so all i have to say is that putting a 351 in a maverick/comet is alot harder then i thought i was going to be. i'm still not done yet. first off i took a hammer to the shock towers to get it to fit in. then i found out the exhaust mannifold on the drivers side was hitting the steering gear box. so i tried a set of 302 manifolds that i had. they hit too. so it was off the the summit web site to buy a set of hooker comps. they too needed a little work with a hammer to get them to fit. still not done with that. my home made z-bar is hitting a little so i have to pull it one more time so that it will fit nicely. i would deffininatly recomend putting in a 302 over a 351 alot less of a hassle. but i guess i will have a screaming car when i am done. i still need to wire in the pointless ignition system. so i have alot of work ahead of me. next time i decide to do this i need to do it to a car that is not my daily driver. i hate not having a car to drive around in.
yep. had a 351w in mine once and once was enough. unless your going to change to a mustang II or modify the shock towers i strongly (imo) recommend a 302-347.
I don't think so. I'd like to find some headers that fit a little better, but other than that, my column shifted 351W fits fine and was a relative breeze to put in. Plug changes are also very easy, the shock tower mod guarantees that.
351c is easier than a 351w swap... The exhaust points down towards the ground, rather than straight out at the towers. Big tubes and no tower issues. The problem is plug changes... Shaved towers take care of that. If I was to go through all the trouble of M2 swap, then I would skip straight to a 460. There would be far too much room to bother with a 351 of any sort. bartikus: Did you use swap headers? The regular 302 headers would need a BFH to fit. Did you shave the towers? Not a must, but helps with tune-ups. Good luck! Dave
i took a BFH to the towers to give me some more room. i really don't care how it looks right now. i want to put mustang II in there some time in the distant future. i just had this 351 sitting around and needed an engine in my car. i work full time and am going to be taking more classes this fall so the car takes a back seat in my to do things. i don't have all the funds that i would like or my car would be done by now. i bet plenty of you know the poor college student life.
Oh it should be easy. I'm new here but If I can fit a 351w(really 408 stroker) into a 1987 suzuki samurai then your car should be a piece of cake I also put a Blown 351W into a datsun 240z The suzuki came in at less then 2000lbs and ran 9.9X's. I got tired of putting V8's in imports so, I just started looking for a 71 Comet GT
Hate to disagree, but it is not easy. Agreed, you can put anything into anything, but to get the stock locations and hood clearance for a street rod, is a bit tricky in the Mav's. Have seen a lot of them done and look factory except for the tower mod's. Biggest headache is the headers, 1 5/8 primaries will fit with some slight hammer work but if you have any kind of HP in the old girl, it is like putting a restrictor plate in each exhaust port. 1 3/4 is minimum and try and get them in there easily. Spark plug change is not a problem if you get platinum/copper tip plugs. Should not have to change them for 100,000mi in normal use. For this old guy, a 331/347 will give you more bang for the buck over a fairly stock windsor, with less headaches. JMO
If you were to trust platinums for 100k miles, then you wouldn't even need to shave the towers. You have to get the right ones of you do this. Bosch is the only one I know of that uses a platinum electrode. Any others that I am aware of use a platinum disc brazed to the electrode, ground or both... When they use a disc, it is proven that the disc falls off with any sort of 'spirited' driving. Then you just have a regular plug with a much larger gap. Dave
Almost forgot to be friendly Welcome! Looks like you finally came home! I like the idea of putting Ford v8s into imports, but it is so much more fulfilling to do the whole Ford thing. At least for me. I guess if I had every Ford I ever wanted, and then still had time and money, I would like to put a 347 in a Honda. Just for giggles. I have a video I downloaded long ago of a bitty little Ford Focus with a 351w. It looked scary fun! The video is from the passenger seat... If you got the mechanical mind to get those swaps done, then a Windsor or Cleveland swap into a stock Comet is child's play. A Windsor is a slight bit harder IMO, because of the way the exhaust exits right into the tower area. However, Windsors (I am sure you know) are far cheaper and easier to build up than a Cleveland. Anyway, welcome and good luck. Hope you hang around long! Dave
If I had to do it again.... M2 swap, leave the inner fenders and fill in where the towers used to be. Then a turbocharged windsor would be right at home with plenty of space. Why not a 460? Cause a 460 weighs over 700 lbs, costs twice as much to build (compared to a windsor) and a windsor makes nearly as much power with the right combo. Besides, a turbocharged windsor engine can easily make 2000+ HP if built right....and a smooth idle stock cammed windsor can make 700+ with some boost. Talk about sleeper....
Yeah, I guess we could bench race, but the factor of seeing a monster Lima block in there is just too good. I must also disagree with your idea that a W makes as much power. Every mod, blower, TC, or nitrous kit that you can dream of for a W can be used on a 429-600 cid Lima. Usually in a larger quantity as well. Though a Lima would never be as light as a Windsor, it can still be heavily dieted just as the W can. As for cost, well, you gotta pay to play. Look in your engine bay with a W, then in an identical bay with an L, the crowd is going to focus on the L. Then turbo a W for the kind of power you quote, it will cost you more than a 600L with a healthy boost of giggle gas. Same power. Just playing devils advocate. Not flaming or fighting. I just get off on arguing the other side.
I know it's my first post here....but I'd have to argue that one. To match even the stock 351C 2V head, you're gonna spend money on the Windsor in aftermarket heads. That's at least a $1000 advantage to the C right out of the gate. I've debated the cost of the C vs. W too many times with folks; there really isn't that much difference. Compare internal engine parts prices between the two with a Summit, etc., catalog. Now, depending on where you are, Cleveland cores may be hard to come by. But around here (Tulsa area) I know where several are in junkyards. There's nothing wrong with the 351W, but I've always been a fan of the Cleveland and it gets a bad rap, too many times from folks who don't know much about it but from what they read in Hot Rod (read that Chevy Power) magazine or gossip from friends. Sorry to seem rude; it's not my intention. I don't have a Maverick (though I think they're cool - that's why I lurk here!), but I'm a die-hard Ford guy. Just had to stand up for one of my favorite engines! Now then, what is a "boomarang"?
The boomerang as we call it is the L-shaped molding directly behind the pop-open quarter panel window on 2-door Mavericks and Comets. Welcome aboard:Handshake ...now ya gotta get a Maverick
