heart for fairlane

OKAY PEOPLE,
BOUGHT A 351 W FOR THE FAILANE WAGON I GOT OUT OF GEOGIA LAST YEAR, BECAUSE IT W3AS A 289 I FELT IT WOULDN'T PULL GOOD ENOUGH SO I FOUND A 351W. NOT BEING A BIG FORD GUY THIS IS ALL VERY DIFFERENT FOR ME. I'VE BORED THE BLOCK 30 OVER ,IT WAS A FUEL INJECTION BLOCK SO I'M GETTING EVERYTHING TOGETHER TO CONVERT TO CARBURETOR, WHICH ISN'T A LOT BUT HARD TO FIND AND EXSPENSIVE. KEEP THINKING I SHOULD HAVE CONVERTED TO CHEVY, OH WELL TOO LATE NOW, FLAT TOP HYPEREUTHETIC PISTONS, SCAT RODS WITH BOLTS NOT STUDS, COMP CAM AND LIFTERS , STANDARD STEEL CRANK,PRO-COMP ALUMINUM HEADS, HEAD STUDS NOT BOLTS. PLUS JUNGLES GARAGE IN GASTOIA N.C. BALANCED IT ALL. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL HELP THE ENGINE LIVE.................
I'M THINKING OF GOING THRU THE C-4 TRANSMISSION ,BUT I'VE CONSIDERED A C-6 COME ON FORD PEOPLE I COULD USE A LITTLE HELP WITH THIS . I AM TO OLD TO BUILD ANOTHER CAR SO THIS ONE WILL BE IT, SO IT NEEDS TO BE RIGHT ,HOPEFULLY PICTURES WILL FOLLOW
PAPA C

 

Ok. Old Ford guy here. Simple. For the intake and carburetor, simple answer is Edelbrock. The Performer intake and 1401 square bore 4 bbl carb. Simple and easy. Not over expensive either. Get a rebuilt distributor for the 351W from a mid 80s Crown Vic or Grand Marquis, and either an MSD ingitiion system or find a donor harness for the 2 connector Ford ignition system, and buy a new module. Before you order the carb, talk to Edelbrock tech support about how you will use the car, and they will tell you which metering rods to use. You will need to use a K&N billet filter with the Edelbrock. Not cheap, but the do work. Even a little dirt screws up the needle valves and they flood.

When it comes to the transmission, skit the C-4. It will never handle the torque of the 351. Rather than finding a C-6 for FMX, go for the mechanical AOD from a 351 equipped pick up truck. Put in a good transmission cooler, and you'll have a million mile transmission behind a million mile engine.

Use the factory exhaust manifolds. Shorty headers aren't as good for torque as the manifolds, and the long tube ones are too long. They go WAY under the car and hit ground regularly. IF you are concerned about emissions, put a tubular high flow cat on each side. If emissions are not a worry, skip the cats. Use an X crossover, and either FlowMaster DeltaFlow or Dynamax low restriction mufflers, and take the pipes out the back. You'll have a car that FLIES, and on a steady highway cruise, will amaze you with the fuel economy.

One tuning trick with the 351. The specs call for 12 degrees before top dead centre for the timing. The original system was calibrated with a knock sensor to advance from there until there was just a hint of knock. These Ford Windsor engines are SUPPOSED to knock, according to the owner's manual! It warns of that in bold print. When you use the 2 wire system, the barometric pressure compensator comes out, and with no computer, the knock sensor is disabled. You will likely find your best performance and mileage at about 14 degrees BTDC. Play with it from there.

It sounds like you have one sweet ride there. If there are any other things you need to know, just shout.

Michael.

 

Thanks, already have distributor bought a new gm hei built for ford small block. Yea i had a friend tell me about aod's could be the way to go .......... Thanks again
papa c.

 

I'm thinking of doing the same thing. I have a 70's 351W/C6 and am thinking of a Falcon or Fairlane wagon to throw it in. The 351 is a good torque motor, so it makes good power at low rpm.

 

The 70s 351W was rated for about 165 horse. The late 80s version was rated at 215 at 4,300 rpm and 390 ft/lbs at 2,200. Torque out the wazoo. If you use the Edelbrock intake and 1401 carb, you can get even more out of them, and get improved fuel economy. The AOD is the way to go. It is a direct bolt up/bolt in, and give phenomenal mileage. Just be sure to use an AOD that comes from a 351 equipped vehicle. IF the donor vehicle is fuel injected, you will want to get the carb linkage off another Ford transmission. According to Edelbrock, their carbs are not compatible with the AOD, but they work just fine if the transmission has the carb linkage set up.

 

Well i'm gonna find out, hopefully it will live a long time this engine is out of a 99 truck. I've got one out of a 88 truck too that i'm going to sell, i guess on craigs list, need the room. Cam and lifters came today haven't even looked at it yet.

