Worth it?

[Guest kotart13]

well, after reading basically this whole ford section of the forum, i was wondering if those who have/are taking on the project of swapping a sbf instead of a sbc, thinks it really worth all the effort? i have a friend who did the 350 swap into his 280z and the only real problems he had had nothing to do with the swap istelf, just tranny failure. to make my story short-

i can get ahold of 79-81 280 (cant remember the exact year or if it was a z or zx) for dirt cheap, in good running order, so can be driven till i get the parts gathered. id like to do the sbf conversion, just because of the reaily availability of 302's and c5's (can be had in good condition for under 1k around here). im unsure about tackling the steering problems. would it just be better to go sbc if im skeered? thanks or the help.

[Guest zfan]

I am a Chevy man myself but have the utmost respect for the small block Fords as I have friends who drive them and several are very quick

 

I do not see how one would be any harder to install than the other and prices on Ford small block performance equipment have gotten cheaper as of late.

 

I say do what feels right for you, stroker ford 331 or 347 would be a gas, not to mention loads of torque. Did I mention a Vortech supercharger

 

Mike

[Guest plainswolf]

I agree

 

I am also more of a chevy man but a 302/5.0L or a 327-331 SBF would be fantastic in a Z... not to mention lighter weight than a SBC. In fact, it doesn't sound too difficult to make it even lighter than the origional L block that comes in a Z from the factory.

 

Someone in this forum once said he was 'of the RX-7 mentality' and I am of the exact same thinking... 'lighter is better'..

 

Thats why a SBF is SO apealing to me as well. But thats just my $.02 worth.

Any small block would be fantastic.

[wheelman]

I agree with the 2 previous posts. I'm more of a Ford guy myself and if I hadn't run across a great deal on an LT1 I would have gone with a 302.

 

I did tons of research and the only real problem is the steering shaft clearance which can be solved with a u-joint. A guy named Al Silveria (alsil on this board) makes a cross member mount that solves the motor mount issues as well. I would ask him to lower the mount point about 1/2 to 1 inch to provide hood clearance for the EFI manifold if you use one. Al has a web site where he has lots of pictures (zcar.netdojo.com).

 

If you do go with a SBF you can get one from a Lincoln Mark 7 or Mercury Marquie cheaper than a Mustang but it's the same engine, some even had the 230HP HO.

 

The parts are getting cheaper and if you want to use a manual transmission the Ford T5 is much more plentiful than the GM unit. Took me about 2 months to find one. Most of the Chevy guys will tell you to use a T56 but they're to expensive for me. I'm going to run the T5 until I get a chance to rebuild it using a G-Force package.

 

Anyway, don't be afraid to do the Ford swap, most of the problems have been solved, just search this site and ask questions.

 

If I do another one it will be a SBF.

 

Ken W.

[Guest kotart13]

hmmm so maybe i didnt know about the steering clearance prob because i only read the ford part of this forum, lol.

 

the only real reason id rather do a 302 swap is because here, in dallas, mustang parts are dirt cheap (if you dont believe me, check out the classified section of dfwstangs.com).

 

im still debating what to do. i was actually thinking of a ranger v8 swap instead, but as of right now i own a dakota r/t, and i dont think i could get rid of it for another v8 pickup truck... ive got some decisions to make.

[Z8]

I went for the ford conversion for 115 reasons, as in the 115 pounds difference in weight between a 302 and 350. I autocross so weight is everything, not to mention I'm from the school of small/light equals fun to drive. Unless you're from the same school I am the chevy will be a little easier swap.