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It's been 4 years since I swapped the 351 into my GT but I'll try to remember all the fun facts!!!
Background information
I got the block from a '85 F150 a friend of mine was using as a daily driver. It had started making noise on the top end and running rough so he thought it had dropped a valve through the piston. He had already bought a 302 to replace the 351 so he gave my father the block and a few bucks to put it in. I talked dad out of it and started the tear down.
Down and Dirty
After getting the 351 out of the truck and tore down to the bare block, I gave it a good inspection. All the bores had very little or no wear, the freeze plugs where not leaking and the pistons actually didn't have any marks!!! Turns out it did drop a valve but it bent the valve up and was "tapping on top of the pistion. The inside webbing, crank, rods and journals where all in good shape. I took it to the local machine shop, bored it out 40 over and hot tanked it. Afterwards, gave it a good coating of Gun Metal Grey hi temp paint and brought it home for assembly. I had purchased a set of Sil-vo-lite pistons, a set of GT-40 turbo swirl aluminum heads, Professional Products 70mm TB, 2 row 1" core aluminum radiator and a few other odds and ends on ebay a few weeks before I went to the machine shop and had them waiting on the bench. I made the usual order of gaskets and bearings from the local Autozone, and got the lower intake (Trick Flow), cam (Comp Cams Extreme Energy XR274H), headers (BBK 1 5/8 351 specific shorty), A/C- power steering pump bracket, Trick Flow valve covers, Fox/ 351 oil pan kit, 28oz imbalance flywheel, Pace setter 2.5" X- pipe, new flat tappets and push rods ordered from Summit Racing. I traded for the 24lb injectors years ago and had planned to put them into the 306 before it crapped out but the 357 will be happy with them too . The upper intake, 75mm mass air meter, 2.5" Flowmaster American Thunder exhaust, and the FRP aluminum drive shaft where already on the car.
Ready to install....
 
Before & After
 The 306
 The 357....looks pretty much the same; but that's all!!!!
The installation was pretty straight forward with no real suprises, got the engine between the fenders and lined up the motor mounts and it fell right in. Just had to watch the wiring harness and steering linkage. After getting it fastened up and bolted to the trans, dumped in 6 qts of motorcrafts finest, hooked up all the wiring, installed the radiator and electric fan, dropped in a good battery and........FIRED THAT BITCH UP!!!!!
Sorry, no photos or video of the Big Moment..didn't have the exhaust hooked up; just straight out the headers and it was a little L.O.U.D. Computer kept freakin' out and it wouldn't idle for nothin'. Took a minute(4 hours) to finish everything up like the exhaust, cables, and linkage then tried it again. The more it ran the better it did. All in all it took about a day to straighten up enough to just reach in and hit the key but man it sounded good.... I had to have the idle up around 1100rpm at first so you don't really hear the cam as much. check it out...
And this one; nearly 3 years after the finished install and about 300 miles on the engine. Yeah, thats right 3 years- 300 miles!!!!!!
I promised myself err FORCED myself I wouldn't drive it in public lookin' like it did....only quick trips down the road and back to tear off some tread and put it up UNTIL IT WAS FINISHED....It's been hard to do but I managed (within the last month) to finish the exterior so I can take it out. Just don't let anybody peek inside cause it is still TRASHED!!!! Should only be a few more years though...My wife and I are expecting our 3rd and final child on Aug 29th 2008 (it's my boy!!!) so things got pushed back a little...
More pages to come as I get time!!!!!
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY....Sign my Guestbook and Rank my GT.. if you want to!!!
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357 Install