 

ok...Im gonna go with almost everything that Mike said...cept the C4 part...when done proper they are still the most reliable..in my books

as for the C6....it tuff to even find a SBF c6 anymore...and they suck more power to turn than they'r worth.

I'll go along with the Edelbrock carb tho and the 'exhaust statements'....shorty headers are highly over rated!!

an I'll use a Ford elec distributor any day before those GM hei's.

you may see some heat problems...the 351's dont care to be overbored (thin walls)..and usually heat pretty good.

and i'll pretend you didnt make the chev in a Ford comment

 

Sorry, Rev, but I stand by me statement. The C-4 is ok behind a late 70s 302 (134 horse, 235 ft/lbs), and even then was running hot enough Ford put an external cooler on them. The C-6 was what was normally found behind the big engines (400 and 460) because of the torque. The FMX was found behind the 351M and some of the 400s. The FMX is great as long as you change the fluid regularly, and like any transmission, an external cooler is well worth it. The heavy duty AOD from a late 80s pick up is EASY to find, easily rebuildable, and will last a LONG time. Just put in the Police Package/Trailer Tow bits in the rebuild and you're good for a million miles. It is also a direct bolt up to the late 90s Truck Windsor. This is exactly what I plan to do with Nora, changing out the FMX for a truck AOD.

That brings up another point when putting a Truck Windsor into the Fairlane. You will have to make sure your oil pan fits the chassis. You may have to get a shallower pan than stock. The Truck Windsor had a deeper skirt than the Car Windsor, so the regular pan my interfere with the cross member. There isn't a lot of room to play with using the stock pans.

 

YA'LL CALM DOWN AND PLAY NICE NOW ,GOT THE OILPAN HOPEFULLY RIGHT ONE. TALKED TO A BIG FORD NUT FRIEND OF MINE YESTERDAY, HE SAID THE SAME THING ABOUT THE C-4, THAT IS- THAT IT WOULD NOT PRESENT A PROBLEM. ABOUT COOLING, I LIVE IN MOORESVILLE N.C. SEVERAL RADIATOR BUILDERS HERE BECAUSE OF NASCAR. FLUIDYNE BUILT ONE FOR MY 41 DODGE., WITH A 30 OVER 400 SBC. TALK ABOUT OVERHEATING. THEY WORKED THE HEAT PROBLEM RIGHT OUT.
YOU GUYS ARE A WEALTH OF INFORMATION AND YOU WILL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE THE COM BACKS. RIGHT NOW I HAVE TO FINISH A 36 CHEVY AND GET STARTED ON A 65 FORD PICKUP THAT BELONG TO CUSTMERS FIRST, THEY PAY FOR THE FAIRLANE. SO BACK TO THE REAR FOR RIGHT KNOW.BUT NOT FOR LONG

 

...Mike and I are both diehard Ford guys....so its inevitble....that we would disagree

heres some irony.....the reason I dislike the FMX's are because of my old 78 Tbird !!...i couldnt get that tranny outa the car fast enuf

but thats what makes the internet world go round....5 billion opinions

 

good to know no deaths will arisethanks papa

 

You forgot to add "yet"

 

Rev: What was wrong with your FMX? If it was fuel economy, my bet is you still had a single exhaust. With a good true dual, how does 10l/100 km grab you, with a 351 and FMX. I will be removing the FMX when I can though. I will install a late 80s mechanical AOD. They are easier to find than the ancient 3 speeds and no more expensive, just as strong or stronger with the right build, and cost no more to rebuild than the C-4, C-6 or FMX. Since the 351 he has is out of a truck, mating an AOD to is is also easier, since that is what it had from the factory.

Just to be clear on the transmission issue, I've had 2 C-4s, 2 FMX, 3 AODs and an AODE and my brother had 2 more AODs and an AODE. The only ones of the lot to give trouble were the AODEs. Both failed at just under 300,000 kms. His AODs went in excess of 750,000 each and were still working as designed when the cars rusted out. My 3 were still working perfectly when crash damage killed the cars.

 

Bought a 79 mustang with a 351 a while back for my son, cheap!
Turns out it used to overheat, until I discovered the water pump was reverse rotation!
Some 289 heads 'tweaked' by Gary Brown, [almost free - left at his shop] a 5-speed from Batten Head Service, [shifted better after putting in ATF?] and a 3:73 posi 8.8, and the kid found some wild cam, and it had low 12 second 'seat of the pants' feel!
Beat everything he ran on the street, could get 18MPG, but lost to a Taxi in Chicago, who was running a red light!
Noone hurt, but a fun ride while it lasted!!
351's can run!!

 

Ok how do you tell the difference between one for a truck and one for a car, the aod i mean and the difference from aod to aode, and whats kpg my cars and trucks get mpg, you guys from another country:banana: