datsunlover Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Well, I got my doors blown off by a s/c VW corrado last week, and decided I need a V8 in the Z. Been looking around for a 302.. Im wary of buying used motors from people (got burned TWICE in one year...) BUT a good friend has just offered me what seems to be a good deal; Late 80's sb 351W and 3 speed auto (C4 I thnk.. dono what the stall converter is though 22-2400 mabey? hmm..) out of a POLICE interceptor (crown vic) AND it has FI! (throttle body) It also comes with a Hurst ratchet shifter w/reverse lockout. He told me $450 for the whole package. I've known this guy for probly 10 years, and don't think he'd screw me intentionally on it.. Sooo.... as for the 'package' in question (assuming it's in good working order..) does this sound like a deal? Or should I wait for something else to pop up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Do you have more information on it? Exact year, miles, etc... Will you get the wriing harness and ECU? Is there any way you could hear/see it run? The price sounds reasonable to me if it includes the ECU. The deck height of the 351 is a little taller than a 302 so you might run into some hood clearance issues and possible header to steering rod interferance. I think I remember at least one other guy posting on here that did a 351 install, you might try searching for his posts to get an idea of the problems he ran into. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 Oh yah, harness and computer come with. It's still in the car, so I can hear it run. From what my friend tells me, it runs reeeal nice, and apparently all is in good shape. I know.. ex cop car.. beat on.. BUT; another guy I know works at Ford tells me although the police cars get 'thrashed' a bit, they do get a LOT of maintinence done to keep them in top shape. Plus, they are 'built' to take a bit of punishment to beguin with.. (how many cruisers you see on the side of the road, broken down?) As for hight, I'm gona TRY to keep this lookin like a stock Z, so I'll have to see what I can do about mounting it good and low.. Im thinking about maybe (?) cutting down the oil pan to get the motor lower but I'll have to wait to get the motor sitting in the engine bay and do some measuring. Any idea what the name of the member here is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Sorry I don't remember the guys name. When I first started researching my swap I planned on using a 302 and 5 speed. But before I found an acceptable engine I ran across a Caprice cop car with an LT1 and decided to go that way instead. I heard the same things about the cop cars being thrashed. The one I found did need tranny work but ran great so I grabbed the whole car for $1000.00. I'm not going to use the tranny so I don't care that it needs work. I found a GM world class T5 so I'm going to use it. I'm thinking your biggest challenge will be the oil pan. I'm not sure but I'd be real surprised if that engine doesn't have a front sump oil pan. Kinda hard to cut it down very much because the pump is in the front. You might be able to use a pan from a Mustang 5.0 but I'm not sure. If I were you I'd try to get the whole car for the price of the engine. That way you can be sure to get the entire harness uncut and plus be able to grab any other parts you might want to use before selling/giving the hulk to a junk yard. I still have the Caprice in my drive but have stripped almost all the parts I want. I even extracted the cruise control module just in case I want to try to get it to work in the Z. Good luck and try searching the Ford V8 Z forum for 351W posts, the one you're looking for might pop up. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zmettler Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 hell i wish i could find a 351w for that price where im at right now id be lucky to get anything for my car at that price. did you see the post where they were asking $1250 for an HO 5.0. id swipe it up. it will fit just about the same as a 5.0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 305240 Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Check these posts out. You might change your mind. I did a 5.0 swap and have to say it's been the easiest swap I've ever did in my life. http://hybridz.org/nuke/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=33114&highlight=351w+swap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted September 24, 2004 Author Share Posted September 24, 2004 Well, I think I can overcome those issues.. and just being able to say 'Yah, it's a 351' has got me excited! I found out that the car is a 91, and something about 'big valve' heads (I have to start doing some research on it I guess.. ) See, part of this deal is kind of 'helping out a buddy' so to speak.. I'v known the seller for years, and he was getting parts together to build a Stang'... last week he lost his job. He now has a credit card and car payment, rent, and a 4 year old son to take care of, so building a stang has fallen off his plate so to speak. I know he paid $750 for this Crown Vic about 3 months ago, and another $75 for the shifter.. For $450, I think it's a heck of a deal, and it helps him out a bit right now. Also, I was thinking of a 5 speed eventually, so I could sell him the suto and shifter back maybe next fall (he still wants to build a stang, but it's gona be a while yet) and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferd/289 Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 more free advice. a leakdown test seems to be a good way to determine the quality and status of an engine. I have never done one but I heard that it is easy if you have a leakdown tester. Ferd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted October 4, 2004 Share Posted October 4, 2004 I'd