Hi everyone! ..im needing help ive come up to a stop on my project and really need some help. im fixing up an old 82 full size bronco automatic, all original as far as i can tell except the stock 302 engine it came with locked up and i was able to get a hold of a 351C out of a 78 bronco fully rebuilt. my question is, can this motor install inside my 82 with relative ease? or will i have to change up alot of things? any help will be much appreciated!! thanks !

 

If it came out of a bronco it is a 351m and the tranny or bellhousing will not interchange.

 

could you tell me if there is such a possibility of using an adapter plate?? how and what can i do to make this engine work in this bronco?? please anyhelp would be great thanks!

 

Just find the appropriate trans and install in your bronco if you are dead set on having this engine in your truck. No reason to find an adapter plate as the 351M used the 460 bellhousing just not the same input shaft on manuals transmissions, but the C-6 could be used on either engine.

 

Are you sure you want a 351M in your truck? (the M is my least favorite Ford V8)

 

as american thunder mentioned this in not the motor you want to use. I suggest you sell or trade that 351m for another 302 or a 351w. both these use the same bellhousing so no tranny change needed.

the 351m is low on power and a gas hog.

 

Yes! Preferably a 94+ 351W, because it'll have a factory roller cam, and they're very good engines. That's a huge upgrade from the stock 302.

 

thanks for the advice guys, i almost made a bad decision lol well i was able to swap the 351 for a 302 out of a mid 80s continental with serpentine maybe efi. what do i have to worry about with trying to make this motor work in my bronco, of course putting my oem equipment back on it making it carbureted . any help please thanks very much guys

 

take this time to perform a cam swap. hard to say how good of a cam is in there being built for a car. also its much easier to change this out when the motor isnt in the engine bay. otherwise migrate all of your hardware from your carbed setup over.

how many miles on the motor? where you able to hear it run?

 

awesome!! i def will do a cam swap maybe just install the original cam out of the bronco onto the new engine. i was able to hear it run it, ran good it came out of a continental, milage is unknown .

 

this is kinda dumb to ask ut i dont know much about engines themselves, my 96 has a 351 and i had heard that the 302 was a better engine? and what plus doues the roller cam have?

 

That's not dumb at all.
As for my experience with small blocks; the 302 is in fact a better engine than the 351W for very high performance use. The 351W has huge main bearings, which produce a lot of friction and heat at high rpm, and the reciprocating assembly is a lot heavier than the 302s, also. So if you're building a screaming small block performer that starts making power at 4500+ rpm, then a 302 would be virtually unbeatable. But in a truck, where torque is king, a 351W is a LOT better, with its 3.5" stroke, compared to the 302's 3.0" stroke. I've built a million 302s, and I love them to death, but I really hate them in a truck.
351W will generally get better fuel mileage and perform a lot better for the heavy vehicle. A roller cam has a few big benefits over a flat tappet design; it produces less friction and will last virtually forever.(About the only thing that will kill a roller cam is catastrophic lifter failure) They're more efficient and therefore increase fuel mileage. They also make more power than a flat tappet design, even with identical duration and lift numbers, due to the fact that the roller lifter is able to follow more aggressive entrance and exit ramps of the cam lobes. This means more "area under the curve", because the valves are able to snap open almost instantly, rather than having to run up a more gradual ramp as is the case with flat tappets. If I recall, a hydraulic roller cam will make 15-18 hp more than a hydraulic flat tappet cam of the same duration and lift, and it'll do it without sacrificing any low end torque.

 

Should have kept the 351m If you were going to put a cam & timing set into it. Just throw on an Edelbrock Performer & 650 Holley. That is a very strong torque engine low rpms. The 302 will be revving like crazy IMHO...

They the 302's make nice boggers with a 2800 stall converter...

Till they break in 1/2 above 6500 rpms.

 

6500 huh!
I've had 302s with completely stock rotating assemblies turn up to 7500 (with big heads and solid cams) running for years without any issues. The older blocks are quite durable. I wouldn't be as confident of the 302 blocks produced after 1980. I've never had a 302 come apart in the 30 years since I began building motors with my older brother.

The 302 that's in my Mustang has a stock 1972 block with a 3.25" stroker crankshaft, and I've been shifting it at over 8000 rpm since I put it together in 1999.
YouTube - 1977 Mustang II 332" 530hp stroker motor throttle response
I trust that motor, even in neutral.


p.s. If you're going to go through the hassle of changing everything so the 351M bolts in, you might as well just bolt in a 460, since it's mostly the same stuff. Choosing between a 351M and a 460?? - Like they say, go big or go home! haha

 

Early high nickle blocks will hold up my 86 Bronco split in 1/2, 3200 stall with a Lunati Vodoo cam.

Mexican blocks are good too.

I like the 400 for all around performance, The 460 is nice & heavy, He already had the 400. The 302 is good for a foxbody IMHO...