351W swap....what do I need in parts?

I just bought MY FIRST Maverick! It is a 1974 2 door powder blue color straight 200 cid and c6 tranny with NO power anything. I want to swap out the current 6 cylinder motor. I want to install a 351W out of my current 1983 ford econoline van with c6 tranny. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT PARTS I NEED TO DO THE SWAP taking out my 6 popper maverick motor and dropping in my 351W and tranny from the van? My maverick is a basic 200 cid car, has no power anything, no ps, no pb, no power anything....my 1983 ford econoline donor van has the 351W w/3 speed auto c6 and larger radiator if I need that installed on the maverick? I know I will need a set of Headers. Do i need any parts from the van (before I junk out the remaining van for scrap)? What about motor mounts? What about the drive shaft issues? Anything electrical need done? What about crossmembers or bellhousings? What do I need to do the 351W swap EXCACTLY? I need a gameplan....partslist, ect....

 

First thing is to shave the shock towers.

 

Are you sure the 200 has a C6 tranny behind it?
A C6 can be forced into a Maverick, but it is not recommended.
The C6 was never available in our cars, so it is a pure 'from scratch' install with everything needing to be custom fabricated to mount it. It's not like swapping from C4 to C6 in other Fords, where the parts are available. I would recommend using a C4 myself, and save yourself that much more fabbing over and above what is needed for the 351 swap. The C6 flexplate won't work with a C4.

As for the 351w itself, it is straight forward as you can use everything for a 302 Maverick to install the 351. The main things you need are frame stands and engine mounts. The frame stands can usually be found for sale here anywhere from 40 to 100 bux a pair. The engine mounts can be found at your local parts store for roughly 15 bux each.

There are other 302 Maverick specific parts that you can find too, but they are not absolutely needed like the engine/frame mounts. Off the top of my head, they are:
Belly bar
V8 specific throttle cable
Kick-down arm
V8 specific radiator/shroud (should probably use these for cooling the 351)
250/302 specific C4 (or at least the bellhousing and TC)
Double hump tranny crossmember

Your best bet for headers is Crites. They have a set for a 'decent' price that has beneficial 1.75" primary tubes. There are others that will work (or can be made to work) for more money. One is Tubular Automotive. Smaller primary tubes, but more money. Hooker swap headers for a 351w in a 65-66 Stang. They have the decent tube size, but cost as much as the Tubulars... AND they require some mods to the engine bay to get them to fit. So for 100 bux more, you can either settle for primary tubes too small for most 302s, let alone a 351, or get the Hookers and mod your engine bay. Even though the Crites are your best bet, they can be hit and miss on availability. So take your pick.

You'll need a CAR front sump pan for a 351w.
The 302 mounts I mentioned.
Headers
and a Maverick friendly C4 unless you just must have the C6.
If you use the C4, you don't need a custom driveshaft. Just use the one you have.

As for all the other 'stuff', like pulleys, balancer, distributor, etc...
I am not familiar with what your van has, so it may or may not be compatible.
If not, just get all the 302 stuff and find a Duraspark out of a late 70s 351w car.

 

Oh yeah, I will second the "shave your towers" comment!
It'll save your sanity when working on this thing.

 

I second the c-4. It also uses less power than the c-6. Also you'll need a different oil pump to go with the front sump oil pan. I had a 351W in mine once and never changed the plugs, unless I pulled the engine.

 

o.k i just today had the 351W and c6 removed from the van....the dudes are gonna just scrap the van for cash. Motor/tranny is sitting in my garage (cool). I looked at my 351w and it IS THE REAR SUMP oil pan. So i guess im gonna need a front sump pan (and new oil pump unit). The motor mounts are still on the 351 and the mechanic that pulled the motor told me these motor mounts will work right, so I think Im good to go on THAT. I also asked the mechanic to leave me the transmission crossmember incase I need that part so I do have that too. Im still slightly confused about this issue with the C6 or C4 trannys....my maverick has a 200 cid six motor w/THREE SPEED auto on the column. As far as I can remember the C6 is the 3 speed and the C4 is a two speed tranny (similar to the gm 2 speed powerglide trannys). Somebody here replied and made the statement about my maverick possibly NOT having the C6 factory installed but my car is all original (grandma car) and has NOT been altered as far as I can tell. So that being said, I guess since Im installing my van 351W and C6 tranny then I should be good on that part. Im definitely wanting to install a nice FLOOR shifter so the current 3 speed auto column shifter if going away!!! Header choices sound to be like the BIGGEST issue I might have for the install. I will have to do more research on headers because I cannot afford to have custom pipes made or purchase the most expensive line of Headers....I'm on a tight budget here and just want my maverick done correctly but on a shoestring. My maverick has no power brakes and no power steering so Im NOT worried about things like that so far. I read something too on here about maybe needing to have a v8 throttle cable? Im not sure what's the situation on that yet so any advice there would be helpful. And I read something about the tranny Bellhousing, but since im installing my van tranny C6 it has the correct unit Ive been told....AND I dont have a clue about the "belly mount thing either" so somebody can explain that one later to me too? Many years ago when I was younger, I would be very inclined to do motor/tranny swaps and Ive installed a few v8 motors in smaller cars so Im somewhat familiar with the whole process. I dont believe this maverick v8 swap will be too difficult. Ive asked a few local mechanically inclined friends, and they all said its not a hard swap.....motor/tranny should SQUEEZE right in!!! I was NOT PLANNING on "shaving the shock towers" either. Ive seen MANY photos of 351W motors inside mavericks and YES its a tight fit but me having to hire somebody to do the shave and weld the supports in at this point in time is NOT an affordable option. I am gonna totally restore this maverick to new heights, but in the near future I just want it up and driving down the road. I have NO issues with pulling the motor again in the future to perform more detailing and restoring tasks. I will install the BEST SPARK PLUGS I can afford!!! (ha, ha). AND I also kept the radiator from the van incase I need the larger radiator for the swap too. MY BASIC plan is to clean/paint the motor/install new oil pan gasket, install new water pump and freeze plugs, install new intake and upgrade to a 4 barrel carb, install nicer valve covers, add in the Headers and I think I will have myself a neat little zip around town streetcar!!! Im NOT wanting a dragster or super fast racecar (yet). If Im still forgetting about something please let me know your thoughts? Im NOT gonna do the actual v8 install until I raise more cash to buy headers/intake/carb, ect....probably about 2 to 4 weeks away yet. Thanks to everybody that replied.

