Can i put a 351 engine on my car, and what will be the bad outcomes of it if any, and what are the main steps involved for doing so, like will i need different motor mounts, distributor, etc... Any comments will be deeply appreciated thanks alot guys.
Mounts and accessories all interchange with the 302. The big things that do not: Distributor Intake manifold Oil pan. Exhaust is one minor concern. The exhaust can interchange between a 302 and 351w, but with the cramped engine bay of the Mav, it cannot be done in this particular swap. Several companies make swap headers though. Just an extra expense. The oil pan is unique to the 351w, but any front sump stock pan or aftermarket replacement will fit the Mav. Tranny, balancer, flexplate, T/C, pulleys, water pump, alternator, radiator, and most anything else like this can be swapped from an original 302 Mav to a 351w swap. You don't mention exactly what 351 you want to use... A 351W is the most common swap. A 351M/400 won't swap. At least not cost effectively for no real benefit. A 351C will swap just the same as a 351W. It too uses unique parts on the LONGBLOCK, but also uses all the 302 parts beyond the engine itself. Mounts, pulleys, tranny parts, etc... are interchangeable. Aftermarket swap headers are also available for the 351C. With any 351, the shock towers are a serious obstacle. The engines will bolt in and run with unmodified towers, but for your sanity they should be shaved. Maintainence on a 351 in a stock tower Mav is pretty much a remove the engine affair. Do you want to pull the engine to swap plugs? Or do you want to do a search on this site to learn how to shave the towers and be done with it? My advice: Find a complete 69-73 351W. This is the best era for heads and the entire engine will swap 'as-is'. No worries about oil pan, engine balance weight, fuel pump provisions, etc... Now take the stock crank out, buy a cast 3.85" stroker crank for a little more than the cost of turning your stock unit... now combine it with some off the shelf 302 pistons. You will end up with 40 extra cubic inches for only a couple bux over a stock rebuild! It's a 393W and great bang for the buck. One thing to keep in mind with the earlier 351Ws: They came in 2 slightly different deck heights. 9.48" and 9.504... only about .024" difference, but if you get really wild with your combo, it could skew your compression ratio slightly. With most head gaskets being .040"+ thick, you would really have to be cutting it close to have any clearance issues though. Good luck Dave
