another 351 swap

[85ltd]

I hate to add another 351 swap thread, but I need answers quick, and I can't find them. I recently got a 351 from Brandon, and turns out that it is actually an older 72 engine out of a torino. It doesn't have a flywheel on it, will mine from the current 302 fit it? Also, will my harmonic balancer fit this engine? I am hoping that the oil pan will fit directly from my 302. I'm sure I will have several more questions as time comes.

Blane

[Pesty351]

The oil pan will not fit the 351 is slightly wider. Also your balance is the wrong counterweight you need 28 oz you can get them cheap from the parts house just order it for a 351 vic same with the oil pan.

[85ltd]

Okay, I never got your last message or something through the PM. Okay, that sounds pretty easy, what about a starter? Will mine work or do I have to get another one of them too?

[Pesty351]

Your starter should work fine.

[85ltd]

okay, thats great news. for a distributor, you said before that HEI would work nicely, but if I get a standard distributor, how do I work it? I mean, my car is computer controlled now, and this is going to be carb'd. Does the 351w distributor have an ICM on the side of it too? And do i plug my existing connector into it, or what? Also, does the computer need to be removed from the car? What wires am I going to be eliminating?

Blane

[85ltd]

Can anybody at all tell me what to do with the computer and wiring? I need to know how the distributor hooks in with everything else, and what I can eliminate.

Blane

[Pesty351]

I would stay away from computer controlled crap. It won't do anything for you but cause headaches. Mine is in a landfill somewhere.

[gadget73]

ditch the stock computer and all of it's wiring. Unplug the connector at the ECM, and just follow it. Remove it all. It comes out in one big chunk. What remains won't run the car though. Theres one wire in the now-empty plug that lives over by the cruise control servo. Don't know what color it is, but its the key-on hot wire for your ignition system. Find it with a test light and hook it to your new ignition system. Do not attempt to use any of the CFI 302's ignition nonsense. Not only will it not physically fit, its basically unfit for carb use anyway. Keep in mind that you'll need to make use of the I terminal on the starter relay. Look up Duraspark wiring diagrams for specifics.

[DuceAnAHalf]

spend some money and avoid the headaches and buy either an HEI distro or an aftermarket ignition like a MSD. saves so much time and trouble.

with mine the pick up in the distro dies, took me about 5 minutes to diagnose since, 1. i had no spark 2. i shorted the ignition box and got spark. this leaves 3. the distro is not telling the ignition box to fire which means it is not picking up the rotation. $12 for a new pick up and an hour of work (would have taken less time to replace but i didnt want to pull the distro and have to retime the motor) and i had it fixed.

The old motor had a duraspark based ignition with a carb and it was a pain in the ass.

[Crownvicman289]

ditch the stock computer and all of it's wiring. Unplug the connector at the ECM, and just follow it. Remove it all. It comes out in one big chunk. What remains won't run the car though. Theres one wire in the now-empty plug that lives over by the cruise control servo. Don't know what color it is, but its the key-on hot wire for your ignition system. Find it with a test light and hook it to your new ignition system. Do not attempt to use any of the CFI 302's ignition nonsense. Not only will it not physically fit, its basically unfit for carb use anyway. Keep in mind that you'll need to make use of the I terminal on the starter relay. Look up Duraspark wiring diagrams for specifics.

I don't now how many ignition hot wires will be in this harness, but the super anal thing that I'd do would be to ID all ignition hot wires then trace them back until I confirmed that one of them was fused for coil/distributor power that way you won't have issues with popping dome light fuses and your car stalling immediately after swapping motors and scratching your head for a really long time trying to figure out why.

[Pesty351]

When I did it I yanked everything but the charging system and rewired my starer and ign.

[gadget73]

I don't now how many ignition hot wires will be in this harness, but the super anal thing that I'd do would be to ID all ignition hot wires then trace them back until I confirmed that one of them was fused for coil/distributor power that way you won't have issues with popping dome light fuses and your car stalling immediately after swapping motors and scratching your head for a really long time trying to figure out why.

pretty sure only one of the wires in that plug is key-on hot. Its the original ignition and ECM relay-on power wire. I just don't remember what color it is. Its definitely not some other circuit that lives inside the car. Its the connection from the car's main harness to the ECM harness that you'd be working with, not just a random plug that has a bunch of other stuff in it. I know one of the wires feeds back to the fuel pump, one is key-on hot, and I really don't remember what else lives in there. There may be one thats start-hot as well.

[86VickyLX]

Red with a light green tracer is the switched power for the computer relay. Use that for the ignition system. Should come from the drivers side, with a connector right by the firewall.

[1987cp]

When I did it I yanked everything but the charging system and rewired my starer and ign.

Hey! Here's a guy with the right idea!

Well, I left the factory starting circuitry in place and rewired the charging system so it's safer and works and stuff, but same idea.

[85ltd]

Okay, so I am going HEI. I'm going to do what pesty said and rip all the stuff, and rework in the crucial parts. Hopefully that won't be a big deal. Should I put metal over where the computer was, or just leave a big hole there, or what? Thanks for all the information guys, it has been a great help. Hopefully it will be running soon.

Blane