BLKMGK

Okay, got over to the shop today but had no tape and no newer Mustangs were on the rack so... spoke to my friend about this. 94+ Mustangs have a WIDEr track than the one I measured for you. However the rear housing is th eSAME! Seems the axles are 3/4inch longer with the total being 1.5inches WIDER. This is what he told me FWIW, not sure it helps or hurts but it certainly widens the salvage options. I didn't ask him about the Explorer rears.. Hope that helps! Will try to snap some pics under a car when I can get to one on a rack for ya' Scottie!

Couple of things... I believe the SVO Mustang hubs were from a Lincoln, I know some of the other suspension parts were so you might find those cheaper None of the hubs you mentioned were trucks - guess what those wheels fit? (sigh) I spoke to my Lightning pal today, not only are those some funky truck pattern apparently but they also will NOT fit an older Lightning like his! Doh! sorry man, I'm not sure how this is going to work out but I'm pullin' for ya!

Be CAREFUL with Spicer! I thought I was oh so smart when I odered mine - until they showed up with hollow bodies! These were the HD units MSA sells and were NOT cheap Try to find out who makes solid bodied units, maybe even Spicer?, but try to avoid the hollow ones. I'm hoping mine won't turn out to be fragile but the solid ones are supposed to be more sturdy regardless...

As I said, overall I was happy. However the shipping price, especially the first quote which was as much as the hood (!), was high. I'm spoiled in that I can oprder a Mustang hood from Cervini and pay about $100 shipping, John's initial quote was $300! I told him to work on that and he ended up getting a better price from the shipping company and he might have pitched in some too. I believe it was more than $100. Hood arrived packed VERY well, no shipping damage! Upon test fittin git I found that it hit my fenders and no moving of hinges would fix this. I took some measurements and found that the frame under the hood was shifted to one side - I thought this was why it was misaligned. I spoke to John, he explained that it was a "trim to fit" hood and that when he had made them exactly to stock size people complained about the fender gap - so he makes them wider. I didn't know this prior to the purchase and it meant more money at the bodyshop. I mentioned the shifted frame, he apologized, and promised to speak to the person who laid the glass. With the trimming of the hood edges and the rest of the work done you'll never notice the frame, it might now be straight actually, and before it took some real serious looking or a measuring tape to spot so... The underside of the hood is NOT gel coat, it's glass mat so be aware it's not "finished" like the top is. Again, I'm spoiled by Mustang hoods that are often gel coated underneath but it wasn't like there was hair hanging down or looking really bad. The bodyshop sprayed the underside black and it's fine. No other dimensions other than the frame were "off" and th ebodyshop had no trouble fitting later model Z cents into the hood. John does NOT sell this hood without vents, I thought it might look stupid but it's not too bad. Someone sells NACA ducts for those holes but I could never get a price from them (sigh). Throughout all of this John was a good guy to deal with. He worked on getting the shipping price down and said that he seldom shipped single pieces like this actually. He was always friendly and professional unlike ArizonaZ even when I complained about the frame. My initial note to him before finding out the hood was "trim to fit" was a bit ummm high pitched I'd spent over $400 at that point and was NOT happy about a potential ship back. As it turned out this wasn't needed, he handled it well, and in the end I have a darned nice looking hood - the pics are on my site BTW including the fitment pics and pics of the packaging. Would I do it again? Well, after the $1K bodyshop bill that included the install of glass fenders and install of a new windshield plus new rear gasket I'd say maybe. I'm not sure how much of that $1K was hood work - they certainly went over the estimate by a few hundred and took about 4 weeks longer too. Obviously that wasn't John's fault. Color match is PERFECT though and they blended the fenders extremely well. That $1400 or so isn't chump change - just be aware that getting into something like this could get expensive! My hesitancy to do it again isn't so much my dealings with John but the overall cost of this part of the project. John worked with me, he communicated, and he helped when I ran into problems. He also had suggestions for taking care of the hood long term to prevent sagging, he was up front about that possibility since he can't possibly afford an oven big enough to fully cure his parts. I'm not sure any other vendor does or can either but John was VERY up front about that and explained what I could do to fix this by better supporting the hood. So far I've seen NO problems with the hood but it's also not been subjected to SBC heat YET Does that help? That's about as candid and verbose as I can be about it BTW - John used to read in here and you can see some of his repsonses in threads where I mentioned my hood. P.S. Hood weighed exactly HALF of what the stock hood did. I saved maybe 15lbs tops but it's all on the nose baby It doesn't move around at speed (so far) and it doesn't obstruct vision. I've only ever dealt with his hood so I don't know about his other parts but I'd expect them to be decent but also require a little work as do most 'glass parts. Phew, my hands hurt tonight!

