I'm in the planning stages (i.e. money collection stage) for the next major project on my truck: the engine. I'm looking to rebuild or replace over the winter and want to start planning/collecting parts now, so I need to come up with a game plan. I'm trying to decide which way to go between rebuilding a 302, building a mild 351w or dropping in an Explorer 5.0. The primary goal is reliability, with torque and cost as secondary, but important, concerns. I'm looking to EFI my existing setup before installing the new engine to make sure everything is working right with that, and may make the change over to Explorer serpentine front dress at the same time as the engine swap. I suspect the logical choice is a JY Explorer engine, but building my own would be fun and the extra power of the 351 would be nice. Thoughts?

You are much more capable than I am, so you will be able to closely follow the work, rebuild, installation etc. or do it yourself. I had to trust the original rebuild and initial installation, but that did not work out too well for me. It wasn't until Rob and others got involved that we got on the right track.

I liked the idea of the 351, the more traditional look of the motor, than what may have been most practical. The engine I bought came pretty complete (radiator to trans) so I thought I might save money and time in the long run as opposed to piecing it together. That may or may not have been the case.

Here are a few resources you might look into for engines, parts, questions, assist, etc. as you move along. Of course, there planty of experts here. Hawaiian Racing had crate Explorer engines at one point.

Many used Explorer motors available.


Hawaiian Racing


Local resource.

i have more mustang EFI parts for you ;)

I would find a complete explorer motor. Use the EFI parts, along with mustang EFI parts to get the EFI up and running on your current motor. Then decide if you want to rebuild the explorer motor or go 351. Keep in mind the 351 will be more expensive just because of the lower intake manifold. If you use the explorer serp on your current motor you'll need to rebalance the balancer. V-belts and low output alternators are not desirable on EFI motors. