351w

what kind of headers would fit for a 351w? also do i just use the 302 motor mounts for a 351w? i hve a 1971 maverick grabber.

steve

 

Tubular automotive offers a set that, if I remember correctly. have 1 5/8" primary tubes and 3" collector and require the engine to be raised from its stock location.

I have also heard that there are others available with 1 1/2" primaries.

Anything larger than 1 5/8" requires custom fabrication.

 

Fred have you used the Tubular Auto headers? Did they require shock tower modification?

You can use the stock 302 motor mounts Steve

 

Charlie,

I have not used them but have read posts from people who have. My understanding is that they require no shock tower modifications.

 

Mav****71 are you new to this sort of thig? Better do a lot of reserch on your project. There are a lot of little details you will have to solve. Putting a 351 in is not a bolt in deal. I'm telling it like it is.
They were never intended to fit that engine bay. Many have put them is but it can be a PITA.
Good luck.

 

RE: PITA

Started getting down to the nitty gritty today to cut out the shock towers. (I LOVE Saws-All's!! )

I was going to wait to post the 'after' pic but I thought it was timely to post this one now as it relates to your comments Ken.

BTW, I want to fill in all the holes in the engine bay (as you can see, it looks like swiss cheese). The fender wells have about 30+ years worth of 'add-on' and 'take-offs'.

I don't have a welder (just yet) but I was wondering what everyone else does to fill in these holes. (solder, weld, other?)

Your comments are welcome and help is appreciated,

Rick

 

.....Hello Rick, Your a go getter on these things. I would get a good MIG welder (that has a good solid wire feed) because they don't excessivly heat up a large area to distort the metal.
....Nah i'm not trying to be a hard ass about doing these conversions. Just that I sometime sense from the way a post is made that people don't understand what there in for when thinking of doing these projects and no one is telling it up front.
This causes greif along the way and some will stop the work when it gets them in over there head.
....Those like you that have enough back ground to know what will have to be done, have the patience to see it thru.
....Maybe I should not care if it isn't me!
....What are you going to do with all that power? My 302 FI is enough for me.
....I also have the 90 LSC 5L and even with the weight it is pretty torquey.
....I spend a lot of time on the Lincoln boards and get into a lot of trouble- shooting on these cars and engines.
....A tip for you ahead of time. Consider getting a test piece to use on your Fuel injection system. It's the ACTRON CP 9015 at about $30. Reads the codes out of the ECM and on all Ford cars, will read Crouise control codes and ABS brake codes where they supplied the plugups..
Mods looking good. Thats the way I work. Good luck,
Ken.

 

Hey Ken,

I didn't take your comments as being hard-ass at all. It's just that what I did yesterday (the shock tower delete) reinforced your comment to Mav****71. It "IS" a pain in the A. I was merely supporting your comment.

It's not everyday I take a SawsAll to a car, so I was a 'tad' nervous myself while I was sawing away (I didn't know my sphincter could stay clenched that long! ). But with all the help from you guys who've done this before and are willing to share the info, I felt a little more confident.

There's NO WAY I would've cut out the shock tower without you guy's instructions and comments. I don't think twice about copying posted pics and instructions and keeping hard copies in file cabinet in my garage to look at while I'm working on the car.

I'm back at it again today to blast the area inside the wheel well that I couldn't access with the suspension components in the way. BTW, compressing the coil springs was no 'fun' job either. I was as nervous as a whore in church when I was compressing the spring (another sphincter work-out).

It's gonna take more time in the long run, but I figured I'd better do one side at a time so I'd have access to a go-by when I start installing the (complete) PST suspension.

Re: Maybe you shouldn't care if it's not you
I applaud your willingness to caution possible 1st timers on this because it may actually SAVE a Maverick or Comet in the long run (and maybe a finger or two also .

Re: What am I gonna do with all that power?
My intentions, for now, that power is going to be used ONLY in the 1/8th mile strip. I'll trailer it out to the track make a few runs (probably break) then trailer it back home to figure out a way that I can go quicker. I do have a little experience in drag racing but I used to pay a mechanic to do the wrench turning. After realizing I was paying him a good salary to 'learn his trade' on my car. I decided to take on the tasks myself. The labor rate I charge myself is a LOT cheaper than what he was charging me, plus I'm inherently more thorough and meticulous than he was because it's MY car.

Re: Welder
Yeah, I know I gotta get one. I'll be looking into which one to get for a 'budget-minded' do-it-yourselfer. Maybe I'll see what Autozone has on sale today (NOT) . Any recommendations on a welder for small-job welders (I don’t plan on going into business modifying Mavericks or Comets for performance V8’s)? Any recommendations on which welders to AVOID (in YOUR personal experience - realizing that others may have had good luck with that brand/model).

