When picking an engine to swap, What are the best models and years that "will bolt right in"...
ie no shock tower adaption, fabrication, has easily available replacement parts

 

for a V8 swap you can put a 289 or 302 into a 64-66 with no problems since the 260 to the 302 are basicly the same block and 260 and 289 came stock for those years. you can also look in the FAQ tread there is alot of info in there about engine swaps.

 

for 64-66 the 289 and 302 will fit without any modification to the shock towers, for the 351w and 351c you will usually need to notch the towers to make them fit.

and if you are swapping i6 to v8 you need to remember to switch to 5 lug and do all the suspension work which can be pretty expensive.

 

Does year matter at all on the 302?
i am going from i6. I need to replace the suspension brakes etc anyway so i have decided to go v8...

 

well that works then...and you'll most likely need a tougher rear end to handle the extra power but you probably knew that already

year doesnt really matter, at least i dont know of any fitment issues. i have a 5.0 from a fox body mustang in mine.

 

good to know on year. Stupid question, what is the diffeence between a 302 and a 5.0?

 

On all 260's 289's 302's the motor mounts are the same. The year may matter on if you want fuel injection or carberation. If you want a hydro or mechanical, roller or flat tappet. Also the heads sucked whatever year it was, none of them flow very well, easy upgrade though. If none of that matters to you and you just want a 302, any year will do.

 

the name and year

 

Really there isn't, same block. People refer to them differently because of the equipment on top. The 302 reference is usually toward an older block without fuel injection. The 5.0 is commonly the fuel injected version found in fox bodies mainly. But again its still the same motor, more of a slang/lingo/marketing thing.

 

its basically the same thing...302 is cu in and 5.0 is litres

but the 5.0s (at least out of the foxes, actually i think all 302s/5.0s made after 68 or something like that, again not 100% sure) have a 28oz harmonic balancer and i think the older 302s are 50oz. the 5.0s can also come with EFI and a serpentine belt setup i believe. but they both have the same external dimensions and mounting points. again im about 95% sure that is right but you might have to check on the numbers because im going off of memory, and ive been hit in the head a lot so my memory kind of sucks haha. hope that helps.

edit: haha, i guess i type too slow