1997 V8 Explorer PCM w/harness and transmission transplant in my 1977 351w F150 | Page 3 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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1997 V8 Explorer PCM w/harness and transmission transplant in my 1977 351w F150

This is my work in progress thread to my 1977 F150. I purchased the truck as a stock 2wd swaped 351w / C6 truck with a 2.72 9" rear end. The minute I bought the truck I knew I was going to swap it to EFI but it needs to be done affordable as this is going to be my run around the shop work truck. I also know overdrive is about necessary these days so that needs to be in my upgrades to gain more power and fuel economy. This truck will be a daily driver so no antique tags for it. It will need a Virginia state inspection when complete(no smog here). Here is the plan:

Engine: 351w roller block, Explorer GT40 heads (.5" head bolt holes)

Intake: Knock off PP 351w mustang intake

Fuel system: Mid 90s F150 factory rear tank setup.

Ignition: Stock Explorer coil tower ignition with modified cam pos sensor and damper dudes 28oz explorer balancer for crank trigger

Belt drive/timing cover: Factory explorer 5.0

Exhaust: Long tube summit racing headers w/o2s welded in. Truck will stay true dual with single MagnaFlow cats, probably no mufflers. (Cats required for state inspection)

Transmission: 96 Explorer 4r70w 2wd

Flexplate: Mid 80s Crown Vic LTD w/351w and AOD

Computer and Harness: 97 Explorer XDT3 pcm w/ full harness

Rear axle: 9" w/3.50 gears (eventually 4.10 or 4.11)

I posted this in the need for speed section as this applies to anyone wanting to upgrade their explorer to a 351w using stock pcm (although I don't have oil pan or header concerns). Here's a pic of when I picked it up. I've had it for a little over a year now and had it running before it came in the shop.

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I like where you're going with this! Nice!

But why you put chinese knockoff intake on classic v8 pickup. Why you no merica??
Cause 351 efi intakes aint cheep , ive been looking for one myself
 



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Dang..

Local guy on craigslist was selling a marine lower for $250. It's the same as the pricey lightning lower but it's iron instead of aluminum.

Do they have any boat bone yards in VA? May be able to find you one of those cheap.
 






I actually just sold a tubular gt40 upper I've had for awhile trying to find to find the matching lower. The lowers can't be found for under $400 and I'm not liking the iron one (even though I looked for one). I sold my upper for $420 and bought the professional products one for 1/4 of the price it would cost for a gt40 setup.

I'm trying to keep the build cheap as this will be a shop truck I put engines and junk in. It's definitely still not perfect as it had a ton of rust to begin with. Total investment when finished will be under $5k which will include about $1500 in sheet metal and labor getting the body sound. I probably will just primer the bare metal where it was repaired and drive it. I'm not a fan of body filler, it doesn't hold up to abuse so I'll probably let the next person finish up the purdyness and paint it if they want. I've got a light green hood, blue doors and a white tailgate so it's going to look like a true pos when done lol.
 






Right on boomin. Don't blame you at all under the circumstances. Looks Good!


EFI 351w+4r70w in a &77' is a perfect combination! :thumbsup:
 






It's looking really good !
 






The donor truck is here. All of the wiring, hvac and hopefully the steering column will be switched into the 77.

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Front core support holes were patched and finally finished painting the frame. The under side of the cab has been seem sealed, primed and undercoated. Still have to finish up the bodywork on the outside but metal work is 99% done.

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Looking like progress!
 






Nice work!
 






Excellent work, big progress there.

What are the chances that the dash width matches the F150? My friend has a similar truck about the same model, he'd like to do something with the engine too, his has a 351C-2V now.
 






Modded the radius arm crossmember and frame rail to clear passenger side header.

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Test fit with stock efi intake setup. Fuel lines fit pretty well, they are from a 95 f150.

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Excellent work, big progress there.

What are the chances that the dash width matches the F150? My friend has a similar truck about the same model, he'd like to do something with the engine too, his has a 351C-2V now.

BIG difference in dash width. F150 is 64" wide and explorer is almost 54". I'm going to hack up the entire left side of the original dash to fab in the explorer stuff but try to leave the passenger side looking factory. Probably going to use an 01+ sport gauge cluster IF I CAN'T get a 96 F150 cluster to work (very similar in size to 77 F150 but digital ODO)
 






Half way done stripping the parts truck.... literally

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Bet it can do a tire smoking donut, fairly easy right now! lol

Donuts were different with it, without the weight in the back it doesn't swing around as good. But boy did it leave some stripes down the street before I finished chopping it up......

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Poor thing...... used abused and chopped up. I got what I needed though lol

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Did you keep the axle?
 









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