well my 302 is dead and the block i believe is not rebuild-able, either way im dropping in more power... i plan on keeping the EFI... ive been going throgh my options-to-budget choices and my budget is around $4500 to $5K.

these are the options if considered; 302 bored 0.030", 331 stroker, 347 stroker, 351, or 408 stroker... i like the #'s on the 408, 480ft. lbs at 3800 and 480 hp at 5700, for 5 grand with aluminum heads and all forged rotating assembly. either way i go, im building a solid bottom end... what do y'all think?

 

I worked with a guy who put a 351 in place of his 302 in a Bronco. He said he had so much trouble that he would never try anything like that again. The 351 Windsor engine is a totally different engine. Nothing interchanges.

 

yea i think the 351 in general is completly different, i would go back with a 302 myself

 

which 351 are you thinking about? the windsor, modified, or cleveland? i'm pretty sure the windsor bolts right in but the accessory brackets, exhaust y-pipe, intake manifold, computer and a few other things will need to be changed. you have true duals so you'll have to just get the front of the pipes worked a little bit. are you thinking of going carburated or stay fuel injected?

 

351w, my exhaust is is LT header-back and adjustable... i planned on swapping new headers in anyways. so far everything ive checked in my service manual, everything is basically the same. even the firing order. plan on keeping the EFI to save a few headaches

 

even a "stock" 351 will make you happier compared to your 302, I'm a fan of the 408 but it might be outside your budget by time you upgrade the fuel system but It'd be worth the wait if you need to save up a lil' bit more

















now this is not an attempt to highjack but are you guys serious????



somebody lied to you


the only thing that doesn't interchage is the crank, block, timing cover and intake manifold

the 302 and 351W will physicly bolt into each others place, now if your "co-worker" did a 302 to 351C or 351M then yeah he's a moron and should be slapped HARD

 

I don't have a parts catalog in front of me but there are several interchangeable parts on the 289, 302 and 351W. At the time when I built my Windsor, 5.0's were everywhere so parts were quite easy to come by, not cheap though !!

 

my $4-5k budget is mainly for the long block or long block+add ons, my pay checks are for all the little things that im not factoring into the budget lol im leaning towards a 351 long block and STS single turbo kit mounted under hood similar to the diesels, ive got a TON of room under the hood. either way i go, the motor will have a solid bottom end...


yeah ive personally seen 302 to 351 swaps lol and dont 302 heads bolt right on to 351w motors?

 

Any small bell housing engine swap isnt that difficult. You could do 351w 351c 351m.. Going EFI 351w really wont be that hard considering your already 302 EFI and all. 302w 351w 351c 351m 400m all use the same bolt pattern for the heads. They arent all the same but any can be made to work with modifications..

 

Thats not true.

 

There's nothing wrong with the 351c or even 351m swaps. Both engines are capable of being made to perform very well. Not even really that hard to do..

 

It definitely is not like the chevy v8s where almost everything interchanges.
I personally swapped a 351W engine into my 70 Mustang replacing a 302. The 351 came out of a 69 Cougar. The ac brackets would not interchange. The cougar had ac and the mustang did not. I had to buy new pulleys and brackets to mount the compressor on the 302. The fan connection on the water pump was located at a different elevation. I couldn't use the radiator fan housing on the Cougar using the 302 because of this. This was in the 70's so I don't remember all the stuff I ran into to change these engines. I actually changed the entire drive train because the 351W had a larger transmission and rear. So I swapped all of it. I was wrong to make generalized statements, but there are differences you won't run into swapping the older chevy engines.

I wish I remembered more about my coworker on his 351W from 302 swap, but this was the year 2000. All I remember was that he had a lot of trouble and did say he regretted ever trying it.

 

the 351w has a taller block. its about 1 inch taller where the heads bolt on. Thats why the accessory brackets wont directly interchange with the 302.

 

And the 351w intake manifold is wider that a 302 manifold. They don't interchange.

 

I have a rebuilt 351W i'm puting in my Bronco. I like the 302 and it offers good potential but I think you would be more than satisfied with a 408 stroker. I wanted to build one but I was on a tighter budget than you are. So I say Go for it. 302's and 351W's are both stout IMO.