Re: ACTRON CP 9015
I looked at the code reader. I think I’m going to be a guinea pig for ACELL’s new ECU system that is supposed rival F.A.S.T.’s (formerly SpeedPro) system, but at a much lower price. So I won’t be using the standard ECU (at least not for long)

Well, I need to get out there and start building another beach,

Later,

Rick
p.s. I've attached a pic of the inner wheel well in the 'before' state. Scary stuff!

 

Got ya Rick. Everythings cool.
....On the welder, just make sure that the wire feed is solid because it makes a mess of trying to get nice welds, and also use the Argon gas mix with it I don't know how good the Flux wire works.
...The moderator on the LINCOLN board is from H-town, he and I are get along well on the board. Goes by the name Pro-5-Oh. There are quite a few LSC owner in you state.
...Good deal on you FI selection. It will be a lot of fun dialing in the fuel map and the timing. We just obtained V- twin motor cycle that is fuel injected. The factory has the mid range leaned so much that the drivability suffers (for emmissions). Put in a programable link ( in line box), and with software, were able to fatten up the injection in that area and now the engine is nice and smooth.
....With your system you will be able to create maps on your lap top, save them and feed them directly into the controller's memory. One of the fun areas to work in, is getting a handle on the relationship of air density, temp. and huminity to performance. That is often the difference between winning and losing over the cometition.
.....As you get deeper into this, you will need weather indicating insturments to relate to. When I was running Alky fueled kart engines, the air density meter, huminity and temp. insturments were highly used to jet from race to race as well as getting the forcast on radio and knowing what changes were takeing place that day.
Later, Ken

 

Kewl on the weather conditions. You sound like a good target to bug with those type questions. Now I know who to bug for advice and who to blame when I lose j/k

Yeah, I'm looking forward to dialing in and preparing myself for something ELSE to learn (laptop racing).

Thanks for the advice on welder. I think I'll check with 5oh and few others to obtain even more information to cross-up my limited supply of brain signals (damned budweisers!).

Thanks,

Rick

 

Rick, I was wondering why you want to use an AOD on a 1/8 mile race only car.

 

ryan, thats a nice looking maverick. do you race it ? Where? i race mine at firebird and at tucson. i race the team races. not very fast, but a lot of fun. i have a 351w in it, but for now it's a pep boys motor. no bottom end ( dished pistons, low compression). i figured that i'd run it til it blew, but it seems to be indestructible. runs mid 13's at firebird. maybe i'll see you there some day.

 

spring compressor

Rick, use the spring compressor that compresses from the "inside" of the spring. They fit down the center of the spring. The compressors that compress from the outside do not leave enough room for install. I've tried both and the "inside" compressors are much easier

 

I try to get out to the track as much as I can but haven't been since Oct. I run at Speedworld in the northwest valley. I hate the drive to Firebird and wasn't much impressed with the track and pits, pretty much the whole place so I don't go there. I haven't ran the new motor yet but with almost the same setup I was doing mid 13s on the motor and a 12.7 with a 100 shot. With the new motor and fuel system I should be able to break into 11s with the 150 shot. If you ever want to go to Speedworld let me know. If you click on the picture it will take you to my webpage if you want to see what was done to the car.

So are you running basicly a stock 351 in the 13s? Is your car a street driver or a drag car? We need to get together an Arizona meet sometime. With all 3 or 4 of us.

 

------------------
Ryan,

Uh oh, I think you're on to me (if I 'ever' decide to make it streetable, I'll have laid the ground work - as far as clearance issues).

The AOD was modified to accept up to 700 h.p. (no trans 'break' - not a mispell) and a 3800 stall converter that worked really well pushing my heavy '90 Mustang Vert down the 1/8th. I was really pleased with it's performance. Never a problem.

The Mav 'may' be run at a local quarter mile track every now and then (on a 'spur of the moment' type thing). The gear ratios would suit me well on both tracks.

1st through 2nd in 1/8th on spray (expected to hit shift light at finish line)
1st thourgh 3rd on spray - then OD w/o spray to end in the 1/4 (expected to tach out at finish line)

I'd have to dig out the specs but the 1st and 2nd gears are taller in 'my' AOD than they are in my C4.

I guess I just feel comfortable in the AOD (yes, it is a conversation piece in the pits).

Who knows, after the first time out, I may decide to go with the C4.

Depends on how much oil I lay down .

Rick