302 to 351 swap

Discussion in 'Technical' started by julopyman, Mar 8, 2006.

  1. julopyman

    julopyman Member

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    would like info on a 351 in to my car i've heard that the shock towers need to be cut . were and how much ? headers will my 302 headers fit? would like to know before i paint and buy the 351.:rolleyes:
     
  2. igo1090

    igo1090 Member

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    need to move inner edge of towers outward as much as possible and as low as the upper a arm bolts allow. do search on here and get pictures. the headers - how close to the floor are they now? they will move up about 1 1/4" & outward about the same. if you are putting a victor jr on the 351 you night have clearance problems.
     
  3. ratio411

    ratio411 Member

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    What 351 are you thinking of?
    There were a few different 'flavors' of 351 over the years.

    Tower shaving is not a must, however it can make life easier.
    302 headers will bolt to a 351w head, but will not work when in the car.
    I have heard of folks using the 302 headers as a base for custom mods to make them fit.
    Several companies make, sell, or market different swap headers for the 351w or 351c.
    I had a C in my 75 without shaved towers.
    If I did it again, I would shave the towers.
    Dave
     
  4. tim keck

    tim keck truckdrivintrailertrash

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    I had one w/351w & stock exhaust manifolds.No cutting was done on the car....but there should have.Plug changes were impossible w/o unbolting the engine and jacking it up in the engine bay.
     
  5. don graham

    don graham MCG State Rep

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    i had a 351w in my car. if i had to do it over again i would shave the shock towers. also the 302 and 351 headers are different even though they will bolt up to the heads. you'll probably be better off buying headers for a 351w in a maverick. try a search in the archives. there's been lots of discussions about these before. jmo but if your going to do a fairly stock 351w you'd be better off with a 302 stroked to 331 or 347.:)
     
  6. Mavaholic

    Mavaholic Growing older but not up!

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    Damn Jeff, you just missed it. I spent last Saturday over a buddy's shop shaving his shock towers for a 351 swap in his 74 Mav. I took pictures and will write a tech article probably sometime this weekend.
     
  7. bartikus

    bartikus Member

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    i'm in the process of putting a 351w in my car. i'm planing on eventualy putting in a mustang II front suspension so i didn't have a probleam taking a hamer to the shock towers. i just smashed them in too make enough room for the 351w.
     
  8. NorCalMaverick

    NorCalMaverick Member

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    how involved is a mustang 2 clip to make it fit better?
     
  9. Moneymaker 1

    Moneymaker 1 Green Street Beasts

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    Good luck getting a frontend alignment with those smashed stock shock towers, ask me how I know!:cry:
     
  10. Boss302maverick

    Boss302maverick Member

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    how fast (et) do you want to go? you can put a stroker kit in a 302 block (331, 347) and a good head and make 500hp and put the car in 10's, if you are looking for 9's, then I would say have it, but if not, a 351 isn't the only option to make power.

    Duane
     
  11. 71gold

    71gold Frank Cooper Supporting Member

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    if you get one made for a Maverick (Rod N Custom) no problems at all...RC-107...do a search, plenty of reading.

    :chirp:
     
  12. FishnRace

    FishnRace Jamie

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    Wow it's been a while since this thread was last alive :bouncy:
     

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