Eck, have you put any thought into a block heater for the winter?

Most will keep coolant at around 50*F, or heat to that in about 2 hours if you plug in in the morning.

Oil temps are kept warmer as well, not as high as coolant though.

Basically just makes sure the oil can move a bit easier during true cold starts. And gets your heater pumping out actual heat faster for cold mornings.

I'm planning to throw one in my block when I get around to building it. Mostly because I park outside, will be daily driving, and lack the patience to be driving in an icebox until my coolant reaches operating temp.

Looking for opinions on the intake manifold. Paint it black or leave it as is?

Cast coat aluminum.

Did he have the Explorer balancer when he balanced it? It might be worth a call to him to verify that you are good to go with that balancer as is. They don't last long when the parts get mis-matched.

clear coat it too.. they have high temp clear - it makes it easier to keep it clean when crap gets on it!

That will look great with the black block. x2 on the clear coat.

Installed the new, longer oil pump shaft. You can see it was just a little longer to make up for the custom collar.


Have also been cleaning and painting parts. Should be getting close to scheduling the install.

You're not going to want to use that breather. You can't have unmetered air entering the engine.

You'll want to use a sealed oil cap to replace the breather. I'm not sure if anyone makes them for a push in style valve cover. My valve covers are twist in style and it was kind of a pain to find a sealed oil cap for them.

For the intake gaskets I'd just buy a set for Lightning 351. Look carefully at the water jackets though to make sure the gaskets will seal them. I know there were a couple of design changes through the years but I don't know exactly when they were.

I can probably swing by for a few after the Platte river meet and look over things with you.

So far this is the most in-depth thread for Explorer EFI on a 351w :

Here are a couple pics of an incompatible head/intake gasket set. The gap left a significant antifreeze leak. These were a Fel Pro gasket #1250S3. I ended up getting a set listed for the 74 Bronco and they worked.

Thanks for the responses. Garry-- if you had time to come by Saturday, that would be great. I have read through the CB posting above and there is some good info in there. Would love to have you help me get my "to-do" list together.

Its a problem with the front/rear water ports on the heads, if they match the heads, I think they'd be fine.

Eck, I can't find my receipt with the part number for the upper radiator hose I used.

But here is the info I had posted in another thread a while back.

"Another option.....

For the upper radiator hose I used one from a 1998 Crown Vic with a 4.6 motor which works perfectly with the 5.0 EFI motor and the stock Bronco radiator.

You have to trim off about 5/8" from the water neck side but other than that it is perfect.

I think it fits a lot cleaner than the GTO hose which I used previously."

This should work just as well on your 351.

Thanks Jeff.

Still working slowly. Had to plug quite a few holes on both upper and lower intakes. Getting this to fit. Hoping to have everything more or less mocked up by the end of the weekend so I can schedule at least stabbing the engine.

I picked up some sweet valve covers from a fellow Bronco owner in Littleton - thanks Chris. The oil neck is gonna need to be changed. As you can see, it comes straight up into the intake. I'd like to weld it to an angle and I need a screw on type oil cap. The diameter measures 3.5cm and appears to be aluminum. Any suggestions of where to get the neck and where to take it to get it welded at an angle?