Ok, in a few weeks me and my grrandpa are pulling the engine from my great-grandfathers 74 gran torino to put in my now f'd up truck lol. just have a couple of questions, where can i get motor mounts to put the 351C into into my 76 f100. It will be replacing the 390. also, are there headers made for this swap or am i stuck with the manifolds?

 

The 351Cleveland will bolt in any place a 351Windsor was. The motor mount and bell housing bolt patterns are identical, which is also identical to the 289/302 that was OE available in your truck. Order motor mounts for the 302 and get the perches from any salvage yard. That is an easy swap. Parts are available everywhere.

The headers on the other hand maybe tougher. I couldn't find any, but just as a suggestion, the 351M/400 and the 351Cleveland have identical exhaust manifold bolt patterns. The headers for those engines MAY fit your application. Someone else on this sight will know better. Those headers are readily available and pretty cheap from a number of sources.

I just remembered the oil pan. I am 99.9% sure you can use a 351M/400 pan if the one on your Cleveland doesn't fit your truck.

Don't let anyone talk you out of this swap. 351Clevelands scare the chevy boys like no other Ford engine does. And rightfully so. It is a bada**!

 

haha, no one can talk me out of it, but im really hopin this goes smooth lol. i have another questtion, can i still use the c6 tranny? im not sure what the torino has transmission wise, but the c6 only has 300 miles on it and i hate to see it go to waste

 

From the 390? Nope, completely different bell housing bolt patterns. You can prolly sell the C6 for decent money though.

Hey these are Fords were dealing with. Can't expect things to go smoothly.

That's attitude though. As Ford swaps go, yours should be fairly easy.

Check the pan on the 390. If it's front sump you should be good to go with the Torino pan. If not you're gonna have to get a 351M/400 pan.

 

Check the banners out on the top of this sight. They can help.

 

alright, but the 390 pan is front sump i think. and how would i got about swapping the tranny from the torino in with it?

 

oh, and what kind would it be?

 

Get the VIN and the info from the warranty tag on the door pillar to be sure, but it's probably an FMX, a good old tranny. Iron case, pretty rugged. I don't remember ever having any trouble with one.

Myself I wouldn't hazard a guess about the trans interchangability. All I can say is get things apart and measure. The shifting lever is prolly all wrong for your truck.

I just checked out the RockAuto sight for the first time, from the banners above. I am honestly AMAZED at the prices of the brand names offered. Moog, TRW, Motorcraft, AC-Delco, all for prices at or lower then the junk Autozone sells.

I wish I had looked earlier. I'm going there first from now on. I priced motor mounts for my truck and they are HALF the price of Autozones. Thats like getting one free. And they're better quality.

This is NOT a paid endorsement. I just know a good deal when I see one. And I'm beginning to really dislike getting shafted by Autozone's junk.

 

I agree its probably a Fmx. I have ordered a lot of stuff from rockauto and even sent stuff back once when it wasn't the correct part. They paid for shipping. I am not a paid guy either just what I happened to me.

 

FWIW: I once pulled a 400 out of a 1974 Cougar and put it into my 1978 F150 and the oil pan fit fine, so I'm thinking that the 351C will be OK too.

 

ok, one more thing, what other options do i have for a transmission? i would like to convert the truck over to a 4 or 5 speed and i noticed that the 351c is supposed to use the same tranny as a 302/289 so could i get a transmission form like an 80's 302 and bolt it up and it actually work?

 

Yes the 302 trans will bolt to the Cleveland, BUT, (there's allways a but!) the clutch actuation is gonna be an issue. Your truck uses a mechanical linkage sytem and the 80's 5 speeds use cable or hydraulics. I've never seen or heard of anyone going from cable/hydraulics to linkage. But if there's a will, there's a way. Someone on this site may have done it allready.

Another but, the inexpensive T-5s won't take the power of a 351C in a truck without babying or serious upgrades.

If you don't need an overdrive though, the Top-loader 4 speed can be made to work with the mechanical linkage. However, Top-loader 4 speeds are usually expensive. Good transmissions though, probably what you want. Or the truck trans that was OE available in your truck will bolt in if you aren't too concerned with speed shifting. That option can be pretty cheap, and very hard to break depending on which one you get. And plenty of fun. An NP 435 or a T-18.

There were overdrive 4 speeds with mechanical clutches available for your truck, but there on the weak side. And hard to find anymore.

 

I just put a 351 Cleveland in my 78 ford f150 4x4 instead of the 400, I had to do a lot of figuring to get it in there and still make everything look original, I also bought a 78 f100 2 wheel drive and it also had a cleveland in it out of a 72 mustang, so it can be done, the f100 had a c4 in it, but for my project I am keeping the np435 manual, the two wheel drive truck had the front sump oil pan on it and it really made a mess on the crossmember when changin the oil and the bottom of the oil pan was very close to touching the cross member, so I would definitely try and find a rear sump oil pan for a 351M or 400 they both will work but be sure and get the pickup tube and the main cap bolt with the stud in it to attach the pickup tube, I used a bellhousing from a 302, and I used 302 motor mounts, also the specific upper radiator hose for a cleveland will be too short I had to use a universal radiator hose for the upper one, also the 78 2 wheel drive the cleveland set way back in the engine bay there was hardly any clearance between the passenger side valve cover and the firewall, the truck originally came with a 302 in it so if i were going to put the cleveland in a 2 wheel drive I would find a donor truck that has a 351m or 400 and take the oil pan, pickup tube, engine mounts from the 351m or 400 ( the ones bolted to the frame) not the ones bolted to the engine, and get 302 engine mounts from the part store, find a small block 302 bellhousing and decide on which manual transmission you want just my two cents but I am very happy and glad I installed the cleveland very good motor and most people think it is a 400 because it looks original, but if the torino has the 4V heads get ready because it is goin to be one sweet fast ride

 

Good thought with the oil pan. It does make a big mess.

Don't agree with using the 351M/400 perches though. The 302 perches put the 351 in the factory engineered location.

 

Also if you are going to get the rear sump oil pan you need the dipstick too. The dipstick hole at the front of the cleveland will not register, unless the find a longer dipstick and fill the oil with the exact amount of oil and mark the dipstick, I put a miloden dipstick in mine thinking it would work but it does not read, but I left it in there for looks and to plug the hole and used the dipstick from the 400, as far as the perches I did not do any investigating on the truck I bought with the cleveland all I know is it set way back in the engine bay and I could barely get the trans dipstick out from between the engine and A/C mounted on the firewall, I would probably try and use the exhaust manifolds from the torino because of clearance issues the deck height difference is not much but it makes a difference, no one makes header for a cleveland in a truck setup. i wanted to run headers on my 4x4 and ordered a set for a 400 and the left side header would not fit without almost collapsing the forward header tube, so i went to the junkyard and got a set of exhaust manifolds, they will make it easier to change the starter if need be, the 2 wheel drive had a set of headers on it but the left side header forward tube had been bent to make them fit, they looked to be from a mustang but not for sure, i did not like the installation in the two wheel drive I think I would have done it better