1970coupe

well i had a crazy idear of putting in a late 80s early 90s fuel injected 5.0 thats been modded up into my 70 stang. Well the response was that its too complicated and you have to spend alot of money to get it to fit in my coupe. well since most of yallare somewhatprofessional and have done this maybe can you please tell me the expense to do it and how much skill i need to have to do it? Could you also hook up the factory 5 speed?

Mustangdemon67

puttin in a 5.0 is pretty simple. not as big a deal as most people make it seem. me and a friend did it and it took about 2 weeks (not workin on it everyday). though i found it much easier just to carb it. i think hooking up efi will require about 12+ sensors and im not too savy when it comes to electrical.

a couple things to keep in mind when doing a 5.0 swap.
it has no outlet for mechanical fuel pump, you will need an electric
a new hole for dip stick will need to be tapped
make sure the outlet on the water pump is on the proper side for your radiator
new oil pan
depending on the tranny you get, you may need a new flywheel
you can use your pulleys off your old motor if you want to run a v belt system.

i found it a bit difficult to find a proper size serpentine belt when you have no a/c, power steering or smog

oh and for the gear on the distributor, make sure its hardened steel for roller cams

Starfury

It's definitely not that hard to do the motor swap. The blocks themselves are nearly identical. The hard part is wiring up the EFI and plumbing the fuel lines, if you want to go that route. Personally, unless I had the time and money, I'd just carb it and use an original timing cover/accessory setup. Much easier and you get the benefit of a roller cam out of the swap. Also gives you an excuse to swap out the cam while you have the timing cover off

That said, why on earth would you consider removing a Cleveland for a 5.0?

JamesW

Go to my website below and read the EFI section in the left column.

1970coupe

very good point. i suspose because i would like to buy one all setup and their easy to come by and cheap vs the cleveland is very EXPENSIVE when fixed up to 350+ hp and hard to find deals. I have no clue what it would cost to rebuild my 351 and i would like to do it the right way and mod it but that will cost probably around 5000+ to do it right and have around 400hp.

Scott H.

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1970coupe

alright well i think thats smart. ill just have to keep saving. ill have to get some helpwhen i start building to get the hp i want because i only know the basics. like what type heads, cam,ext. maybe someone here can give me an example of a 351c that was dynoed with the mods

Starfury

Clevelands aren't really that much more expensive to build anymore than standard sbf's. You don't really need aftermarket heads (although you may consider a different set of factory heads, depending on which you have), and internal parts are just as easy to come by as 302 parts. Cleveshave a whole lot more power potential than 302's as well. 350hp is a very attainable goal for a cleve. I think you could hit 400hp on a rebuild without much trouble at all.

1970coupe

awesome. do you think i could just upgrade the camshaft and intake on it for now and gain around 320-340hp with the big tube headers it has now?

67mustang302

Well, first off swapping in an EFI 5.0 is hardly complicated. The worst part is really some wiring, and maybe the EFI intake not wanting to clear the hood(not sure if that's an issue on a 70). The other thing about the Cleve, I'm by no means a major fan of the Clevelands, but I've said it before and I'll say it again, build what you have, 95% of the time it's cheaper that way. Cleveland parts are maybe a bit more expensive than 302 parts, but not enough to warrant a total engine swap, Cleve parts are just a bit harder to come by. Also, any stock headed Cleveland > any stock headed 302. Sure, you could build a 302 with better aftermarket heads and make better power than a Cleveland with stock heads, but then the question becomes, why not just keep the C and put good heads on that? You'll be into it for almost the same as a built 302, but make more power.

You want a REALLY good performer, save up for a good rebuild on the Cleveland, keep cost down by staying carb'd, but convert to a roller cam and put some CHI 185 heads on it. You'll spend more than if you converted to a 5.0 with heads etc, but you'll have a 400+rwhp 351 car you can drive every day. The return on investment is about the same since you already have the Cleve, but would have extra cost in acquiring a 302, even though it's a somewhat low cost to get one. You'll end up with the same hp/dollar spent, you'll spend more dollars, but come out in the end with 100+ more horsepower than you would with a 302.

The wow factor of a 351C + CHI heads + running 11's on street tires with pump fuel.......that's hard to compete with.