Well I had to rebuild my torque boxes, i used 16 gage steel, it's solid from what i can tell, but this is the first car i have ever restored and teh torque box was one of the first thing I realy welded. But several people have looked at it and are convinved it is great. I gave it the old bash test once it was on there, and it was ok. My question is this.. As of now i have a 200 I6, I havent decided if i want to upgrade my engine or not, but if I do, I am droping a Clevland in. Is there anything else i need to do to my torque box to make it more safe if i am droping a 351 in? I have a friend with 351 stang with rusted torque boxes and he drives it like a mad amn and has no prblems, just wondering what you guys think, thanks.
Should be ok but I would put in some subframe connecters too. In my own opinion, change the last letter of the engine code from a C to a W. You will find it a little easier to work with.
Cool, will do, just incase someday i get the scratch to toss in a big boy hehe, as far as the C ro W I know a few guys that haveing both say the C puts out more power for them, I dunno, what makes the W easier to work with? thanks guys
the cleveland has biger ports and valves. so it has more power potential, but you better check the width of your shock towers and the width of the valve covers on the cleveland. i first bought a 351M/400 to put in my mav. after i got the engine home i found i needed either 4 inchs more clearence or the valve covers were 4 inches wider than the shock towers. so be carful what you spend you money on. i wasted $150. id go no biger than the windsor but even with the taller deck height of the windsor it will be a tight fit.
You would definitely need to modify or eliminate the shock towers in order to drop in a 351 Cleveland, a 351 Windsor is a tight fit but it will fit. With the modern cylinder head offerings available for the Windsors power should not be an issue.
You can put a Cleveland in with no modifications. I have seen it done. Not sure what headers you will need but they are out there. Call Tubular Automotive. I believe a M and 400 both have taller blocks and possibly wider, I cant remember...dont use them. Good luck its still a lot of work!
hey thanks a ton guys for the good info. I havent shopped areound for theses engines yet, so i was clueless. Thanks again On a side note i dont mind haveing to do modifications, i want to learn how to do everything possible with this car, I'll just have to see what options i have when the time comes. thanks again
