ternis_writer

The title does pose a question; will the engine fit? I am sure that I can make a 351 cu in engine fit inside my 1966 mustang, but what I want to know is; has anyone ever tried this? what are the cons? Say I wanted to pull the engine and transmission straight from another ford vehicle and drop it straight into the mustang with a v8 suspension kit, from what vehicle would I get the engine? and what ford automatic transmission would handle the 351 and fit the 'street pro' profile?
thanks!

andrewmp6

With the right motor mounts and headers it will fit but changing spark plugs might be a pain.The trans it depends on how much power your looking to make and do you want a over drive gear or not?

ternis_writer

I'd like to have a lot of torque for acceleration on the track, and yes, an overdrive gear would be nice for fuel mileage in casual cruising. Any suggestions on a ford vehicle I might pull a 351 and transmission assembly from? or an auto trans with overdrive and the proper gear ratio to handle a 351? I just dont know any ford vehicles that I could find in a recking yard that come stock with a 351 these days.
Thanks

dodgestang

The unfortunate truth is you are not going to walk into a wrecking yard in WA and find a 351c running gear in a car that you can pull out with a trans and bolt into your mustang. The 351c was only made for 4 years in the States in the early 70s so if want to use the 351c you should just source it via classified or forums and not waste your time walking around a wrecking yard.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/21564...-+fox+body+kit


You are much more likely to be able to find a 351w in a wrecking yard still in a car with a trans attached that very well may be still running and not require rebuilding.

hightower2011

Dodgestang is someone you'll definitely want to listen to. If anybody I'd say he's more than qualified to speak about the 351c.

I also think he made an excellent point on a 351w, they are MUCH more common and easy/cheap to find. I paid $200 for my entire 351w and it's proving to be a very solid base for my rebuild.

A 351c will without a doubt be a tight fit in a '66. You might consider "notching" the shock towers.

ternis_writer

that does help a lot! and since I will be replacing most parts on the block, it does not matter to me where the engine was manufactured. now how about some cars that I would find in a wrecking yard with a 351w inside?
thanks again for your replies.

BeouxBrice

I was able to fit a 351c in a 67 with only denting the header in one place on the #1 runner... however, I am running manual trans...

PaulS

Not to mention that the 67 was made to fit a 390 in..... the 351 (both W & C) is a tight fit in the 65-66 but the worst part is trying to find headers and accessory brackets.

hightower2011

Look for '70s trucks and vans. Mine was out of a '72 van previously, but has been rebuilt and put in a bronco since. So I'm doing the 2nd rebuild.

Also, if you want to drop it right in, expect to move around some brackets and accessories on the engine such as my block had the original power steering pump attached, which is useless to me so I had to take that off. This will probably require new belts and/or a new belt/pulley arrangement.


And it shouldn't matter where it's from. Unless I'm misinformed, I'm not aware of any blatant "lemons" produced by certain factories.

dodgestang

Why not look for late 80s early 90s broncos.

Many of these will have 351w in them, have a trans with an OD gear, and if you get it with EFI and don't want to do the conversion just change the intake and bolt on a carb.