's in there now.
Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 12,170
Likes: 5
From: The hills of No. Calif.
Absolutely. The one thing that may cause a little difficulty is the exhaust. The 351W is wider than the 302 so the manifolds are futher apart. If you have headers or duals off the stock manifolds they may bolt right up with only slight repositioning of the exhuast, but if you have the original Y-pipe into a single exhaust you'll have to cut something loose and spread the manifolds apart, maybe weld in a new piece. Be a good opportunity to upgrade the exhaust if needed.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,276
Likes: 7
From: NE Tennessee
Also with the wider engine the front accessory mounts may be different and the belt lengths will change. Usually can be fixed with a little rigging. (Where the front brackets attach to the water pump) Also distributors are different if it didn't come with your motor. Oil pans are different if you need to change yours for the truck chassis. Good luck on this.
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,302
Likes: 0
From: Madison, SD
I've got a 351W in my '71, only thing close to a probelm is the passenger side exhaust manifold is a bit close to the frame, takes a good bend to get around it though, no big problem.... Pics in my gallery if you're interested.
