1984 351W into a 1966 Ford Fairlane 500 convertible

I am new to the forum and have some tech. questions. I have a 1966 Ford Fairlane 500 Convertible and I want to put in a 1984 351W in. I was hoping not to have too many issues b/c I believe it will bolt up nice to my C4 that my 289 was attached.
I was thinking about a comp. cam (may thumper), forged pistons, Victor Junior intake, and later some AFR heads. I want as much low end power that I can get but still be able to use it as my daily driver.
I have gotten info. from other people but do want to know what ya'll think.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.


Register now (free) or login to remove ads

I don't think it will bolt up to your C4.....The bolt pattern changed around 68, I believe.....A friend of mine put a later 302 in his 64 Fairlane....we ended up changing the tranny too.........

__________________
In the words of Walter Cronkite..."And that's the way it is."

Ontario Rodders

It should be a straight drop in, they switched the patterns in late '65. You should be able to use the 289 mounts ( although I would get new ones if they are the age of the car) with no issues, the exhaust will need to be changed. The Fairlane chassis up to '69 are the same underneath and you chould be able to get exhaust fro a 351 in a '69 that will bolt right on. The length from the H-pipe back may be different, if so it will be longer and should be able to be trimmed. Love the '66-'67 Fairlanes, nice cars.

Fantastic. I was getting worried there for a minute

Also, I have some headers that are from my current 289. Should they fit up? I was told that they do b/c the block is still they same except for height.

Well...they will bolt up....at least to the heads, but I think you might have trouble with frame/steering clearances. The difference in height will "pull" the headers up and as close as they are with a 289, I think you'll find it easier to get a 351W specific set.

Close to a drop-in. Tranny no problem except that yours is getting old and may not be happy with 351 inched suddenly dumped into it.

Mounts interchange.

Headers might be a problem. The 289s will bolt to the heads but the 351 is higher and wider across the heads which may lead to some clearance and connection issues with the frame and pipes.

Bogie

We used Flowtech 1 5/8" full length for the 289 on a friends 67 with a 69 4V 351W. Cleared everything in the engine bay fine but the taller block made them slightly interfere with the bellhousing down by the front corners of the trans pan. He was using a C-6 trans tho, I don't know Fords well enough to know if a C-4 will clear. We ended up heating the collectors and tweaking them out and down using a 4 foot piece roll bar tube in the end of the collector as a lever. It was only about a 1/4" or so we needed to move them and the drivers side was the worst side. In hindsight, it might have been easier to have saw cut the collector 80% thru and weld them back up at the correct angle and we should have checked them first with the engine and trans on the crane before it was in the car.

Or get the correct headers to begin with. It must have not had power steering either, because hanging on the "crane" wouldn't have given any indication of clearances in that area.

It was his budget deal, all the money was in the motor and the Crites 427 Fiberglass hood. You're right , no power steering, no power brakes. Car was fun, would hop the front tires at launch on 8" Hoosier Pro's, figure about 430HP.

I think the concern with the C4 is not the bell bolt pattern, but that the C4 was redesigned and strengthened in 1970 and the 66 may have a GREEN DOT (Dual Range) shift pattern rather than the later SELECT SHIFT.

Another problem you may have is flexplate/convertor. But they should present no big problem(s).

I thought '66 was the year they changed over from the dual range to the select shift?

Thank ya'll for all the help. I am really glad that I joined this forum.
I will check on my header clearance and let ya'll know. The good thing about those fairlanes is that the engine bay can fit a horse, so, I should have some room.
What do ya'll think about forged pistons, crane came (don't know yet the duration - thinking about Thumper) and either a Victor Jr. or Performer RPM intake. Looking for a lot of power (smoke those young kids who think they have hotrods), a cool cam sound, a still be able to drive it to work everyday and car shows every month
What do ya'll think?

The very FIRST part you need to pick, especially for the Windsors, is the cylinder heads!! There isn't a stock casting worth looking at anymore unless you really know how to do your own port work, and 1/2 that much work into a pair of aftermarket heads will blow them away. How B-b-b-bad do you want to be?

I was looking at those AFR Outlaw heads instead of re-workign mine. Gonna have to wait a few months due to the price, but I figured a thumper cam, AFR heads, and either a Victor Junior or Edelbrock performer RPM intake should take me close to 400hp - I think

1966 was the introductory year of the C6. Most C6 applications were Dual Range (green Dot) while SELECT SHIFT was available on performance models. I would have to research as to what year all applications went to SELECT SHIFT only (I am thinking 1968 along with FMX introduction).

Same with the C4, mostly Green Dot as well as the FX/MX. There was even a 1967 FX/MX SELECT SHIFT believe it or not.