Engine Recommendation: 347 or 351W

[qmaster]

I currently have a pretty tame Ford crate 302 putting out about 340hp. I am not sure of which one so I do not know the details of the internals.

I am trying to determine if the best option is to build a new 351W based engine or get my current engine stroked out to 331 or 347 (now that the oil problems seem to have been taken care of).

I would like to be able to reuse as many of my current parts as possible if it means that I can keep the cost down.

My goal is for about 425-450 horsepower while still keeping it very streetable. Also, it is an automatic (AOD) so I would like to avoid having to get it upgraded to handle too much power. Although I will probably need to up the stall speed to 2200 or so.

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated, especially if you know of some places around town that can help with the engine build and swap.

Thanks.

Jason

[tcrist]

The 351 has a taller deck height than the 302 so you might have to do some other modifing if you change to the 351.

If you change the motor mounts to lower the engine the the oil pan could set lower than the frame cross member.

If it were me, I would just build up the 302.

[LMH]

Yep, I agree... stick with the 302 and build it up. It'll save you some other problems that you won't have to deal with. My brother had a 331 in his FFR and was a fantastic engine. More HP than you could use in reality.
Larry

[CobraEd]

I think the 347 will have more overall torque than a 351 because the big rod angle provides much greater mechanical advantage to the crank. Plus the 347 is lighter (deck height) and all your stuff will bolt right up.


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[Jerry Clayton]

Or you could use a Dart SHP and go to the 36x area---

[BBQCYCLEWERKES]

Is it a Ford Racing 302 motor? If so, are they using the Boss 302 block? The block would have Boss 302 info cast on the drivers side of the block above the oil pan and behind the motor mount if I remember. If it is a Boss 302 block, it is a 4 bolt main block so I would build it as big as you can as the bottom end is plenty strong enough. It should be able to handle 450 horsepower easily. I'm not sure about the strength of your transmission though, so you'll need to look into that.

[IMLost]

A year ago I was in your shoes. My vanilla went south (long story). Tried to piece it back together an it lasted 400 miles. My new one is a 347 and it had plenty to play with. Opinions ... but you can build one up relatively cheap with what you have and get over 400 easily. Hp to the ground will differ with your auto so think about you hp loss there.