Will that radiator fit the Z? Make sure that what he's offering you can actually be used otherwise it's no deal at all. Nuthin wrong with a Mopar motor but please document the heck out of the swap if you do it Also, Myron's LT1 is a SCREAMING DEAL for those that haven't noticed! I'm pretty surprised that no one has jumped on that one. I saw LT1 with computer and harness etc. etc. at the GM Carlisle today for a bit over $3K each. Myron's motor is a STEAL at half that price! Heloooo folks?!

Like what's been said above there are both pro's and cons. Here are some more LT1 = WOW factor! Smoother power and depending on how you do it the stock ECU could be reprogammed with software from a laptop (LT1Edit). You'll also have more hassles with getting it in the car and wired but overall it could be pretty cool. Carbed motor = plenty fast, parts are cheap, well known technology that will allow friends to more easily help with. Jet changes and carb grief. Easier wiring. Some tidbitsstray thoughts to consider one way or the other - used LT1 motors can be had somewhat cheap, I just got back from GM Carlisle and saw pallets of LT1, LS1, and an LT4 motor or two! I took a picture of a complete 2001 drivetrain and suspension sans car - including torque tube (I'll post later). They have hypereutectic pistons but strong rods and aluminum heads stock. You can always inject a carb motor later (I will be)and get many of the same benefits of the injected LT1. It might be easier to start carbed and move "up" to injected - you MIGHT even be able to use the OEM computer too but I'm NOT sure yet. Folks are gettin gplenty 'o power from LT1 motors now and that will grow over time. The iron headed LT1 in our Impalla SS screams and it probably weighs 4Klbs, it would be great in a Z. In the end - either way works, neither one is necessarily "better". I saw an LT4 swapped into an older El-Camino today too (I took a pic!) so obviously even the "really complicated motors" can have their problems overcome. I guess it depends on your wallet and time available.

Turbo motor? Engine crankcase overfull?! Um, how about maybe the turbo can't drain properly as RPMs come up and it's backing up in the line and getting past the seals? Drain some oil!! I'd worry about th eoil level first, smoke later. I won't be surprised if the smoke goes away with the oil level being lowered... I hope so!

I guess I'd have to ask why? The 351C 2V heads that work so well on the street are hard to get now and expensive if you can find them in good shape. These are iron heads. I'm not aware of any reasonably priced aluminum heads for these engines - SVO might still have some but I'm not sure. Way back when the Cleveland was supposed to be a good engine and people loved them however they had some oiling issues and cylinder head manufacturers were working on heads for current engines. Remember, they don't make 351C anymore and actually I'm not sure they make 351W on the Ford production line either but I could be wrong. I'm pretty sure 302s stopped (sigh). Anyway, there aren't many 351C around compared to 351 and 302W whch share cylinder head designs. As a result the head technology favors the Windsor owner as do prices. 351W parts darn near fall out of trees and finding used aluminum heads is fairly easy too. Headers for a Cleveland might be "intersting" to find too. So... yes a few have mentioned wanting to do this and I've usually said something like I have above. Yes, it shouldcould work and you could certainly overcome any obstacles if you really had the drivemoney to do it. When you were done it would certainly be fast! However I'm not sure that you wouldn't be better off doing a Windsor instead, certainly from a monetary point of view anyway. Why has this caught your fancy? Have you got a Clevland engine sitting around for some reason? Be careful about thinking that because something's handy and maybe free that it's worth doing. In the long run it might turn out to be very expensive indeed. If you DO decide to do it though I think most everyone here will be supportive, including me, but I might have to question your sanity a little bit

Umm do you know where those 5lug hubs come from? From a later model Z! I don't think you're likely to find a better candidate It uses stock seals and stock bearings - what more could you want? It bolts right on, it must if I did it!

Hrm, the only advantage that I think "we" might see with this is maybe dust seals. Outlaw and Wilwood don't have dust seals I'm told but I've also been told the seals don't do much anyway (shrug). IMO the Outlaws are probably just as good if not better and cheaper too by about $100 a corner. Scottie - if you want better brakes look at Mike's 12+inch Outlaws I'll let you know how they work here soon enough but I fully expect that they will be as good as the brakes on my Mustang. As big as they are and with as little weight as the carries it should be interesting!

Do tell Pete! I wonder how easily that could be done to a full sized dash cap rather than a dash? I've got a spare half cap that I've been tempted to play with but the cost of playing with CF isn't cheap!

I've got a Canton pan on my Mustang's motor so I don't know if it'll work well for clearance. I'd suggest looking at a 302 swap to see where th eproblem areas are and then going from there. I see no reason why the 351W wouldn't sit just as low to the rack as the 302's do since it uses pretty much the same type oil pan. It's deck height and block width are what's slightly different. As a result the intake sticks up higher than a 302 but for EFI you can simply have the two intake halves milled for additional clearance.

