LUVTruck.com

i too am running a ford rear but i was just saying that by putting that flavor of ford motor in the truck may be more trouble than its worth i.e. size and weight and the akward front sump in the pan.not to mention exhaust problems if he has the whole car maybe he should try and sell it running for a couple hundred bucks and possibly pickup a running 305 or 350 for about a buck or buck fifty. they are out there. may be he can find a old malibu or even a late seventies chevy pickup that is rotted out cheap and snag the engine trans and driveshaft for next to nothing. I am not knocking him for swapping a ford engine but it would be a shame to do all the work to make the engine fit and then have it not be what he wants..


one more problem the 351/400m takes the 460 style trans which has a HUGE bellhousing and firewall mods will absolutely have to be done whereas with a sbc they slip in with a minor messaging

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74 LUV 355 Bracket Car

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE 68-74 NOVAS

TOO MUCH IS NOT ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would agree... A smallblock Chevy install is a proven retrofit. Engine upgrades are as big as your wallet can stretch.
But like QCRAZY, they may be very determined to go for it.
But i see it like most others. So much extra work for a really heavy, underpowered, limited aftermarket optioned conversion. Selling off the 400m motor/trans and putting that towards a smallblock 400 build will produce a lighter, faster, easier to convert assembly.

Chevyluver16, what ever gameplan you decide on, we'll back you up as best we can.

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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.

absolutely,chevyluver16 if you indeed decide this is what you want to do, I will give any helpful advise i can good luck!!!!!!!!!!!

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74 LUV 355 Bracket Car

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE 68-74 NOVAS

TOO MUCH IS NOT ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I too agree that the 400m is not the best choice but if that is what he has to work with then give it a shot.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

I also will chime in that the 400m is not the best choice . With that said , the 400m's short life was in the smog years . It was never givin a chance to shine . The motor is square , bore and stroke are the same , the piston is way in the deck ( no compression) , and the cam was ground at least 4 degrees retarded from the factory . Take a touch off the deck , degree a aftermarket cam and a 600 holley and you have a pretty good runner up to about 5000 rpm where you run out of head flow . They make a good pulling motor . I wouldn't put a 403 olds , 265 or 301 pontiac in a luv either. 390 or 401 AMC i'd say do it , 400m nope .

I'll go against the grain here & say that the 400 is one of FoMoCo's best kept secrets.

I had a '72 LTD in the early '90s. It was a "pre-smog" 400. That car would flat out haul ass. I stripped the interior, AC, anything I could to lighten it up. It would spank a 5.0 GT Mustang easy. The motor was bone stock w/ a 2V carb.

The 400s are given a bad rep because so few were built "pre-smog", & so many were built after. Ford had to kill these engines to pass the gov't standards- retarded cam timing was the main blow to performance.

Think about it- 351C have a rep as a performance motor (can you say Boss 351?), & the 351M/400 is built off of that same platform. Get rid of the stock cam, intake, & exhaust & these motors really wake up. And how many of us keep the stock int, exh, or cam anyways?

Sure, you can build something cheaper per $ & more common, but is that why we're here? I mean, if we're after that, then there are alot better platforms we could start off w/ than a LUV that would be cheaper & easier to hot rod- right?

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'46 Studebaker truck "project"
'90 Trooper 4X4, 2.6L 5 spd

Sure, you can build something cheaper per $ & more common, but is that why we're here? I mean, if we're after that, then there are alot better platforms we could start off w/ than a LUV that would be cheaper & easier to hot rod- right


Well, I like the dare to be different, I like your stude by the way, but, A luv is relatively cheap to purchase, is lighter than most cars, and small chevy parts are easier to come by. If you were to have a 400m drivetrain and a body such as a 6 cylinder maverick for free, In what it takes to put it in the car stock, I can probably mod a stock small chevy with installation in the LUV. Then you still have to do the cam, intake, head swap, etc. Keep in mind, I'm not knocking anyone about this, just pointing out that it would be easier on someone with the tried and true swap.

By the way, if I had a free 400 drivetrain and a maverick, it'd be in like sin!

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If you think no one cares, try missing a couple of payments...



FIAA!

SFPP!

Believe it or not, it'd be nearly as much work to get a 400 into a Maverick as it would be to get one in a LUV.

As for the cheap route, I just meant "in the long run". A LUV rear can't handle any real HP for long, so you have to do a swap to another axle. Then you have the 6 lug front- adapters to run 5 lugs, a $600 kit, or an uncommon swap that you have to figure out. A V8 swap requires a kit or custom fabrication. That all adds up to time or money- and it usually adds up to lots of both.

Or you could just get a mid-'80s Camaro or Mustang (relatively cheap if its not an IROC or GT) & do it the easy way, even if you start out w/ a six cylinder model.

It all depends on what you're in this hobby for. Personally- no, I wouldn't do the 400 Ford into a LUV either. I think if someone did it, that it would be really cool & definately stand out in the crowd- but you'd have to be dedicated to the project. I was mostly just posting in favor of the possiblities in the 400s performance. Their bad rep is undeserved as far as I'm concerned.

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'46 Studebaker truck "project"
'90 Trooper 4X4, 2.6L 5 spd

I agree with you on the rap on the 400. As far as a small block to LUV swap though, it depends on your skills. We just did one, $65.00 for a set of headers used, Fabbed our own motor mounts about 8 bucks, a $129 radiator from summit, The last set of stock LUV rotors cost me $65.00 to be redrilled to 5 lug. The same guy charged me $125 to shorten, respline, and redrill the lug pattern on a 9 inch I put in a 69 camaro. I bought a disc braked 9 inch out of a lincoln for 125, so the cost for this swap is under $500 for the swap parts, in a $300 roller. Add in the nitrous system I've assembled out of ebay parts and that's a $1,000 roller that's capable of 11's easily on pump gas, just add engine and tranny. Yes, I could do this in a 80's camaro, but it would be slower due to the weight difference. I do see what you're saying though.

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If you think no one cares, try missing a couple of payments...



FIAA!

SFPP!

351m and 400m were mostly truck engine. Not anything wrong with them. Not big HP engines, but that might not be what you want either. Yes they are heavy!!. I know you said no money. I am not sure what you could swap it for. If you want that kind of engine, go for the 351 C. Big valves, a ton of aftermarket parts. Look for one out of a Mustang.

A 351W can be a very good engine BUT it is a sbf (302) that is taller and wider. That could be a problem... You can make good HP with it. Find you a older high way patrol Mustang coupe with a 302. They have all the good factory stuff on them. Any new Mustang 4.6 ? would be good if you can get a carb for it.

It's your truck, but folks are just point out what they think(or know) what could give you problems

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.