351w 1st gen swap info...

[snowboard15]

Here's a thread im starting to try and gather together information for doing a 351w swap into a 1st gen 4door XLT. My explorer has 155,000 miles on it now and my #2 cylinder now has zero compression and i think the engine is just goin downhill. So now its time to get serious about the 351w swap. Im trying to find out the details of what needs to be done and what needs to be replaced and what options there are to replace what needs to be replaced. Hopefully this can be a more informative thread than other engine swap threads because im trying to get some serious information and im sure there are many other guys taht wanna get some information about this swap too. So if anyone can lend some help and advice it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!

 

[351wExplorer]

i did it

 

[410Fortune]

first you have to choose what year and 351 you want to use, find your donor.
Trhis will determine how much work it is to use.
Carbed? EFI?

 

[Rhett]

The thing I would recommend is to buy the entire donor vehicle, and put the two vehicles side-by-side. Don't just buy the engine and trans, because there will always be parts you WISH you had from the original car, once you've got the swap 50% done. Also, with the donor right next to you, you can see how everything was fitted together (and photograph it for later reference).

What vehicle are you thinking about using as a donor?

 

[351wExplorer]

Are you still considering the swap

 

[Aikidoka]

Are you still considering the swap

Did you do any kind of write up on things that must be altered or modded for that swap?

 

[351wExplorer]

no i didnt do any write up or anything like that... to be honest it isnt much different then a 302 swap. look for a write up on a 302 swap, and then after looking through that, send me a message about anything else you may want to know about it

 

[WickedWindsor]

In my case, I did a 2" body lift. I couldn't get the engine any lower because of the oil pan clearance(interference) with the engine crossmember. There is about 1.5 to 2" clearance between the hood and intake. Also, It makes life much easier with more clearance around the firewall and engine/tranny.

The expense comes into play when you start buying a new intake (EFI), exhaust setup and Mass Air computer/wiring, tranny case adaptor etc.

The fabrication is the easy part, dishing out all the cash is the fastest part.

If I did it again, I would definitely have the donor car setup. I knew it was going to be expensive with the way I went (351, SEFI, Mass Air, Mustang induction) but I wanted something challenging and rare! My neighbors still don't understand a project like this. Most of them probably pay people to replace their windshield wipers for them!