[I_am_IRONMAN]

Hello there, My name is Robby. I own a 2007 S197 Mustang. I recently came into possession of a new transmission and rebuilt 351 Cleveland engine. I originally came into the idea of buying an older 1st generation mustang and restoring it with the engine i acquired. But a buddy of mine crazily suggested "hey why not put it in your mustang that you have now?" I sat and thought about it for a second, and thought it'll fit so why not? My overall project has everything to do with my name. I am turning my childhood dream car into my favorite childhood super hero. and i figured first things first. the heart of the car and Iron Man himself. The engine. If anyone can shed some light for me to see if this even possible or if i should progress to my original idea of finding a frame to restore of a 1st generation mustang Please let me know.

 

[Muckerpuck]

It will probably cost you about 10-15k to put that engine in your mustang, your better off buying a car the engine fits.

 

[mustang78248]

I would post your question over on the forum in hotrodders.com and see what responses you get. They will probably have someone who has tried it, or has at least evaluated the difficulty.

You also need to set aside $10-12k and another car to drive for 6-9 months, because your Mustang will spend a lot of time in the shop while you work out the swap. Unique engine swaps are extremely time consuming, since you spend so much time figuring out fitment and finding exactly the right parts to make it work.

I'm also not sure the 351 Cleveland will be that satisfying when you get done. It was a good engine in its day, but most folks now use the 351 Windsor since more parts are available. Adding a supercharger to your current engine will get you more horsepower for much less pain.

My swap preference would go in the other direction. A restored '68-70 Fastback with a modern FI Boss 302 or supercharged 4.6L would be a fun car to drive.

Bruce

 

[Vankor]

My swap preference would go in the other direction. A restored '68-70 Fastback with a modern FI Boss 302 or supercharged 4.6L would be a fun car to drive.

Bruce

That would be a nice combo :bigthumbsup

 

[GTStang90]

To each his own but why would you do this? The motor in your 07 already has the power and is much more efficient and reliable than the 351 thus the reason so many are doing resto mods. I would keep the 07 as is and find another car to use the motor in.
Just my .02

 

[I_am_IRONMAN]

Thank you guys so much for the feedback. again its a free engine and transmission i got. so trying to test out ideas... as for fitment ive brought it into shops and tried to see if it was possible they said yes it was.. i would just need a custom mounting bracket.... which me and a few friends are working on currently.... being fortunate enough to still be in the military i have access to hobby shops for free near my installation. And to answer the gentleman who said i should just keep the engine i have. its a v6. looking to upgrade to a v8 which is why for MODERN engines i have been looking at the 5.4 3 valve or 4 valve. i found a couple of parts cars i can buy to make that project possible as well and possibly just save my cleveland for when i get back home to stick in a mustang project i started before i joined the navy. AGAIN THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH for your inputs. its helped a lot... and ill be sure to check out HOTRODDER.com to see what they have to say.

 

[markag]

I think the confusion comes because you have "4.6L member" beneath your avatar. We just assumed you had a GT.

Personally, If I were you, I would look at getting a salvage 4.6L 3V and doing the swap to a GT if you were going to put a new engine in that car. If you put a 351 in your car, or even the new 5.0L, you won't be able to use your stock gauges as they are run off of the car's computer. If you put a 4.6L in there, you can probably hunt down a computer that will let you use the stock gauges. Also, the 4.6L will get better gas mileage, have plenty of power, and will be very reliable. The swap will be easier because the engine is meant to fit in that chassis.

Personally, if I had a 351W and trans just laying around, and I knew it was going to cost me $10K+ to do the swap, I would just order a factory five roadster and build a cobra replica

 

[psycho bob]

pretty sure it's not legal, emissions wise, to put an older engine in a newer car.

 

[mustangdave2008]

First, it is illegal and never pass inspection. It could easily be done for no money in a day: don't know where these guys are getting this 10,000 figure. Issues are fuel pump, engine and tranny mount, drive shaft, and gauges.

 

[SilverGTvert]

As stated above, find a 4.6 3V from a salvage yard for v8 conversion. Must less fabrication and hassle. Besides a 351C never was a street/strip terror. In fact its a pig of a motor! No offence but I`ve owned many.

 

[Muckerpuck]

First, it is illegal and never pass inspection. It could easily be done for no money in a day: don't know where these guys are getting this 10,000 figure. Issues are fuel pump, engine and tranny mount, drive shaft, and gauges.

All that stuff adds up quickly. stand alone ecu 2k+ ,stand alone trans ecu 1500+, custom drive shaft 1k. An entire gauge package cabable of working with your new ecu. start adding what the custom engine mounts are going to cost with the trans mounts probably another 1k. A custom engine harness built from scratch, 500 bucks minimum if you build it yourself. alonge with a custom interior harness for gauges and interior electronics. brake booster and clutch slave will need changing to somthing that will work with the 351. custom headers to fit inside the stangs frame rails, and custom mid pipes to make every thing line up another 1k. Drive buy wire will have to be replaced with a cable accelerator system.

Am at 6500-7000 grand and ill bet i didnt take everthing into account that will need to be ajusted for this to be a direct swap.

 

[stang06girl]

C'mon guys ... he's got a v6! Hell just throw a MSD distributor and a holley 4 bbl on that 351, forget the ECM altogether, and be done with it! In regards to smog, he can just do like the rest of us who have "highly unmodified --- cough --- cough--- mod motors" do to get it past smog --- find that "someone" who can get it to "pass"

If you can't get 350 to 400 hp out of a 351 cleveland .. you aint much of a mechanic! I think it would be a cool swap.

 

[mustangdave2008]

Yeah really, there would be no ecu, just a carb and he wouldn't need it for the old tranny he got with the engine either. As far as exhaust, the stock 351C manifolds would probably work fine. Maybe a $100 in exhaust pipe to mate to the stock system. Mounts could be modded at home or pay a welder $50 to weld two pieces together. The wiring would be a nightmare for the gauges but again, no real cost if your handy.

 

[Yadkin]

Keep the V6 as a daily driver and find a solid old car with a seized motor, then do the swap in it.

Also, check the numbers on the 351 and make sure its not a 351M made in the mid 70's. Those were junk because of the emissions crap at the time.

 

[mustangted1963]

Cheaper to supercharge the v6

 

[mustangted1963]

See attached .

 

[I_am_IRONMAN]

C'mon guys ... he's got a v6! Hell just throw a MSD distributor and a holley 4 bbl on that 351, forget the ECM altogether, and be done with it! In regards to smog, he can just do like the rest of us who have "highly unmodified --- cough --- cough--- mod motors" do to get it past smog --- find that "someone" who can get it to "pass"

If you can't get 350 to 400 hp out of a 351 cleveland .. you aint much of a mechanic! I think it would be a cool swap.

Thank you so much for being a more upbeat individual on this. and i gotta do some homework on that "special someone" to pass me on emissions. anywho thanks for your help stang girl.

very respectfully

Robby