I'm planning on doing an engine swap. BeforeI get lynched forwhat it's going intojust know I want a Ford V8. It's a.....'79 Datsun280ZX 2+2. It came with a 2.8 ltr straight 6 with a redline @7000 RPM's.It's a killer little motor but too small for me.

I'm looking for 350-400hp, rev happy, fairly inexpensive, and a rock solid reliable motor. I know 5.0's drop in with room to spare. If I want it to look more exotic I couldstick on some ITB's. What engine should I go with 289, 302, 351W,M,C? What performance upgrades do you guys recommend? I like the Idea of a 429 butit's too big! Mod motors are too wide.

Just looking for some ideas.

 

go withlong reach351 W maybe a 408 or some thing. there is aZ up here with a 351w in it. and a hand full with SBC in them.

 

Long reach? Is that like a short stoke, long rodcombo? That's more along the line of what I'm after.Bigger rod to stroke ratio= higher RPM's & more reliability. Datsuns are good about their parts interchangability. What all parts can I swap around to get a good long rod Ford motor. I need a block with a tall deck heigth, a short stroke crank (289?), and long enough rods to connect the two,a light weight flywheel, all ballanced to perfection. I'll most likly run aluminum heads so therefore I could get away with a little over 10:1 compression ratio. I might also consider custom forged pistons ifneeded. Does any one have any figures for deck heigth (crank center to top of the block) or just any good high RPM combos?

 

In another thread someone said:

"You'd be better off going to a Windsor engine. The 4"x3" (bore x stroke for the 302)likes to rev and gives you plenty of room for valves that will breather. A 289 is also a goodchoice with a 4" bore and 2.87" stroke."

The 289 sounds good to me! What all should I look for (or avoid) in a JY 289? Any specific years better than the others?Will anintake/ headsfora 302 fit? Does anyone have any ideas/ suggestions? This is what I'm saving my pennies for: TWM Individual Throttle Body Injection! Yea, it's gonna take a whole lot of pennies.

 

I did more research. The Winsor deck is an extra inch taller than the 302/289. The 351W alsohas the same bore spacing as the 289 and 302 and could use the same crank but the main journals are way bigger (0.25") on the 351W. I am contacting Scat to see if they havea 289 crank with big journals or how much a custom crank would cost. I read somewhere about a guy who solved a similarproblem by stacking up the main bearings. Everyone said he was nuts but it worked (don't know for how long). Could you use a set of custom 1/4" thick main bearings? I also checked in the Ford Racing catalog for a 351W block with the smaller journals. They have one but it's a "Nascar" block. Aluminum block, dry sump, ludicrously expensive!

There is nothing new under the sun so someone out there is running (or has tried to run) a 351W blockwith 289 crank. Speak Up!

 

I did some ore digging around and came across this site: www.victoryibrary.com/mopar/rod-tec-c.htm . It has some great info on the efect of rod ratio on the performance of both troker and detroked engines. Great read!!!

I also got a hold of Scat today. Of course, they said I would need a custom billet crank for only $3K! [:'(]I'm no fancy sponsored racer so that's out of the question. I found an alternative though! Ford racing has a main journal spacer (PN: M-6339-A351) that reduces the 3531W 3.00" journal to the 351C 2.75". Still not small enough for a 289 crank (2.25"). But something similar could be machied to work. What would the propper material be? Does anyone know of a good machine shop that would becapable and willingto do something like this?

 

You want a high revving engine? Get the 302/5.0L. A little more torque can be had with the 351, but that light of a car won't have any torque concerns anyway. You can stroke the 302 to 331 easily, and it will retain its rev-happy nature. There's no reason to stuff a 302 or 289 crank into a 351 block. Heck, it's real easy to build an 8k rpm 351 also. The 3.5" stroke isn't real excessive for length in all reality.

If you wanted to be really unique, find a 427FE motor. Big bore, short stroke, 7k+ rpm from the factory in a big block.

Also, the 260/289/302 engines are Windsors. There is a 302 Cleveland, but it's an Aussie engine and not common in the US.