Thread: what ford engine to build

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I love cubic inches and 460's have them - and are expensive to build. But with the easily and reasonably priced available parts for a 351W, that's the way I'd go. Plus I have a couple of 'virgin' OEM 351W blocks.

There already is a 351 in the car which makes life easier to begin with, a .030 overbore gets you to 355. Stroker kits can get to 396, 408, then all the way to 427 in increments.

Horsepower? Depends on the thickness of your wallet, but 5 to 600+ is easily done. My last 355 was dynoed at just under 400 with comparatively mild mods.

I can understand both opinions. I have a 67 cougar with a built 460. And its my opinion that if this is going to be a street driven cat with 400 to 500 hp. I would go with the 351. Parts for it are easy to find and cost a lot less than the 460. I also remove the shock towers and put a mustang II front subspension for more room.

I like Erik's idea about beefing up the 351. You said it was already worn out..... sounds like the perfect excuse to make a real powerhouse out of it, and embarrass the bigblock guys to boot!


There is another option nobody has mentioned yet, and i'll probably get some flak for it, but if you want some real power...and I'm talking about, take your breath away, make your heart skip a beat, power..........................




















...............you got to put a Chevy in it!

Originally Posted by Sinister

...............you got to put a Chevy in it!

Let me guess, antother 350/350!!!!! That'd sure kill the value of the car!!!!!

Brand loyalty is good, until it becomes blind loyalty!!!!!

you can get over 400HP out of that 351W with the stock crank and some aluminum heads...and get some reasonable gas milage.

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Let me guess, antother 350/350!!!!! That'd sure kill the value of the car!!!!!

Brand loyalty is good, until it becomes blind loyalty!!!!!

I was just trying to get a rise out of you guys.

I would never put a Chevy into a Mustang, it would be like putting a Ford engine in a camaro......it's just wrong! I still like the idea of building up the 351w.If I ever have the time or money, I wouldn't mind building a Ford, just to broaden my horizons.

Later guys.....



Adam

I'm currently building a 460. As I search around for parts it seems it might be cheaper to do the 351w! Just look at the cost of crate engines with that kind of horsepower. The smaller blocks seem to be cheaper per horsepower in the 350-400 range. Also weight is a huge factor. Look at postings about the old cobras. Many people will tell you the 289s were much more nibble than their big block brothers. The 351w is a good engine with nice performance.
What ever you guys decide, don't put a chevy engine in it. They may be cheaper but you might as well buy a camero!(no pun intended chevy guys, just a proprietary issue with ford and chevy mixing - what can I say I'm a purist!)

Either engine can get you there easily enough and for the same bottm line dollar.

At 500 hp, the 460 engine can do that with OEM passenger car block, heads, crank, rods, etc and be super reliable, better street manners, etc.

Paul