LUVTruck.com

so anyhow after the much heated debate about putting a FORD engine in a CHEVY truck...

the reason for going with the ford v8 is that is the cheapest option for a RUNNING engine and WORKING transmission

and psssst its out of a crown victoria police interceptor

so if anyone has any HELPFUL comments about mounting the 351 in there please feel free to post.

p.s. if you don't like our 351 buy us a 350 and we'll be happy to put it in

And actualy having the distributor up front will give us more room in the back

Did you get my earlier messages and e-mails? Did you try and contact Qcrazy? Im tempted to drive down to San Marcos and see this for myself. Do you have the stock motor removed from the truck? Is the 351 ready to be fitted to the engine compartment? Does the 351 motor have a coolant crossover tube that bolts to the rear of the heads? Sent me your address and i'd like to come down and see this.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

the stock engine has been removed (boy was that an adventure)

don't have money for the crown vic yet with the 351

so next step is to take it down to san antonio take the body off, said down the frame and paint it RED....

now What is going to be our best options for fitting the engine in there?

I've seen people that have removed the wheel wells, someone made a frame to suports the side fenders and front - some have even made custom firewalls....

whats going to work best? time isn't really an issue, just want to get it running before the summer is up

Will you be wanting to keep your heater and such? If not, do you want to remove the hearter control pedestal all together? This will make things alot easier for you to fit the cab back onto the frame. You can open up the tranny tunnel as much as you need and modify the firewall to suit the engine. Will you be using headers or the stock exhaust manifolds? Make sure about the clearance at the firewall. This could be a factor in engine placement. E-mail me your address and phone #. I'd like to see this setup for myself.

_________________
Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

everything is coming out - heater and all


all we are keeping is the frame,body, breaks and front supension

we are gunna try and run the stock manifolds at first but we will get headers eventually

well talk to you soon about you coming up sometime. we first have to get it back down to san antonio and get money together to pay for the crown vic

As for working the engine compartment to fit the new motor, that depends on how mild or wild you guys want to go. The thing that concerns me is the clearance between the steering shaft and the exhaust manifold. Also if the oil pan will need to be worked to clear the engine crossmember. Measurements are critical at this point to get an idea of what needs to be done and how you can fit everything. The oil pan needs to be checked because you may need to set the engine farther back to provide clearance. The pan itself can be reworked to some degree but it cant interfere with the oil pick up tube. Hopefully this wont be an issue but i have to throw these possible problems at you because im flying blind with this project. Your truck is unique in a way. I have to think that it's been done before but not enough info can be found on the subject.

_________________
Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

it should be alot like the 350, but im not shure the Ford motors i work on are the inline sixes. I can give you measurements of a 350 block so that you compare the motromounts position and such and if they match then just go like it were a 350. I dont think it will be much diferent that a 350, and boy that distributor in the front will be cool.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

oh and if the oil pan is going to be a huge issue, you might try looking for a dry sump oil system. I am looking at one of these for my 4x4 327 swap.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

could you send me the diminsions on the 350.
it will be helpful in determining what engine my LUV ends up with.

Block size
length: 22.5"
hight: 13"
width: 17.5"
Motor mounts: 4" off front

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

thanks

RBG... I got a response from QCrazy and he doesn't recommened going with the 351. He has a 302 in his truck and it was a hassle to get it to fit. So be warned, your going into uncharted territory with the 351 powerplant. If you are still dead set on going with the 351, then i commend you for your decision. If i can be of any help, let me know. Maybe if you saw a converted truck, you can get a better understanding on what you need to do.

_________________
Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

am i going to run into problems with the steering collum with a 351?

Your going to have to do some measureing to find out. Measure the motor with the exhaust manifolds on and compare that to the room you have in the engine compartment keeping in mind of where the centerline of the motor will sit. It could be so close that you'll need to remove the steering column to get the exh manifold on and off.

_________________
Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

is there an alt. way to run the steering colum? (i.e. run parell to the ground/truck then attach to the steering box?) my friend said something like that make steering colums that are flexable?

help me out here lol

The big problem is that the steering column is already located at the firewall and is situated to the driver. And the steering box is located to the frame. Reworking the 2 mount areas is a tall order. Adapting a flex assy to provide clearance would also allow for a more vauge feel to steering input. It may be a better setup to use swivel assys( like 3/8 or 1/2 socket swivels) and use a solid bar instead of a flex assy. It would end up being rather complex but it will minimize the flexy feel in the steering.
Is the motor too wide?

_________________
Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

well i've been talking to qcrazy and he said that a 351 is going to be two big...i have got a chance to measure the engine yet - ill probly be buying the crown vic tomorrow...but untill them im not real sure what to do....