5.0L / 5.8L Swap

[tubjub]

Hello,

I have a 1995 Mustang GT 5.0 5-speed. (last year for the 5.0, only year offered in the new bodystyle with the 5.0) ... well my problem is, i busted the skirts out of a few pistons and, decided i need more power anyways....


I found a good deal on a 351W shortblock, and I was going to bolt my heads, and intake manifold to this block, swap the cam... and be done, but the problem i have found is that the 351 has a slighlty taller deck than the 302... SO, I've decided that I still want to do this, but... with using what i can of my existing parts... can anyone help me make this happen thru some advise ? thanx....

Jake

 

[1slow95]

Im just starting mine so I dont know how much help I can be yet. You will need a new intake and distributor. The bolt holes on the heads will have to be drilled out to I think 1/2". You will need new headers too. Just about everything else should bolt up.

What heads/cam/intake do you have now?

 

[Car Nut]

Won't you need a taller hood than the stock one? I thought I've heard where there is clearance issues.

BTW, 94 and 95 GT's had the 5.0 and new body style.

Do a search on here for 351 swap and you will probably find lots of threads on the subject.

 

[tubjub]

swap

well, the stang as it sits was bone stock cept for a cold air intake, and some bosch quad tipped plugs... cam is stock, factory (look like headers) manifolds... etc... i was told that the car has a rear clip that came off of a 98 stang gt, tails, rear bumper... etc.... i was also told that the rear-end was swapped out, why i don't know.... it looks like someone attempted to convert it over to a salen, why i don't know, as it has some saleen parts on it. any ideas ? car's canary yellow...

i was just wanting to swap my cam in, (since the cam in the 351 shortblock i can get came out of a pickup, swap my heads, and bolt on my intake and fuel injection... everything out of what i already have or can cheaply acuqire. i don't really care what has to be done, i'll do it ... but i just want to be able to complete this in the next two weeks. awaiting response ..... jake

 

[wytstang]

The intake manifold will not fit a 351 or at least the lower won't the 351 has a wider block. What intake are you running is it a stock 5.0 intake or Cobra,ect?

 

[tubjub]

swap

i was going to attempt to run the stock lower intake that came on the 302, but ... if i can't then i guess i would be needing one that would fit, jegs offered to sell me a truck intake that would fit it, but i don't know if that is performance-wise. and ... another question ... what about a cam ? we have damened e-check here in ohio, and i didn't want to run the truck cam, because its quite pathectic for a car... torque and horsepower peaks are both @ less than 4000 rpm, which is adequate for a truck, but not a car.

 

[1slow95]

The hood issue depends on what intake you use and whether you use drop mounts or not. A 351 WILL fit under the stock hood if set up right, just look at the Saleen SR351 in this month's 5.0 mustang mag.

I think you can make your upper intake work but you definitely need a new lower. Your current fuel injection will work but you need to extend one of the hoses, between the fuel rails I think.

One thing to remember, 302 parts on a 351 will usually give you 302 power. The 351 will be faster than your 5.0, but probably not by much if you use the stock parts.

 

[wytstang]

You can buy a cobra intake upper and lower for a 351 (same intake that came on the Cobra R 351) as far as cams go if you use a 302 cam in a 351 you must use the 302 firing order.

 

[tubjub]

swap

what else will i need to make this work ? will the distributor swap over ? will my heads swap over ? manifolds ? etc .... will all my accessories bolt up to the block's pre-drilled holes... ? i'm gettin ready to go purchase this 351shortblock ... awaiting reply

 

[wytstang]

These article will tell you what you need
http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/18818/
and
http://www.mustangcentral.net/tech/351.html

 

[1slow95]

what else will i need to make this work ? will the distributor swap over ? will my heads swap over ? manifolds ? etc .... will all my accessories bolt up to the block's pre-drilled holes... ? i'm gettin ready to go purchase this 351shortblock ... awaiting reply

You will need:

1)Convertible motor mounts (they are beefier then coupes, you could also use drop mounts, but they are solid)
2)Heads need 1/2 inch holes
3)lower intake
4)94 lightning distributor, then swap the gear from your old dist onto the lightning one. FYI, lightning used a flat tappet hyd motor, so the dist gear was cast, not steel like ours. If your using a hyd ROLLER cam, it must be steel.
5)new longer belt!
6)If your using an older block (non roller), you will need to either tap the block for the spider hold down(for the lifters), or use tie-bar lifters which cost 400+. If you dont use a hyd roller cam, then it wont matter.
7)swap headers, KOOKS!
8)The rubber hoses that go from the water pump to heater pipe and thermostat need to be longer. I went to autozone to get the one from the lightning, but i didnt no what to call them, so i just boought some over sized pieces of rubber hoses that were the same sizes and cut them to fit.
9) Rubber hose between rails needs to be replaced with longer hose(high pressure fuel injection hose)
10)Oil pan - canton 7qt
11) new balancer and flywheel (28.8 oz, unless the motor is zero balanced)
12) cowl hood


You may not need the hood, that depends on the intake. Im not sure if the stock exhaust manifolds will work or not. The accessories should all bolt up.

 

[baglock1]

You can use a 5.0L intake on a 5.8L motor but need custom spacers. It's not really worth it usually as the spacers cost nearly that of a new intake. But if you have some special intake, it's always an option.

 

[tubjub]

swap

well i just tore the heads off the car, looks like i dropped an exhaust valve on the #1 cylinder... destroyed the cylinder... and the head on the #1 chamber... oh well... can't re-use the heads now ... back to the drawing board...

 

[wytstang]

Thank suck you should take the heads to a machine shop and see if they can save the head if not go after market good luck.

 

[tubjub]

swap... lol

yea, looks like i need to re-evaluate my driving habits... and that wouldn't have happened in the first place...


buuuut... it looks destroyed... i have a deal on a set of aluminum heads for $400, but ... i dunno if i wanna sink that much into heads... i'll just stick with another 302 block probably...


thank you all for all of your help...

 

[wytstang]

 

[tubjub]

on another note

on another note, anybody got any idea what ratio the rear axle is in the car ?

 

[BlueOvalStangGT]

look at the axel code in your door jamb, i think if its z you have 3.08s, anything else you have 2.73s. i think

 

[moneypit94]

well to give you a quick estimate. Jack the rear end up off the ground. Then spin the tire around one turn. and have somebody count how many times the driveshaft goes around.

So if the drive shaft goes around 3 3/4 times then its 3.73's and like wise for 4.11's, 3.55's, etc.

 

[crazynalabama]

351 w ?

will a stock 302 clutch or would you need a bigger one?