351 Windsor Swap

Yeah, that's how I feel about it. Really I'm reserving judgement for when it's actually finished. Maybe I'll end up saying it was worth it. The amount of work I've put into it has certainly been easier for me to contribute than the cost of a stroker would have been.

 

I dont know what kind of gears you have in the car but...I think you will pleased with the effortless torque your going to notice... As for being unskilled at doing such things Drew...You need to give yourself more credit.

 

3.0:1. I don't know if it's gonna stay that way or not. Before this swap I was pretty sure I wanted to go to 3.5ish, but with the added torque it may not be a big deal anymore. I do know I'm gonna want some form of a locker though, be it a Trac-Lock, Powertrax, whatever...

I guess what I really meant by the "unskilled" comment is just, not knowing how to do something has never slowed me down, ever. That attitude is both a gift and a curse. Usually it works out ok. I'm glad I didn't fully know what I was getting into, honestly, else I might not have done it...

 

half the battle with a project like this is just jumping in. After the first cut, it seems to get easier.

Don't be so self-critical, just think of all the guys that are scared to death of doing something like what you will proudly wear the battle scars from.




Now get it finished, and make the home owner's association wet themselves!

 

Man, I'm sure they're already shaking with rage, just typing up all kinds of letters and furiously lickin' stamps right now...


It might be finished this weekend. I'll be working on it after work this week, will probably be able to get everything done but the exhaust. I'll tackle that Saturday and/or Sunday. Just depends on how much bending needs to happen, and whether I end up giving up and driving it to an exhaust shop.

 

So, day before yesterday I was filthy, exhausted and frustrated. Yesterday I was sleep deprived and in pain. But today I'm finally in a better mood about it. I walked past the car on the way out and just grinned. There's a damn 351w sitting between my fenders with headers on it, it's gonna have power steering, power brakes and air conditioning by the end of the week, and all I have to do is hurry up and turn some bolts. That's really pretty awesome. Worth it? Eh, yeah I'm thinking probably so.

 

at the risk of Gitmo...lol. If i had to do it all over, I would have opted for the 351W and "livened it up" to produce my HP numbers for waaaay less money. I took the 302 stroker route, and its great, but again... if i had sprung the money into a 427 stroker 351W base i'd be much happier. So enjoy man, its gonna be fun all the way around...

 

So my collectors are kinda pointing right at the corners of the crossbar on the body that the transmission crossmember bolts to. The flares that bolt up to the collectors won't clear it. Is it ok to notch those areas, or do I need to find some way around it? Like cutting the flange off the collectors and putting some kind of an S-bend in there?

 

Couldn't you just cut the collectors off at a slight angle, rotate them 180* and weld them back on pointing more inboard?

 

Well Monday night and last night I just didn't have the energy to put the transmission back in. Tonight I was ready to go though. Got it up in the air, got under it and looked everything over, then I noticed there's still a pilot bearing in the crankshaft! Can't believe I didn't notice that before. I'm glad I saw it before I had the trans raised and started trying to bolt up the torque converter, but I don't have a tool to remove it, so that's the end of progress for tonight... Will borrow a puller and get back into it in the next day or two I guess.

That's a reasonable idea, will consider it next time I get under there and look...

 

ever try...packing it with grease???

 

No but I've seen that trick before and I would've tried it tonight if I had enough grease. Being that I'd have to go to the parts store to get grease, I might as well just use their tool.

 

Use white bread it works better then grease

 

I think I'm gonna need a pipe bender, unless I find out O'Reilly or Napa, etc. happens to have exactly the bends I need in 2.5" pipe. Unlikely. Anyone know of a parts store chain or other type place such as Lowe's or Depot that will loan or rent me a pipe bender? Hell for that matter, where should I buy the pipe? O'Reilly has 2.5" pipe in 18" sections, but I'd rather not have to stitch it together like that...

 

I buy a couple of mandrel bends from jegs, and cut them where I need them, and weld them up. Another option is the local muffler shop, they will usualy bend a piece of scrap for you for just a couple of bucks.