Well now, it seems everybody has pretty much the same opinion. But after just going through and rebuilding my 302 to get 400hp, I have a different opinion. It seems that just about every part I needed to replace I either had to special order, or go looking for it online, or make a part that wasnt quite right work. Where if I had a 350 I could run down to the nearest 7/11 store for a new timing cover for around 15 bucks, instead of having to locate one online for $100. But then again if I was rebuilding a 350 I wouldnt need a new timing cover because it is just that a cover. It doesnt have water pasages in it that corode away and need to be replaced. And if I had a camero or a chavelle, I also wouldnt need to suffer with the original messed up door hinges because they dont make them for my 72 mustang. And I could replace that rusted cowl instead of fabricating a new one for the same reason. To say that the aftermarket has caught up with ford is a complete joke. I could fully understand why a person would want to put a 350 in a mustang. Hell if I had known 3 months ago what I know now, I would have been tempted to do it too. The fact of the matter is that you can get 350 parts all day long at your neighborhood convenience store for almost nothing and here I sit. Still waiting on mail order parts for my 302 because I cant get them locally. But I did get mad enough to put in a GM HEI distributer
. There was no way I was going to pay 400 bucks for a decent ford distributer when I could get a gm style for 45 dollars.
You could use one of those motors. The only problem would be that if someone else used the flathead out of a 49 merc in an identical car, you would have to get used to getting your @ss handed to you.
The last series flatheads weren't anything resembling slow. They had all of the advantages of an overhead cam with none of the drawbacks. Those were not slow motors.
: You have a customer that's an idiot. Anyone that would come up with the idea of going through the hassle of fitting a 350 chevy motor into the car, instead of a 351 cleveland, which is a stronger motor and will basically drop right in, doesn't exactly have all of their oars in the water to begin with. I would refuse to do it and just tell him it's because of liability issues, instead of because he's retarded.
