351W??? or 5.0

Hi my name is Andrew. Im pretty new to fox body's and 5.0 motors in general. I have a few questions because Im going to buy a fox body within a few weeks. First of all, How easy is it to get into the mid 12's with the 5.0 motor on just the motor? It seems like it's hard to get out of the 13's without a power adder but I may be talking to the wrong people. If it is somewhat easy, what will I need? Because of what I've heard about that difficulty, I have thought about buying one without a motor and putting in a 351W. I have seen that it's been done alot but how difficult is it? Does the T5 in it bolt up? And does the motor mount in the same location? I'd prefer to stick with the 5.0 but it seems like that design just is difficult to make horsepower with, and the 351W is a great powerplant. Thank you.  

One more thing, I forgot to say in that first post that Im talking about and old style 351W. Alot of people do use the old ones right? I saw something about a 351W in the early 90's era, is that what alot of people are using?  

Almost any fox body will run mid 12s with aftermarket heads, cam, intake, exhaust, and a gear.  Look at the top end packages from TFS and Edelbrock. Don't forget fuel system and suspension mods to support the extra power. 351W swaps are cool too and not very difficult.  You would need a different lower intake, distributor, headers, and an oil pan.  They use the same bellhousing bolt pattern so any transmission for a 5.0 will fit a 351W.  The stock fox body hood won't clear the intake unless you get motor mounts that lower the engine.  A lot of people who do this swap use the 93-95 Ford Lightning block because it is roller cam ready.  Hope this helps.  

Thank you but I was talking about an old style 351W, like the late 60's early 70's. I have looked into those top end packages though. Does anyone know about the old style 351W?  

the first year for the 351W was 1969 and these are basically the same as an early 289/302 except for a slightly different oiling system which would be important if you roadraced(I roadrace). all 351w have 3" main journals and the inserts run a little hotter at high rpm. they use .5" head bolts,the distrubutor uses a larger 5/16 oil pump drive shaft. the oil pan is also different due to the rear main.use a Melling 10832 standard volume oil pump do not use a HV pump on a 351w as it will suck the pan dry at high rpm. the later 351 engines were made a little lighter and not quite as strong as the earlier one (pre 1985).I have known people to run stroker engines with an early block without a problem ,just use a main girdle and studs. with a roller cam you will need tie-bar lifters and crane makes the very best(thats what I use)I have a 393 stroker making 602HP at 6450 rpm. i use a 351N block,3.9" bryant crank , 4" JE , Oliver 6.2 rods and this thing kicks butt! i have built 289/302's including a boss 302 and this 393 is the fastest of them all. the blocks from 69 to about 73 had about a 9.485" deck height and you need to double check this cause i my be a little off , and then ford started making them 9.5". a built nonstroker 351 will blow the doors off a 302 (5.0) all things equal , definitly worth the swap.ford racing sells the 351w 4 bolt main block for about 1300.00. i stuffed mine in a 65 mustang fastback. I hope this answers your question.  

Thanks, that sounds like a really nice car. I don't road race so it should be ok. I built a 351W with a friend of mine for his 88 Ranger. He did all the modification to get it in there though, I just mainly put the motor together. It was a stock bore and stroke with a mild cam, headers, double pumper car, and performer rpm intake, THATS IT, and it was running low 12's. I don't know anything about the 289/302 lol. So I guess my main questions are now is can I use stock motor mounts or do I have to move the frame mount? And does the 5-speed bolt up to a 70 351W? Thanks alot  

the trans bolt pattern is the same , the motor mount location is the same and will bolt up , the flywheel will bolt up but you MUST use a 28 ounce counter balanced flywheel and harmonic balancer ,all 351's used a 28 ounce counter balance , all 5.0's from about 1985 and up used a 50 ounce counter balance and will vibrate the 351 to pieces if used. that 70 351 has the real good factory heads and the strong block . i know people that vintage road race the love the 69-70 351 heads.  

Great. Thanks alot man, you've helped me alot. I knew about the flywheel. So what motor mounts do I buy? Ones for the car or one's for a 70 351W? And what about headers? Last question, do you know if the transmission has to come forward or back, or does it still use the same trans mount? Thanks again, and those are pretty much my last questions.  

use your existing mounts the engine is the same length and width just a taller deck height,the trans stays where it is it doesnt move as the only difference is the windsor is taller from the lifter galley up,the only thing you will need to change are the headers and if there isnt a swap set available you will have to make some, remember the 351 is identical to the 5.0 except the deck is taller.  

Great! Thanks again. Yes there is headers and oil pans for that. Well thanks alot,that answers it all. If anyone else has anything else to add, feel free to. Thanks again man.