 

No Maverick came with a c6. They all had c-4's if it was an automatic. The problem with the c-4 behind the 200 is it is a little weaker and it needs a different bellhousing to bolt up to a 302/351w. There's a very slim chance the motor mounts will work, But that's no big deal as they are available from Napa or any other auto parts store for about $15 each. You will need to find the frame mounts for the motor. They are on ebay a lot or you can advertise on here for them. They are not cheap though. $50 -$75 would be a good price. Autokrafters has them for about $130, I believe.

 

well....so why does my maverick have a 3 speed auto tranny but it might NOT be a C6? The dude that sold me the car said, it's a C6 and I told him back that "i was surprised to find it had the C6 tranny myself".......since its a 200 cid six popper motor........

 

A C4 is a three speed tranny and was the only auto available from the factory in the Mavs/Comets

 

so, is there any way to tell which tranny my maverick truly has? maybe look at a code or doortag? AND if my maverick 3 speed auto is a C4....then should I keep the C4 tranny and I will then need to change the bellhousing or what? My donor 351W now I am also assuming is a real C6? It does NOT matter to me if my maverick has the C4 or C6 tranny when Im done....whatever works out best I guess!!! WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EITHER THE C4 OR THE C6 IN MY MAVERICK?

 

There are really NO advantages to having a C6 in the kind of driver you describe.
The C6 is very heavy, large in actual size, won't bolt in without fabrication, won't work with your stock driveshaft, and it actually saps power from getting to your rear wheels. NO ADVANTAGE... just a bunch of extra expense, weight, and loss of horsepower.

If you Maverick is an auto trans car, then it came with a C4. Bottom line.
Therefore, you have everything you need to mount a C4 in the car.
You can even use the C4 you have, but it is not built as strong as a V8 C4.
If you use the C4 you now have, you need to find a V8 bellhousing, TC, and flexplate. Remember that a 302 C4 flexplate is what you need, but it must be in 28oz balance weight to work with your 351. Shouldn't be an issue though. Just tell the parts counter you need a flexplate for a 74 Maverick with a 302, and you'll get the correct balance. 302s didn't change the balance weight until the early 80s. 351s are all 28oz.

If you want to go on a budget, then just set up your C4 for use as a v8 tranny, and drive it until it bites the dust. Then worry about replacing it with a v8 spec tranny.
This way you don't have to do anything with the driveshaft, crossmember, etc... Just bolt it all together.

A van radiator WILL NOT FIT.
Don't plan on the van engine mounts fitting either. Totally different animal.
A van crossmember won't work either. It bolts to the frame of the van, while the Maverick is a subframe vehicle and the crossmember is set up as a cradle from the floorpan. Your C4 crossmember will work fine if you go C4.

Crites are your only real choice for headers... They cost more than 300, less than 400. The other choices are 100 bux more.

 

gee......

o.k....quick 3 questions for ya here --> Does my van 351w and the van c6 tranny have the v8 bellhousing your talking about? Maybe my van tranny is also a C4 and Im not aware of that either perhaps??? Isnt the bellhousing the covering thats around the actual tranny? (you'll have to excuse me, im a backyard mechanic only folks). I need to also know what "TC" is....? And you explained the flexplate issue pretty clearly, but I dont know however excactly what the flexplate does or even looks like yet...? My van radiator wont fit.....so what kinda radiator is mostly used or do you recommend that's inexpensive to aquire? Motor mouints wont work? Then I can buy new motor mounts locally at the auto parts store (i already checked into those just incase). Headers for this application seem really expensive....i had no idea this swap was gonna cost me this much cash (ha, ha, ha). I seen headers on Ebay for $100 new and it says they are for maverick applications and fit the 289/302/351W motors....is that incorrect what I seen on ebay?

 

First go to your trannies fluid pan and count the bolts. 11 is C4, 17 is C6 and 14 is AOD iirc. If you want to do the swap cheap you can get away by using 302 exhuaust manifolds on the 351, they have to be maverick/comet specific....and 289/302 headers will not fit a 351 in a maverick engine bay. btw TC is torque converter.

 

cool....

tc is torque converter....i should have figured that one out...ha, ha. So if i keep the current maverick c4 tranny i will need to buy/install a V8 size TC? Can I just use the TC from my van tranny (might be a c6 tranny, not sure yet)? And, im going crazy looking for headers for this 351W swap. Im getting tons of different opinions on which headers to install....I still have no clue on the right kind/brand of headers. I dont wanna do any mods on headers, and I dont wanna install headers and wind up beating them all up so they will fit....Thanks alot for the tip on counting the tranny screws, wwwwwwway cool idea!!! P.S are you saying that Im NOT gonna be able to run headers on my 351 in the maverick no matter what.....whats the scoop on 351 headers?

 

No i was saying that 289/302 maverick headers wont fit a 351 in a maverick. There are headers for the 351 as mentioned, just not cheap.