302-351w swap questions

Stangman995

New Member
Jan 20, 2006
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I have a 95 5.0 but my wifes uncle has a 351 w out of a 93 lightning that he said he would give to me. I wanted to know if anyone has done the swap and what exactly I have to do to make it fit. Will my stock motor mounts work and my clutch and t-5 tranny, driveshaft. Also i have bbk long tubes, will those still fit or not. Also can I use my stock fuel and ignition system do all the accessories and brackets bolt right up like on the 50. I just don't want to start doing this and not be ready for it to be finished. This is still my daily driver so i can't afford for it to be out of commission. How long does it take to swap the motors out too.:shrug:
 
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You will need to swap the headers. All your stock accessories will bolt right up. You can still use your stock motor mounts if you have a Cobra R hood. Otherwise buy a set of fox body convertible motor mounts. Your stock fuel system will work but, should be upgraded later. Just ad a little larger fuel pump and injectors. You will have to turn the upper intake around and to make things easier and cheaper you will need to do the fox body throttle body conversion. Its easy and the instructions are on corral.net. Your fuel rails will need to be modified to work on the 351. The crossover lines will need to be extended. With everythign there to do the swap it can be done in a few hours.
 
I think the lightning's were all automatics, so you'll need a 351 flywheel. The 351's have a different balance so you can't use the 5.0 flywheel, or the balancer. The stock transmission and clutch will bolt up, but it's a good idea to upgrade them. The T-5 will work for a while as long as you go fairly easy on it.

I don't know what intake the Lightnings had, but I do know you the 351 lower intake is wider than the 5.0, but you can use a 5.0 upper intake. You will most likely need a cowl hood. With a short intake and drop mounts, you MIGHT be able to get away with the stock hood.

You will need 351 swap headers, and I've heard that MAC fox-body headers will fit our car with a little cutting/grinding of the k-member. If you want the best fit, go with Kooks. They're expensive, but they fit perfectly and are very easy to install.

If you have all the parts there, I'd say you can do the swap in a weekend. Other than the intake and exhaust, it's pretty much a direct swap. Oh yeah, you need a different distributor too, but you could use the stock lightning one if it's there.
 
86bluecobra said:
i may be out to lunch here but i believe the brackets for the 302 accesories will not work on the 351w. however that is ok if you are getting everything that goes with the lightning.

Hmmmm...The brackets bolt to the heads so they will work on a 351, but do the Lightning heads have the mounting holes for the brackets???
 
Low-5.0 said:
Hmmmm...The brackets bolt to the heads so they will work on a 351, but do the Lightning heads have the mounting holes for the brackets???


The brackets wont work on fox cars since they bolt to the timing cover too. 94-95's are golden:nice:

Im not sure why the lightning heads wouldnt have the holes....never heard of that but i guess anything is possible.

The swap itself doesnt take long. Its the running back and forth to get the small **** that no one ever mentions since its small or the stuff that you just forget. Or that you break. Or that you lose. I mean in essence, its not much harder than 302 swap if you have all the necessary parts. Its about the resources you have. I took a few weeks on mine start to finish because i could only work on it for about 1.5 hours after work before it got dark...working outside. But now, im in the garage:nice: