1981stangman

I own a stock 1981 ford mustang with the stock 2.3 and auto transmission. A buddy of mine has a 1977 351w and C4 transmission. What would need to be done to do the swap. Any advice/instructions. ect. would be greatly appreciated.

tohoopty

there is a 351 section.

Babybudistmonk

Nothing. You can build big horsepower safer with a 2.3 than you can a SBF. Just my 2 cents.

dreamer1uk

Theres no replacement for displacement!, Mr Babybudistmonk :P

OP - he is very right though. The 2.3T actually put out more power than the 302's from the factory. However, its each to there own though. Some may say its cheaper to build up a 302 or 351 in your case (H/C/I)

You also might want to nose around in the 5.0 section too and use the search. I would recomend upgrading the rear end, but, people who dropped in a 302 into a 4 banger have left the rear end alone and had nice results.

Babybudistmonk

Granted, it takes a little more finesse and strategy to build big horsepower with the 2.3T, but the design of the engine verses the 5.0 is a much stronger platform to start with. The 2.3 engine will handle 700+hp a lot longer and more reliably than the v8.

If you still want to swap...

You will want to look into beefing up the front suspension a bit. Even tho the 2.3 weighs in reality about the same as the 5.0, the v8 cars had some different suspension items that you will probably want to upgrade to. Breaks, springs, spindles, struts, sway bar, etc.

A lot op people do swap in the bigger 8.8 rear end because thats what the v8 cars have. My little 4 banger is pushing more power than the v8gt's from the factory, still using the smaller rear. I would probably go with dreamer on this one and keep the one you got for now unless you have access to a good cheap 8.8.

and lastly, like what was said above, check out the 351 section. I'm sure plenty of 4cyl fox's have been gutted for 351's and there's probably some good info there.

enjoy

FoxGT

For it to just run? Oil pan & pickup, engine mounts, shift linkage, driveshaft, exhaust, fuel lines, fuel pump, radiator hoses, & a bit of wiring if i recall correctly. I can't be much help past that with your fuel system if you're going carburated. All of my experience has been with efi.
The 2.3t swap has the issue of switching to efi which may or may not be an issue depending on your level of experience unless you run carb on it as well.

2.3t's can reach 350hp pretty cheap & easily, past 450hp I think the 351w would be the better option mainly due to the cheap cost of a 393 stroker & aftermarket of the windsor based engine. 351w blocks will hold quite a bit.

Personally I absolutely love my 2.3t mostly due to having quite a bit of power along with how easy it is to work on, parts cost, & parts availability if something breaks.

joeaviator

I know this thread is kinda old, but I'm in a similar boat. I've got a 1981 Ghia Hatchback with a 3.3L. I've been thinking about putting a 5.0 in it. Any thoughts or places to look to get me started in the right direction? Or what do you guys think about just keeping the 3.3?

FoxGT

Install the 3.3 in the garbage.
2.3t or 5.0 would be my vote. http://www.mustang50magazine.com/tec...p/viewall.html Read over that to get the idea.