Yup, I have coilovers. About $100 per corner and some labor so it's worth doing IMO. The 255's I used were Bridgestone I believe - were for an Impalla SS

Consider a 351W IMO. I believe you'll be $$ ahead by simply building a 351W instead of a stroked 302. They're a little wider but I think they will fit. I've got a 351W block in the garage and a 351W in my FOX Mustang so I can take measurements if anyone decides to try this swap. Suspension - what don't you like? Do th ebrakes at least and maybe coilovers. You don't have to go crazy on brakes (I did) but there are some simple upgrades that won't break the bank. Trnasmissions - T5 or T56. T5 is more fragile and it'll break with a stock 302 if beat on. Tremecs work but I've found them to be nothcy YMMV - I've got one in my Mustang. T56 - it would have to be a modified T56 and it will NOT be found in a junkyard car. Figure about $1700 new for that puppy and it might not include a blowshield. Friends of mine are swapping these into Cobras left and right though You'll want to look into hydraulic TO bearings for this swap as cable won't cut it! Congrats and I agree - get the JTR book. Check out SCCA's WEB site for brakes (search here too) and 302 swap pics. He's going EFI and I think it's a great idea. www.fonebooth.com The 351W height on the intake can be brough t down to about the same as the 302 BTW with a little intake milling...

Hrm, perhaps contact Manley or one of the other valve builders? Could another valve be modified for this use perhaps?

Hrm, SCCA would your brackets work? Spacing the same as the Outlaw stuff? I've got the Outlaw calipers guys, they're NICE and I'm not sure they're all that expensive comnpared to those Porsche calipers. Is that $259 price for new ones?

Ya' I'd love to see some 510 stuff Heck, the 240SX is actually a pretty neat car for a swap (V8 perhaps) but it's so new emissions aorund here would kill the project (sigh). This is why I'm doing the Z - no rules

Will this be used on the street? Be aware some aren't street rated. Centerline might be one to consider - what sort of look do you want?

Hrm, I have to kind of wonder... since it's all out why not sit down and m ake up your own dash? As you noted there's a ton of room now! Maybe make it mocked up in foam and then glass? I wonder what we could come up with and if it would be worth doing? The Z style is nice, especially with Phantom guages in it but... You doing a whole dash or just a cap? I'd be most interested in a full fiber cap to be honest - I don't want to pull that monster either, especially with my cage in the way! Congrats!

Guys keep in mind that a 5lug conversion with stpock fenders puts you at wanting +40mm up FRONT and +20mm in back. I AM using some small spacers with that and coilovers but that gets you in the ballpark. I'm not sure that zero offset would work well especially for the front. +40mm is a decent amount and is something spacers DON'T do. Measure and do the math before you buy anything, I'm VERY glad I did. P.S. I like these! http://www.custom-wheels.com/Whelinfo/256info.htm [ June 27, 2001: Message edited by: BLKMGK ]

Use the search, it's been talked about within th elast week at least as well as several times in the past. Guess this is a FAQ?

The widest tires I'm comfortable putting in my stock fendered 240 would be 245 in the back an maybe 245 in front. I actually went with 235's up front though. I test fitted a 255 tires that I had in the garage and just didn't see it fitting, I think Pete might have managed this though. 255 has got to be the widest without sticking out, I have no idea how anyone could get a 265 in there unless the car sits up higher than mine? My feeling was that the added 10mm I'd get wih a 255 was simply not worth the hassle. I'm running 245 45 Drag Radials so I don't figure traction being any better with a 255 "normal" tire.

LOL, sort of like speaker domes huh? BTW - a vacuum cleaner can pop those right back out if they don't get creased

Hrm, will have to measure the width of the scoop and see if it could fit up in there. It's not a real tall hood, just a mild scoop. I really think a ram-air setup is best but just haven't decided to commit the finds yet Want to get it running first before tweaking still more stuff. I never imagined that a 5inch tall air filter would fit! How tall is the hood on your car? Did you use the frame spacers? What intake? Seems pretty tall to me, cannot imagine that fitting on mine but maybe... Would a drop base hurt at all - any hassles? Yeah, I don't know squat about darned carbs! Maybe pick one up in Carlisle this Friday - it's GM Carlisle Cool! I just found ZFAN's post about plugs too! "Andrew, Per Edelbrock general instructions. For RPM heads # 6072, 6073 or 6089. They highly recommend using Champion rc-12yc or equivalent. Hope this helps. Mike " Now why couldn't I find that before?! [ June 25, 2001: Message edited by: BLKMGK ]

No, you didn't miss anything - there's profit to be made when someone hits something and their truck ends up in the Ford bodyshop My measurements were indeed +20 and +40mm but remember that I was using 300ZX hubs and 8inch wide wheels. IF your wheels are a different width than adjust your measurements accordingly - it makes a difference!