Tea Drinker

Hi friends, I'm new to the mustang family, just joined the forums... and, actually, don't own a mustang yet. But I will soon!

I know very little about cars and engines, but have been consuming as much as possible and REALLY want to learn the inner-workings of a car. I also want to build a fast, fox-body mustang on a medium budget. From the little research I've done I think I can accomplish BOTH of these by doing the following:

1. Buy a used 351W engine. Take it apart and rebuild. Bore it, stroke it. Add performance parts as needed. I would like to do this slowly, research as I go, and really understand what's going on in the motor. (Fun and educational)

2. Buy a manual transmission. Take it apart and rebuild it. Really have no idea what a good transmission is for the 351W, or the best way to approach. But maybe you guys have some suggestions.

3. Once I have a good working knowledge of the engine and transmission, and both are ready to crank out the HP, I'll find a foxbody body in good condition and drop-in the motor and tranny. Voila!


Here's where I need your help guys. I want to hit at least 450 HP naturally aspirated. In a perfect world I would like the engine to be strong enough to handle a turbo or supercharger IF I decided to add one later in life. This is not a requirement though if it's going to break the bank. I don't plan on taking it to the drag strip every week, but I would like the freedom of taking it there 9-10 times a year without fear of blowing the motor. Also I would like to burn most ricers that challenge me on the street I actually value off-the-line, 0-60 time OVER quarter mile time if that makes any difference in parts/approach. I will most likely drop into a convertible body for summer cruising.

351W Questions:
Is there any particular year I should look for or avoid?
Should I go with EFI or Carb?
Not knowing much about engines, are some 351W's only compatible with EFI or Carb, or can I switch the fuel system method at will regardless of what block I start with?

Transmission Questions:
Given how I want to drive the vehicle, what's a solid transmission to look for?

Misc Questions:
How should I begin equipping my garage with the right tools?
Are there any step-by-step videos or write-ups you could reference?

Sorry for the novel guys! Hoping you can help me start this journey the right way and in a few years I can actually ADD some knowledge to this forum. (One request, I would prefer the advice of guys who have actually done this, no offense intended to the less experienced but I've found everyone chimes in on forums)

Duncan_GT

Look for a guy on here named Duncan_GT, he knows A TON about 351's

dawson1112

Lol I hear he learned not only how to stroke a 351 ,but how not to as well

88 orangepeel notch

What's a medium budget ? In my checkbook that's about $50.00.

But seriously, throw a limit you'd like to stay under then these guys that have been down that road can give better advice.

But here's something I do know, a NA motor pushing 450 will not be a motor you can just throw a turbo/blower on without dropping compression.

88 orangepeel notch

Double post………my bad

88-347stroker

Dude,i just pulled a perfectly running 5.0 out of my 88 and dropped a 347 in, when people talked about budget builds you need a number I am $8000 deep and not done with car, having said that I do have the motor and trans for sale, also have 650 crab and air gap intake with med distributor ,which would be a good way of learning you can buy a stroker kit and have block prepped or do yourself (tall task for beginner) , add heads ,cam , long tube headers ,my motor on engine dyno made 422 hp

Tea Drinker

Ok, so after seeing some of your guys' numbers perhaps I'm on the "budget" plan more than I thought. I really don't want to spend any more than $2,500 on the engine alone. Maybe an extra $1,000 if we include the transmission. Can I hit at least 400 hp on this budget?

(It seems I have a lot to learn since I don't understand how forced induction would change the compression ratio, as Orange_peel mentions.)

Duncan_GT

With that budget, you're looking at a stock short block and a supercharger

Tea Drinker

Ok, well maybe I can stretch it out over time. What's a minimum budget for hitting the NA horsepower I want and using the vehicle as I hoped?

88-347stroker

Duncan, where can I get a supercharger for a $1000,$3500 for motor and supercharger, or did you mean free motor and $3500 for supercharger, but anyway tea save your money buy a crate motor and do the bolt ones ,get used to the simply side of cars and spinning wrenches then work up to a bigger project
Motor-$3000-$4000
Intake/carb-$600
Distributor/wires/plugs/coil-$400
Headers-$250-$350
Even if you build the motor yourself :
Junkyard motor-$200
Machine work-$250-$1000 depend on what you do
Master rebuild kit-$750-$1500
Heads or head work-$750-$1500
All other stuff from above