ok I am a chevy guy and have no clue about fords. but I am asking you all for a favor/ insite. I have a 82 f-250 4wd with a 351m in it. last night i blew the motor on the side of the freeway. i have another truck. 73 f-250 2wd with a 390 in it. is it going to be possabe to swap motors? i dont see why it wouldnt bebut a few people i have talked to said the exhaust and the bell housing are going to be different. is that true? I also heard the bell housing comes of the front of the tranny on a ford. is that true? any help with this would be great thank you.
motor questions
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That should be a 351W not an M. And no they will not interchange without alot of time and money. The 390 is a FE series motor and never came in that new a pick-up. 1976 was the last year that had an FE and the frame on a 76 is completly diffrent from a 82. The only thing that will bolt up is a 302 or 351W.
it is a 351m not a 351w alot of people dont believe it but it is a 351m it even says it on the little sticker on the core suppoert. and in the 5 yeas I have had the truck I have always bought parts for a 351m. Im not a ford guy but i am smart enough to know the difference in motors. I build chevys all the time. like I said i am not a ford guy.
Well the bellhousings on Ford autos (the C6 at least) are a part of the trans so you'd need a trans made for the FE to do the swap. Of course it is no bolt in kind of thing either, motor mounts, exhaust, etc. A manual trans has seperate bellhousings, but again it would be different on the motor side for an FE versus the 335 series engines. It wouldn't be a huge deal, but it would require some time and effort, not just a simple swap.
I believe you...as far as I know they offered 351M/400's in 82. It would be cheaper for you to stick with the same family engine if you want to do a swap: 351M/400/351C are "335's" and the 429/460 are all part of the "385". They have the same bellhousing patterns and will all use the same frame towers, just different motor mounts will be needed. I've seen 351M's and 400's dirt cheap and since you admit that you're not really a Ford guy, I'd just find a running 400 and throw it in.
That being said, if you want more performance, go the 460 route. I swapped my 351M for a 429 in my 77 F150 and it wasn't very difficult at all. Just keep in mind that parts for Ford BB's are not like SBC parts (cheap).
If I understand the question correctly regarding the bellhousing coming off of the tranny, the answer is "No". The C6 auto is an integral cast bellhousing and is not removable so therefore you would need to find a tranny with the proper housing for the engine you want to run it with. I'm a manual guy so don't quote me on this but there are three housings that I know of: small block (289,302,351), FE (360,390, 428), and 335/385 family (351M,400,429,460).
Removable bellhousing...that would be too easy.
That being said, if you want more performance, go the 460 route. I swapped my 351M for a 429 in my 77 F150 and it wasn't very difficult at all. Just keep in mind that parts for Ford BB's are not like SBC parts (cheap).
If I understand the question correctly regarding the bellhousing coming off of the tranny, the answer is "No". The C6 auto is an integral cast bellhousing and is not removable so therefore you would need to find a tranny with the proper housing for the engine you want to run it with. I'm a manual guy so don't quote me on this but there are three housings that I know of: small block (289,302,351), FE (360,390, 428), and 335/385 family (351M,400,429,460).
Removable bellhousing...that would be too easy.
im not worried about performance. I am just wanting to know if it possable to do the swap without a bunch of mods. a chevy you can drop a 454 in place of a 350 or a 400 on any truck from 69 to 89 and just need different motor mounts. and exhaust. but it sounds like it is going to be alot more work than that to put in the 390. I just want to make sure of all this before i go spend more money on the truck. it is my dd but not a performance rig by far.
351M, 400, 351 Cleveland = 335 seriesApogee said:
370, 429, 460 = 385 series
Same bellhousing patterns, but not the same family of engine. Just trying to confuse the chevy guy more. :flipoff2:
Look around, I bet you can find a used 351M or 400 for cheap. Lots of guys swap em for the big blocks. I just threw away a good 400 and have a running 351M sitting in an old F-250 wasting away. I can't give them away.
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In my 78 F150 I swapped a 460 in place of my 351M. The only things I had to change were my motor mount towers and my exhaust. I got a set of headman headders from a local speed shop that bolted right in and had dual pipes run out the back for cheap. I had the towers cut off another truck from a wreaking yard. All said and done. I couldn't have been happier with my 460.
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ok so I found a friend of a friend has a 78 f-250 4wd with a 400 in it. It should bolt right in correct? im guessing that because of
like i said before Im not worried about too much power. i do haul a triler with it sometimes but i never had a problem with the 351m it actually acted like it wasnt even there. is there much of a difference power wise between the 351m and the 400? and from what i can find so far im guessing the exhaust should bolt up because the 351m has 400 heads on it. it that correct?
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3,644 Posts
Everything on the 400M & 351M are the same except pistons, crank, & possibly the dampner, you exhaust will work fine, If you want to pep it up a bit & 4bbl intake, set of headers & a crane 272 cam will wake it up & may even get a bit better mileage,
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the harmonic balancers can be used off of either motor, but M blocks are externally balanced which means if you change the balancer or fly wheel you can throw the engine out balance.
Dual profile cams, straight up timing, 4bbl intake with 4bbl carb really wake these smog motors up.
Dual profile cams, straight up timing, 4bbl intake with 4bbl carb really wake these smog motors up.
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the 351m/400, and the 351c may be from the same engine family but they have different motor mounts, and bellhousings the Cleveland uses the same motor mounts, and bellhousing as the 302/351w, and the 351m/400 use a unique to them motor mount, and the same bellhousing as the 429/460.Navajo1 said:
The only engines that will be a direct bolt in swap will be the 351m/400, but it's real easy to get mounts, to put a 429/460 in and that swap has been done so many times that the info, and parts to do it are real easy to find. Putting the 390 in can be done but as others have said it's not as easy.
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Yep, 351m, 400 same family........Everything will swap out, kinda like cheby 350 to 400 with no steam holes :laughing: :laughing:
ya no steam holes in a cheby 400 is very very bad. i hope furd 400 isnt the same way. i really just want to be able to swap the motor out and go. may end up getting rid of it anyway. need to get a new work truck/tow rig. maybe newer powerstroke or something like that.
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A chevy guy wanting to buy a Ford hauler ? Cool............4xrick said:
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I agree, you can really make them run well if you just get them breathing better with simple bolt ons.jopes said:
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