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Hey all, I just wanted to share a few pics of the beginning of my engine swap in my '79 f150 2wd. It had a 351M/C6 in it, and I'm swapping them for a 5.0 HO and an AOD that has just under 80,000 miles.

I didn't even bother cleaning up the frame or engine because this isn't a frame off resto type project. My goal is to have a dependable truck for a daily driver that will start and idle on the coldest days, get decent fuel mileage, and cruise down the interstate with the rest of the traffic.

Here's some pics...


The old 351M just before I started to unhook everything. I am NOT going to miss this old motor... no power, tapping and knocking, low oil pressure...







Here it is hooked to my hoist just before pulling it out. This thing lifts pretty high, which worked out good since we pulled the transmission out with the engine too.







Ah, it looks much better already!







Here's my new boat anchor... :-missingt







And here's the new engine sitting in place. So far everything has gone well. The engine mounts worked with no problem, the transmission mount and crossmember each work fine, the factory AOD transmission lines (which are in excellent shape) fit perfect around the frame and motor mounts, and the engine oil pan clears the crossmember by about a foot. My drive shaft needs to be about 3" longer though. It looks like this motor was meant to be in here 8D

Awesome swap man, your just going to drop it in, no mods or any thing?

Looking good! Good luck with the rest of the install!

Looks good.


You guys with buildings! Grrr.

TexasNomad said:

Awesome swap man, your just going to drop it in, no mods or any thing?

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Nope, no mods, except long tube headers (Boring, huh?). I'm trying to put this together as inexpensively as possible, so that puts the brakes on any "go fast" parts. I may do some stuff to the engine later after it's installed and running, but for now I'm just focused on firing it up.

Paco said:

Looking good! Good luck with the rest of the install!

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Thanks! I'm going to need all the luck I can get. There are still a few unresolved issue that I need to start thinking about, and I hope they work out smoothly.

Brian_B said:

Looks good.


You guys with buildings! Grrr.

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Yep, and a big one too! It's a 40'x60' out at my Parent's place. I worked on my stuff out there since I was a kid with a go-kart and still go out there to work on stuff. It gives Mom and Dad some time with their grandkids (my kids) when I go out there, too. At home though, I spend a lot of time rollin on the ground and freezing outside, lol

Mine is at my parents house as well. Gravel driveway is it. I can't get away with the loud nasty work in town on it.

Brian_B said:

Mine is at my parents house as well. Gravel driveway is it. I can't get away with the loud nasty work in town on it.

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I know that feeling, I was tuning the carb on my 460 and some body called the cops on me... I hate living in the City!!!

460 said:

Nope, no mods, except long tube headers (Boring, huh?). I'm trying to put this together as inexpensively as possible, so that puts the brakes on any "go fast" parts. I may do some stuff to the engine later after it's installed and running, but for now I'm just focused on firing it up.

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What about the axle length ? and also is the engine a easy bolt in, what the the wiring harness?
I really been thinking about doing this to my truck and I want to learn as much as I can..
Thanks man so much

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The engine bolted in real easy. I used factory rubber mounts for a '78 F150. The steel towers that are bolted to the frame are the same for a 351M and 302's. The transmission mount for the C6 bolted right to my AOD. The crossmember works in the factory location. The AOD is about 3" shorter than the C6, so I'll need to have a longer drive shaft made.

I'm using the factory harness from the donor car. I'm also going to use the big fuse/relay/distribution panel from under the hood of the donor car so it doesn't add any strain to my current electrical system. You have to have a good understanding of electricity to be able to use the factory harness, otherwise you can buy a "ready-to-go" harness for about $500. I bought my entire donor car with under 80,000 miles for $600.

There are a few things I still need to figure out, but so far it's been pretty easy.

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Nice swap!
Keep the updates comin!

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Ok, I made some (boring) progress on this swap. I decided to scrap the A/C and put in a "heat only" box, so I took out the dash and yanked out all of the old A/C stuff. I need to fab up some sort of plate to fill the hole where the A/C was. I may start on some of the wiring after the fill-in plate is made and the heater box is installed. I'm spending a lot of time now researching and planning so I don't screw things up and cause even more work for myself.

I found a VSS that accepts a speedometer cable, and I found a cable that will work with the VSS and my speedometer.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do for an accelerator pedal and cable. I need to find some time to go to the junk yard and see if a pedal from a newer truck will work.



And on to the boring pics...

One word for you...

Procharger

Wow man thats going to be awesome when your done

godblessmud said:

One word for you...

Procharger

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If only there was enough money in the budget...

TexasNomad said:

Wow man thats going to be awesome when your done

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"Awesome" may be a bit exaggerated. If it just turns out nice and clean looking I'll be thrilled. I'm trying to build this thing as inexpensively as possible, so don't expect anything too crazy.



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460 said:

"Awesome" may be a bit exaggerated. If it just turns out nice and clean looking I'll be thrilled. I'm trying to build this thing as inexpensively as possible, so don't expect anything too crazy

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God, just take the bloody complement!

Also why do you have 460 in your name if you don't have a 460 ??

TexasNomad said:

God, just take the bloody complement!

Also why do you have 460 in your name if you don't have a 460 ??

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Alright, alright... I do appreciate the compliment, and thank you, it means a lot to me. I just didn't want to string you along expecting a wheelie poppin frame off restoration or something crazy. I'd love for my truck to someday look as nice as yours in your sig.

460? About 4 years ago I was going to look at my first Ford truck - the '79 I currently own. After talking to the seller on the phone, she told me it had a 460 in it. I registered on some other Ford truck forum with the name 460 and began to reserach these old trucks. Well, it turns out the truck had a 351M in it, but I bought it anyway. I just stuck with 460 when I registered here. I thought about asking admin to change it to something else, but never got around to bothering him.

I know your 1/2 way through the 5.0, but why didnt you go for a 460? woulda been less work.

dragogt said:

I know your 1/2 way through the 5.0, but why didnt you go for a 460? woulda been less work.

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Eh, a few reasons I guess...

I already had the car with the 5.0 and AOD, and couldn't find a running 460 at a decent price.

I want something that is easy to drive by anyone, like my Dad, girlfriend, etc... the manual choke in my '78 confused them.

I plan to drive it 84 miles a day, so the 5.0 would be better on gas.

I want something that will start right up on the coldest day of winter and idle while I run back inside.

The "cool factor" of having fuel injection in an older truck, and the satisfaction of knowing that I made it all work. This is my first fuel injection swap, so I've learned quite a bit so far in everything that I've researched.

I don't know anything about carbs.



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Thats cool, G/L to ya.

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Actually, there's more to the story, I guess...

My original plan was to find a 460 for the '79 F150, and find a Ranger for the 302. I couldn't find either a 460 or a Ranger for the price I wanted, so neither project was possible. I gave up searching and decided to put the 302 in the '79 F150...

And then within the last couple weeks, I decide to actually begin the 302 into the '79 swap.

After dropping the 302 in the '79, I find both a 460 and a Ranger! Just my luck! I'm going to just stick with the 302 since it's already in the F150, and find another 302 for the Ranger after the F150 is done.



Here's my new (to me) Ranger I picked up Monday. These pics are from the dealer's website, I haven't taken any pics since I brought it home. It should have a nice power-to-weight ratio, lol...