i have a 1976 maverick with a 302 in it right now. i want to put a 351 in it, but im not sure if a 351 will fit. dont get me wrong i love the 302 even thought it loves to break motor mounts, but i want more POWER!!! the 302 takes up almost the whole engine compartment. if it will fit what modefications will need to be made to make it fit and work properly. thx
351 Swap Yes, they will fit in your Mav but not without a few clearance problems. Having helped my son do his, I think I would personnely build up a 302 for more power. The shock towers present the biggest problem, we cut and plated ours to allow for spark plug and header access. A lot of other people on this board have done this swap without the cutting but once the engine is installed , plugs are very hard to get at. If you have the patience and equipt. available, this mod is worth the effort. There are some other problems also that are going to pop up like power steering clearance, radiator size etc. If you are having trouble breaking mtr. mounts now, the high torque 351 will double that problem unless you use a torque strap from the engine to the frame. All this depends on how you are going to use the car, street, strip, etc. Not trying to discourage you but putting some money in heads, cam and intake with carb on a 302, along with a rear gear change, will give you a real seat of the pants increase in power without all the headaches of the 351 swap. Just for the record, we gear heads are always looking for more power and nothing is impossable to us. Check out the fellow on the main forum who is going to install a Boss 429 in his Mav. See what I mean! Good luck either way and have a good Thanksgiving day.
You can also bore and stroke a 302 to a 347 i believe ... And like the old guy said ... there are a lot of bolt on mods that you can do for more power ... cam,intake,heads and so on ... The problem with Mav's are those stupid shock towers ... I was looking to drop a 4.6 in my mav but that would mean using a mustang II front end .. the only problem with that is the mustang II is 4 lug and as far as i know there is no direct OE swap ...
The Rod & Custom Motorsport MII front end kit shows 5 lug rotors in the picture of their kit. http://www.rcmotorsports.net/page4.html
Mustang II front ends are a completely different design than a Maverick. This is in no way a bolt-in deal. I would get a 347 stroker short block from Ford or Coast High Performance.
Old guy, can you tell me how much you cut out of the shock towers and what type headers you used. I dont have p/s so that should cut down on some problems. I just bought this '73 and it didn't come with a motor but I will be going with a 351 stroked. I'll be using this car for street and a little strip. Any help would be appreciated.
351 Mods This installation has been done by many on this board in different ways. Ours started out with cutting and plating the shock towers, I have some pics of this and will send them to you when I find them. Because it was a stroked 393ci, the headers needed to be of larger diameter than anything available at the time, so were made by hand out of 1 3/4 ID tubing. Very frustrating and are not really flowing correctly because of all the turns and bends needed. Some say there are headers made for this application but cost is high, real high. Anyway the installation of engine and headers at same time, is a real project in itself, Finished job was satisfying but very frustrating to say the least, swore on the Maverick's emblem that if was to ever do again, Mustang II front end was going on. Why they made those shock towers so narrow on the Mav's and wider on the Mustangs of similiar design, which big blocks will slip right in, is beyond me. Had to fabricate a tubular cross member under oil pan, from front frame mounts, to eliminate flexing due to high torque loads from 393ci. This was a drag car only, also used a PG trans and exsisiting 9in rear. One very critical point I would like to stress here, is high dollar pistons, crank and roller cam were used along with Victor heads and all other goodies that go along with this type application. However for the draining of funds, decided to go with a good set of 351 truck rods, reworked and ARP bolts. Big mistake, should have gotten Eagle or the like rods. After several months of racing this awesome beast, the weak link rods decided enough was enough of 7000rpms and one of them snapped right above the big end. Grenaded the entire engine and sent the 6000.00 to the toilet. Going back with a 351ci only and have the Eagle H beam rods on the way. As I have said before, eliminate the shock towers for a cleaner and easier accessable job, but others have done without tower mods and used smaller headers too. Archives should show you this info. Will send those tower pics via email when I find them today. I have a built 302 in a 78 Fairmont that runs only a couple tenths slower than the 393 did and 8mph slower (108 vs 117) in 1000ft. The torque is not as good off the line as the 393 but that also was a problem as 11in MT slicks were very hard to keep from spinning with the big cubed motor.
Thanks for all the info. Old Guy. I might need to relook this but can't seem to get the 351 out of my head. MG1972 Thanks for the pictures all I can say is "WOW" and I see there is not much room to play with. I think I could probably get away with moving the shock towers out a couple of inches but would really have to play with the camber then. Not sure what I'm going to do but will keep ya'll informed on my progress and if you think of anything else please let me know. Right now I'm looking for a couple of 300cid 6's for the rods. They are longer and supposed to be pretty strong. Picked up a couple of world products windsor jr heads today for 300.00. Guy had them in his mustang for a month and wasn't satisfied with them and needed some money. Thanks again.
You do not need to move them just trim off some of the hump. Makes a lot of room. but if you go with tall valve covers you cant use a power brake booster. However, other then that it went right in. if you have the motor Why not do it some that can’t tell it’s a 351w and think it’s just a 302 I just say yea a little 302 just blew your doors off. them bowtie guys are funny
MG, Thanks. I don't have the 351w yet. The salvage yards around here are real PROUD of them. Still looking. I'm starting the floor pans this weekend. It will be easier to figure out how much to cut when I have the motor. Do you have any suggestion on headers? Thanks
Hi. I am currently working on my fourth maverick. The first had a 302 in it, all the rest with 351w. The only problem you will have is with the shock towers. If you are going to use exhaust manifolds, you are going to have to somehow expand them outward, whether it be with a BIG hammer, lol, or a little cutting and welding. If you use headers, as i am with this one, it will be a very tight fit, but it can be done. The headers will touch the towers, but it will go in.Forget about using column shift, though.
Check out my website for details on the shock tower mod. My site also contains a registry for 351 powered Mavericks.
