Replacing the 302 with a roller 351W

taylor4g63

Founding Member
May 6, 2002
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Asheboro, NC
The 302 I have in the coupe is shot, and I've been on the hunt for a reasonable priced shortblock to replace it. Came across a good deal on a 94' roller 351w out of a lightening locally. So now the questions on what I can use off of my 78' 302...
(I haven't even went to look at it or really talked to the guy yet, so that will probably answer some of my questions but here goes anyway...)

I know most of the obvious, intake, exhaust issues, alt brackets, etc... but not sure about some things.

1. Should I be able to reuse the heads that were on my 302 (ported, polished, bigger valved e7 heads), assuming I need new headbolts/studs? How about pushrods??

2. Motor mounts and all that will be the same correct?

3. Doesn't come with pullies, will I have to buy some new ones? Balancer? Flexplate?

4. Guessing I'll need a new distributer too, with gear for a roller cam.

Anything else i'm missing?

Also curious if anyone knows much about these motors. I'm guessing hyper pistions? Does it have a decent cam in it or should I work on finding one?
,
BTW, all this going in the 68' coupe with a t70 turbo and spraying meth through a C4. Should be fun :D
 
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ok well since no one smarter than me is replying for ya ill give you my thoughts

your 302 heads need to be drilled out from 7/16" to 1/2". other than that, youre heads will bolt right up.

You will need a 351 lower. its wider than the 302s because the deck height is taller by 1/2" i think (1/2" longer stroke).

AFAIK, motor mounts are exactly the same.

dont knwo the answer to the rest of your questions

but i would recommend a TFS stage 1 cam. youd probably put out about 300 rwhp a little under 5000 rpm, and maybe 360 rwtq at around 3000, with PLENTY of torque down low. the stock lightning cam is built to haul big loads. the TFS 1 is built to haul ass. im assuming youre smart enough to check PTV clearance and valvespring specs vs. cam specs, so i wont waste my time going into detail there.
 
The Lightnings came with a flat tappet cam, so if it has a roller, check it out first before buying something else. The block should be a roller (look for the casting numbers above the starter---F4TE) though if it's a 94.
 
Don't waste money on a hi-zoot cam with those heads...you'll never see the potential.

I wouldnt put E7 heads on a 351, unless I was restoring a 1969 Mercury sedan or something to showroom.

Just sayin'
 
I swapped my 73 over to a 351W.

You will need...

New pushrods (the length will depend on whether you have roller or flat tappet lifters.)
New Flexplate? (I put the question mark because although I bought a new one I wonder why I actually needed it. Seems like it should have been the same as the old one. Wait, I remember, you need a flexplate with the proper balance for that 351w's crank. I think it's the 50oz)
New Intake Manifold
New Distributor

New Power Steering Bracket (Most of the brackets will fit the 351w fine, but the power steering bracket will have to be modified or replaced. I'm a cheap SOB so I just rigged up an adapter for mine.)
Exhaust? (the exhaust manifold/headers you have now will bolt up to your 351w, but since they will be placed higher up than they were with the 302, you may have some clearance problems depending on how your exhaust is hung now.)

I think that's it. Will the 351w fit in your engine bay?
 
flexplate is the same, same balance as nonroller 302s

skip the e7 heads. they won't flow anywhere NEAR what that 351W wants. trust me. a swap to trick flows over E7s are worth at least 100 more hp. e7s were the limiting factor on STOCK 302s, why think they would work on 351Ws?
 
water pump, and timing cover, if you want to keep the v belt setup, then you will need the alternator bracket that mounts to the head. the last photo on my cardomain page shows a good shot of a mid 80's 351 dressed in a v belt setup. my water pump, however was a std. rotation item, used on the crown vic with a 351