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Will the Laine Family sbf write-up work for a 351W?


amuscato77

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This has probably been touched upon in another post but I have been searching for hours and can't find anything.

I just picked up a donor fox body with a 5.8L 351W in it mated to a WC T5. I originally wanted to do just a 5.0 out of a fox but the price was too good to pass up on this car. Has anyone used the Laine Family Write up to do this swap?  Does the engine cradle work for it as well as the mounting positions? :bang head: Sorry if this is asking a lot my fabrication skill and tool selection is not exactly what I would like it to be for this project :( so any help would be greatly appreciated :cheers:

I imagine the driveshaft length should be about the same correct me if I'm wrong  but yeah even if you guys just link a thread that has the info I'm just a helpless newbie so I'd be very greatful

 

 

 

P.S. I plan on boosting this 351w eventually just to change it up a bit even more for the sbf Z-world :2thumbs:

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The Ford windsor family includes the 289, 302 and 351 engines and ultimately are the same block.  The reason the motor in question is called "windsor" is to as not confuse it with the "cleveland" family, which while similar is a totally different motor entirely.  The guide should be the same for all windsor family motors.

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There is much similarity between the 289, 302, and 351 engines.  However, the block is not one of them.  The 351W has a taller deck height (9.5" vs 8.2") .  As such, the 351W is taller, wider, and heavier.   The 351W also has different size main bearing journals and longer connecting rods.

 

What the 351W shares with the other Windsor engines is bore spacing, bell-housing bolt pattern, head bolt pattern, and motor mount bolt pattern.  The heads are interchangeable between the various Windsor engines,  but you cannot interchange the intake manifold between the 351W and its smaller cousins. 

 

There is enough similarity between the engines that the Laine Family write-up will be extremely useful.

Edited by 74_5.0L_Z
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While I don't disagree my experience came first hand and perhaps the similarities were so close I didn't notice.  The vehicle was a 1968 ford bronco.  It came to a friend of mine with a 350w that may or may not have come with the truck.  We swapped in a 80's 5.0 H.O from a fox body mustang when the 351 blew up.  The motor slipped right in and mounted in the existing motor mounts. Do you anticipate a problem mounting the motor, or having fitting issues following the lane guide?

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The main difference will be that the 351W is taller and wider and weighs ~75 pounds more.  

 

I have had considerable experience with both engines.  My 1970 Mustang Fastback started life with a 302 and a C4 automatic.  I had this car when I was young (1987) and the first thing that I did to the 302 was to add headers and exhaust.  Shortly after the headers and exhaust, the 302 died.  Luckily I had a 351W ready to go. 

 

For the most part, the 351W was a direct bolt in replacement for the 302.  I reused the same motor mounts, and was able to reuse the headers.  However, because the 351W is taller and wider, the exhaust needed to be modified.  The H-pipe had to be cut-out and a longer piece welded in, and the exhaust was now 3/4" higher from the ground.  Luckily the exhaust had been a little low with the 302 installed, so I got lucky.   An additional problem that I had was clearance between the air cleaner and hood after installing the 351W.  I ended up with a low profile air cleaner to clear the hood.

 

There are people who have installed the 351W in the S30 Z cars.  I don't know how they mounted them.  I personally have a 5.0L (302) that is stroked to 327 cubic inches installed in my car.  I like the 351W.  It is capable of making much more horsepower with its stock block than the late model 5.0L engines.  However, I like the 302 because it is compact and light.  I autocross my car and I don't need a million horsepower.  My engine is mounted using a front plate / mid plate set-up, and if this is not going to be a street car, I highly recommend using this method to mount the engine.  It creates tons of space to route headers.

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Wow. I love this forum. You guys are all incredibly helpful. I'm glad to know I can use the same mounting method and the majority of the LF guide. That was the majority of my worrying. Since I'm doing this on an extremely tight budget (of course). My second biggest concern is the clearance issue. I don't wanna lose that aggressive hood hump. It's one of my favorite body lines. I keep hearing about lowering the motor further into the bay. So I'm gonna look into that as well. Would it be easier to achieve clearance with an EFI setup? If so which route should I go?

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Im fairly sure the lowest intake height you'll get is with something like an Edelbrock Performer intake, the carb pad height is only 4.07" and a carb is typically about 4" talle. Conversly, the overall height of Edelbrock 302 EFI intake (similar size and shape to stock Ford unit) is almost 12", and I believe the throttle body adds a bit of height on one end too. 

 

With all that said, EFI is just better. If you have the money, look into FAST EZ-EFI or MSD Atomic, or Holley or the 10 other types available. Not as good as true multi-point injection, but way better than a carb.. and it bolts up to a standard carb flange. 

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…With all that said, EFI is just better. If you have the money, look into FAST EZ-EFI or MSD Atomic, or Holley or the 10 other types available. Not as good as true multi-point injection, but way better than a carb.. and it bolts up to a standard carb flange. 

I think you're spot on about that. It's the having the money part that would be nice. Maybe in the future I can change it over the prices on some of those kits were ehhh….frightening to say the least but thank you for the suggestion. I'll keep those kits in my wish list (:

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  • 1 year later...

i have the laine family kit with a 302 in my car currently. However i am looking to add more power then the stock block 302 can handle. I will be pulling my 302 out and installing a 351 to see how everything fits with their kit. My plan is to remove the 4 bolts that hold the bracket that the motor mounts bolt to and see if i can't lower them down and redrill holes to give myself some more clearance for the stock hood. My setup will be a turbo set up so my exhaust challenges will be different then the ones you may face. For intake i will be using a carb style intake but with the runners drilled and injector bungs welded in and a 90 degree elbow for a throttle body. i'm hoping this allow for extra hood clearance. Also i will be using the ford racing 351W fox body swap oil pan which is a double sump pan just like the fox body pan is.

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