Layne, Greetings from Clearwater. If putting a 351 in a Mav, definitely cut back the shock towers. Changing the plugs in my car with the original 302 wasn't fun, can't imagine how bad it would be with my 351W now if we hadn't. You will appreciate the extra room. I had three sets of headers and the stock manifolds to look at when I put the 351 in. We pretty much ruled out the manifolds as too tight at the time. I don't know what it takes to make them work. We ended up using a set of headers from a 68 Cougar with a 302 ... chopped 1 inch out of each pipe just off the flange to take up the added width of the Windsor. Oil filter will be close to the tower ... you can notch the tower, run a shorter Mopar filter, or get a 90 degree adapter. Air cleaner will be close to the hood with all but the shortest intakes. If my 351 needs anything more than rings and bearings next time it is out of the car ... it may get replaced by a 331 stroker. 302-based motors fit ...
The stock manifolds aren't just bolt on. You will need to grind the manifold down a bit. One of the studs will be impossible to get to once the engine is in place.
Says the guy with that picture in his avatar ... Yup, ... it won't be close to the hood if you cut a hole in it for the air cleaner to poke through... got that setup myself... then still, I had to use a shortie air cleaner to fit under the scoop after I added a 1 inch spacer to make my manifold actually flow some air. Trying to figure out if it would all fit under the scoop with the Edelbrock Air-Gap RPM manifold I really want ... currently running a Performer 351 ... very torquey but even a Performer RPM is supposed to be much stronger HP-wise. Each one is a bit taller than the last. Oil Filter ... In my car, the full size Ford filter was rubbing the shock tower. You could physically get to on the motor, but I was really worried that first time the motor torqued over, it would damage it. If yours has clearance, maybe there is some difference how your motor is sitting on the mounts from how mine is.
layne, The stock manifolds won't work without severe grinding and don't flow very well anyway. I run Tubular Automotive's that work fine with my BIG windsor with just a little caressing with a ball peen hammer. I have not seen the small tubes as a big issue. Changing the plugs is not too bad if you just take your time and experiment with different combinations of wrenches. The oil filter on the 351 is in exactly the same place as the 302. If it is hitting there is something wrong, perhaps your frame adapters are on backwards. Good luck with this swap, it will be fun. Lee "THE MAV" Richart
Just what he said.unless youre running some kind of radical engine thats gonna need some big tubes youll be just fine with the tubular automotive headers. My cousins fit right in and the car runs good.
layne, Yes, the tubular automotive's will fit without touching the spring towers if you flatten the two tubes on each side that want to hit. It doesn't take much and really won't affect performance. Just put a little flat on the side where they want to touch. You may have to take them off and on a time or two and the left side goes on a lot easier if you raise the engine off the motor mount a little. The steering won't go full lock to lock either, but you should be able to live with it. Good Luck, Lee "THE MAV" Richart
An engine doesn't need to be "radical" to need more than 1.5" primary pipes. Even baseline 302 longtubes have 1.625" tubes. Decent 351w tubes are 1.75", and that is only because they can't get any larger tubing to fit. The Tubular Automotive 351c headers come 1.875" to 2" at your option. Same displacement, room for decent tubes. 1.5" tubes are tiny. The old 5.0 HO headers were 1.5" and GM regularly puts larger tubes on smaller engines, from the factory. What's the first thing you change on a 5.0 to get some added power? Headers. And that is with 50 fewer cubes.
No... The 351w is a wider block than a 302. The filter is in the same place on the side of the block, but the added width pushes it over towards the frame rail.
You know to be honest with you im a fan of 302 blocks but everybody has their own taste,I personally think the height of the 351w block is more of an issue than the width.(fitting into a Maverick) But then again anything is possible, you can fit a BIG BLOCK into a Maverick its all on how much your heart is set into it. You really have no other choice on headers unless you make them yourself,cut the shock towers and put some bigger diameter tube headers,or run stock manifolds. 1.5 longtubes arent better than stock manifolds?
ratio411, The 351w block is wider, but only at the head surfaces. The oil filter is in exactly the same place. I have at least 1/2 inch clearance around mine. If the filter is hitting the spring tower, the engine is too far back or too high. Also my air cleaner clears my stock hood, but not by much. I run an Edelbrock Performer and no carb spacer. It's all a question of a little extra performance or cutting a hole in the hood. Lee "THE MAV" Richart
I don't believe that you can put a 302 pan on a 351 block ... I am pretty sure the width is greater on the 351. My frame mounts are in the same place as when the 302 was installed at the factory. I am pretty sure that I got new motor mounts for the 351 and that may be a factor, but we didn't take the tranny out for the swap. It stayed on it mount the whole time. It should be in the same place front-to-back. All this would mean that my motor mounts might have something different going on if I have little clearance for the oil filter and others aren't. Maybe my motor is in the car a bit high. Lee, If you went straight up a bit with your oil filter, would there be contact with the lower curve of your shock tower?
