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any foxbody people here?

6K views 52 replies 25 participants last post by  paul keehl 
#1 ·
looking at possibly doing a 351 swap and went to a couple sites and already got banned from one cause of some wlb. just looking for info and possibly some specs.
 
#11 ·
Good to see the sites. I would like to build a fox body in a year or 2. I am struggling with using a 351, or a 3rd gen motor? I used to hate when people did the chevy to ford conversion, but 5.3 and 6.ohs are sooo easy to convert.
 
#17 ·
so i like people here far more than the mustang sites. there cocky and arrogant to no end.
here is what i have to work with.
96 roller 351
gt40p heads
ill get a cam and springs, most likely do some cleanup on the heads and would like to do it over the winter. i dont have the coin to drop on aluminum heads plain and simple. and i wont. maby down the road or if i find a good deal yes. but for now gt40ps or e7s what would be my best option
 
#18 ·
i have read and seen many chevy ford small block build off's and myself preferring chevy a 351 will beat a 350 build to build every time, they have a taller block, longer rod and comparable head selection, my only worry would be the gt40p heads and if they are gonna be to high on compression and have a big enough runner to feed a built 351(they may i havn't studied ford tech in a while)

GL
 
#20 ·
im thinking just port the 351 heads or even find an older set of the windsor heads they are pretty cheap to find older stock ones i have a set of 71 302 heads that have been hogged out that would most likely flow more then the gt40 heads ill let them go for reasonable price if your interested
 
#22 ·
351 swaps are easy , there tall thow so expect to put a cowl hood on , you will need fox 302 to 351 swap headers and a new oil pan to clear everything , the gt40p heads you have will probably sufocate the 351 thow unless you get alot of port work done and bigger valves but the cost of doing that you could probably find a nice set of used aluminum heads , you will need a new distributor to 302s and 351s are not the same dizzy , also make sure you get a cam for it to wake it up or else you will be disapointed with the truck cam thats probably in it
 
#43 ·
351 swaps are easy , there tall thow so expect to put a cowl hood on , you will need fox 302 to 351 swap headers and a new oil pan to clear everything , the gt40p heads you have will probably sufocate the 351 thow unless you get alot of port work done and bigger valves but the cost of doing that you could probably find a nice set of used aluminum heads , you will need a new distributor to 302s and 351s are not the same dizzy , also make sure you get a cam for it to wake it up or else you will be disappointed with the truck cam that's probably in it
Yer honor, everything that guy said is bullshit!

I am going to repeat what 3/4 of the mustang sites will say. The GT40P heads are similar to the E7 heads except the bigger valves on the GT40P heads and shitty placed spark plug. You will need to purchase Specific headers for this head, if you go with factory or generic, you will not to get some plugs in or out and will not be able to get your plug wires on.

The 351w is about 1" taller than a 302 so to combat that, most guys use the convertible motor mounts. It will drop the engine about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. It is true you will need a new oil pan for the car, summit and jegs have them.

As far as going to 5 lug. You can either get GT spindles and 94/95 rotors or go with a Lincoln Mark VII setup. The rear conversion and be done with either a SN 95 axle, Mark VII axle, or using the driver side axle from two RBV (ranger based vehicles) explorers being your most plentiful and most useful. You can upgrade your carrier to posi and get a 31 spline axle vs the stock 28. The disc brake set up will also come from the Explorer.

Check out MidwestMustangAssociation.com, its a group based in WI, but we will get you the answers you need.
 
#31 ·
Im pretty sure you can go to a salvage yard and get what you need off of a sn-95' - 98 style for the front. and probaly for the rear. Just gotta figure out how many spline axles you have, and get the same amount but with 5 lug.

As for the suspension. I have a 96' cobra, but really its the same basice setup from 79'-98'.
A set of 1''-2" lowering springs, eibeich-sportlines, FRP,QA-1. with some good koni,kyb or the best bilstein shocks. Or if you really want to get into it, combine them and get QA-1 Coilovers, or bilsteins. with Qa1 tubular control arms, tubular k-member and youll loose 35lbs.
If your gonna be messing with ride height, which is a must. Get a set of camber-caster plates, and a tie-rod bumpster kit if its lower then 1".Also grab some steeda ball joints.

Now if you do the 5-lug conversion, get a set of 96' or any cobra set of rims with 245-45-17s, or something even wider in the rear.

If your gona be running the street,track,hiway all around. A good gear ratio with the 17'' cobra rims is 4.10. If your runing smaller rims,like 14's 15's keep the gear ration in the 3.55-3.73 range.
The larger diameter rims even out nice with 4.10s. I can still hit 160 in my cobra with 4.10's and 17'' rims.

If it dosent have posi, find a good used 96-98 cobra/gt 8.8 posi setup, aqnd rebuild with new clutches.Or just swap a complete axle in to solve the posi and 5lug issue.
A set of tublar or aluminum hi-strength upper and lower rear control arms. BBK makes some good ones. Also Qa-1. If its lowere more then 2" then get adjustable uppers to adjust/level out the driveshaft angle.
There are also rear pan-hard bars for the rear axle, but arnt really needed for street.
Oh yea, a underhood strut-tower support bar, and a rear strut tower in the trunk.

Some good poly bushings in the control arms,sway bars etc. And the sway bars out of a 96-98 cobra are dont quote me: 22mm & 26mm compared to the stock 17&19mm, but you get the idea.

For stoping. In the rear, you can get the brake caliper,disc, and bracket for a cobra and do some welding. Or like i said, get a whole cobra/gt/explorer rear axle with posi,5-lug and disc.
Up front, same thing. Go for 96-98cobra parts for front brakes. Also, a 99-04 set of stock lower control arms will give you more clock to clock steering radius, but mite need tie-rod mod/rack&pinion mod.

This is a start. a good start. Your best bet is to look for cobra parts. As they are very reliable, easy to replace, and do the job just fine. Trust me..
I KNOW...http://www.youtube.com/user/cobra96svt570#p/u/11/pgJ7spwrJyQ
 
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