351 Windsor Swap

my muffler Guy said there is no scrap...if you can use it, it ain't scrap...

 

Be carefull with the pipe bender, the ones they have are meant to be used with thick pipe. Not Thin exhaust pipe. I learned that the hard way on the falcon. But a cool trick is to fill up the pipe with sand and cap the ends. That can keep it from kinking when you bend it.

I do the same, o'reillys usually has resonably priced mandrel bends. Then I just use pie cuts whenever I need an angle. Learned that from the Turbo guys, they love pie cuts.

 

Couldn't sleep.

So... The transmission is in. Driveshaft, starter, linkages, cables, etc. All in. Tomorrow I will go looking for exhaust pipe.

This is a fun project and all but it's not just for fun. I've got a car down and an unusable garage so even if I don't feel like working on it, (and lately I haven't) I can't let it sit there. This has to get done soon.

Oddly enough, I didn't go into it with a lot of enthusiasm tonight but once I was moving it was a welcome distraction. Helped me get my mind off things I can't control.

 

Cars have been a great therapy for me, it helps to get out to the garage, and wrench on something. It's probably been that way with men since we first had stone tools.

 

Yes, Will, it is definitely therapeutic. Gets bad things out of my head...


So here's where I am as of tonight...

Exhaust pipes have been run. My welding skills have improved since I got started on this, thankfully. It actually looks pretty good. The seams have a good seal, are nice and strong, and they don't look like I did it with a can of silly string. It actually could pass for something done at a muffler shop. I still need to hang the mufflers speaking of that, but it got late. A little too loud to be running the drill, so I'll do that tomorrow. Won't take long because I'm just going to clamp the mufflers on in case I want to change them. I am a little worried this setup is going to be too loud for a daily driver. 2.5" pipe, about 4.5' of it, into Summit 2-chamber race mufflers, then dumps at the axle. I don't know what to expect from these. If it's like Flowmaster Super 44's I can probably live with it. Any louder and I might try some turbo mufflers or something, and/or longer tailpipes.

Brake booster is back in. With these valve covers, I have right about 3/8" between the cover and the booster. Just enough to slip it on and off. That worked out pretty well.

New shocks installed. When I took apart the front suspension I found the old ones were both blown.


And here's what's left. If I can get all this done tomorrow I'm done:

Hang mufflers.

Install carb, throttle and kickdown cables, fuel line.

Connect oil and temp gauge lines.

Install accessories belts, connect power steering pump hoses.

Install thermostat, heater hoses, radiator.

Install hood, check for air cleaner clearance and adjust if needed/possible.

Reconnect wiring, make changes for external coil.

Fill the radiator, transmission, power steering, crankcase.

Prime the oil pump, rotate crank to TDC with both valves closed on #1 cyl.

Install valve covers.

Stab the distributor and wire up the plugs.

Crank it.

Laugh. Explain to my wife that I already did put the mufflers on.

Time it. (Hey - where do y'all think I should set the initial timing on this thing?)

Top off trans, radiator, steering fluids.

Check for leaks, then drive directly to the car wash and hose all the dust off.

Burnouts.

Drive to the parts store, get a suitable sized paper air filter until a reusable one can be ordered.

Refill the AC if it's not too late by this time to be running an earthquake in my garage for several minutes.

 

I have the summit race mufflers on the mustang, behind a 9.8:1 392w, it sounds good, not too loud, but gets attention. Of course I'm one of those guys with full tail pipes, so it is nice and mellow inside.

 

i like to start at 10 degrees timing on a fresh motor. when your ready to tune set it to 34 at 3000-3500 rpm. make sure all the mechanical advance is in and that the vac. advance is disconnected.
then at a dragstrip or on a chassis dyno make 2 degree changes to find the best time or power.

 

Well today wasn't the day. Everything's done except the accessories and radiator, was getting ready for first run. Turned it for a while, then by the time the carb started to fill and a couple of cylinders started to hit, I noticed a major fuel leak. Gotta fix that. But by the time I get that done it will be too late at night to be making a bunch of noise. So maybe tomorrow...

 

You are getting real close. A couple more hours and you are done.

If you are that close to hitting the booster then maybe you should put a chain or brace on the drivers side to keep the motor from lifting under a hard load. With all that torque you will be stretching the motor mounts for sure. I ran a setup with 2 eyelets and a turnbuckle in the middle. put one end on the cylinder head and bolted the other to the frame rail. I haven't had to replace a motor mount in 15 years.

You can barely see it in this picture. Cant see it in any of my other pics, its either not in the picture or blocked by the fuel lines.

 

I see it. Will definitely look into that, thanks!

 

I'm going to have to swap the 2" lowering blocks in the back for 1" or do something else to get the rear up a bit more. Maybe the front too. Ever since I lowered the car in the first place, various mods have lowered it even more... New tires, AC, etc. Started out with a good stance but with the added weight of the 351 and the AC, and the shorter tire, and the Shelby drop, the car is pretty slammed right now. When I finished up the exhaust I was admiring it, really happy with my work, then I took it off the jackstands.. The mufflers are maybe 2.5" off the ground!

 

Progress looks great man


From the factory our cars are low already(well compared to newer cars)

Sometimes I wonder why were crazy enough to lower them more

 

It ran today.

It sounds mean as hell. :evilsmile


To do:

Put the hood and grille back on.

Fill steering fluid, top off trans, fill radiator.

Check the timing again, tweak the carb; a little richer at idle and a step up on the accelerator pump shot.

Set total timing at 34 degrees BTDC, at around 3500 RPM. (That oughta piss the neighbors off.)

Burnouts.

 

I wanna see burnout pics, get to it.

 

Thats awesome. now get some pics up of the finished product. After you take it for a spin you can right your review on how much work it was and if it was worth it. Even if its not ALL the power you expected you needed a new engine anyways and its got to be more power than before just because its bigger.