buy it in a heart beat. It's true that cop cars are well taken care of. I'd change the tranny in a heary beat. I'd go buy a 6 speed tremec with all the money i saved. I'd say that motor has to be worth at least a solid grand with ease, even if it's over 80k miles. And 351W are one of the most supported motors buy for racing. You can find almost anything for those motors. And it should be plenty of HP too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted October 4, 2004 Author Share Posted October 4, 2004 Well, I'm gona do it. I told my friend I'll take it, just have to sell a vehicle (no need for 2 daily drivers... I dono wtf I'm doing sometimes..) to gather the funds.. Whichever one I sell, I'll get around $3k and that's pretty much the buget I'm working with.. well, probly 2500 cause I have a few things to take care of before the car.. ANYway, this buget has to be stretched to unclude the brake upgrade, suspension work, and mounts/exhast/rad/ect for the driveline. I'm confident that I can do it within this range, as long as the 'while I'm at it' bug doesnt bite me too hard.. I'm gona run the C4 auto with the Hurst ratchet shift for next year anyway (seeing as it's already attached to the 351) and may look for a deal on a 6 speed next summer/fall. Also, I figure that this swap will be enough work as it is, without adding the cost/time/work of a 6 speed to it. As for HP/torque, I can ask my local ford dealership to run the VIN tag and get all the specs.. and probly the service histpry too. My friend (seller) figures in it's 'stock' form, it's around 275Horse/300Torque, but I dono if thats acurate. Either way, after I rip off the A/C, power steering, air pump, and dump it in a light little Z.. it's gona FLY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Yea, no joke. 200 to the wheels is fast in a Z. Over 250 to the wheels is a really fast daily driver. Over 300 and you start to get into that "drag, not really street daily driver" phase. Then it's in that phase till you have so much HP you can't get traction. Then it's time to cut up the back end Yea, that motor will do nicelly. I think you'll be really happy with it. Only problems i can think of you might have is gauge conversion. But that shouldn't be too hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 305240 Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 What year is your Z? If it's a later one, you might not have to beef up the rear and frame running an auto. If you like to do a few burnouts (who don't?) with the stick shift, you stand a chance of twisting the body a little. I've got an R200 standing by in case the R180 gives up the ghost. I'm going to keep the auto, as my knees really tell me my age when I have to do a lot of shifting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted October 5, 2004 Author Share Posted October 5, 2004 Well the Z is a 75, and I already have (half ass sort of.. ) the frame conected with two pieces of 2X2 sq tube.. but the front unibody is what wories me, as it has had at least two previous 'repairs' from what I can tell. Not like accident damage, just badly fixed rust issues, and lots of ugly (looks like STICK) welding all over the front rails. I want that end to at least be stronger than it is.. and I'm not woried about adding a few pounds to the car for stifness, seeing as I'll have TONES of power to make up for the gains. I am gona switch to a rear diff from a zx (mines had it; lots of noise/leaks/and clunks) and get new bushings/mounts tfor the whole car, suspension included. I guess I'd beter make a 'shoping' list and start ordering that stuff.. As for guages, I'd like to get the stock z's working (trying to make this a sleeper) but if it's a big headach, I'll just replace evrything with aftermarket stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 305240 Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 To be on the safe side, while the engine is out, I'd take to a good welder. Have him grind the bird do-do off, reweld it, even plate it if need be. Then, have him make up a good set of strut braces, strut to strut, strut to body, and strut to frame. After that, I wouldn't worry about anything...Oh yeah...A rear strut bar is a good idea also. You should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted October 6, 2004 Author Share Posted October 6, 2004 well, I'm aprenticing at a machine shop right now, and we have some nice welding equipment. I've been learing on that, and my little 110 gasless mig for a little over a year now.. And for anything I want to look nice, I'll go over it with the tig. I feel pretty confident that I can clean the car up good and weld in some structural support.. I was considering welding a rear brace in permanently.. but now am thinking of just doing a 4 point cage back there; It'll give some suport, AND make it a bit safer in the event of a crash.. I'm looking localy for someone to bend me some pipe to fit, and I'll weld it in.. The plan is to attach it to the floor behind the seats/ tie it to my 2x2 frame rails. The front will definatly have some sort of braceing for the strut towers too.. I'll have to figure that out after the motor is in place though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savageskaterkid Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 Just lookin through some old posts, I know about the RX7 being drivable, did you get this one going or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DriftToy Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 I'm about to do a 302 swap into an '80 Corolla and I picked up the motor and trans(t-5) for $150.00 but my friend I bought it from owed me $300.00. But that's not a bad *** deal for the harness and all. I didn't need the harness cuz I'm going carbed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.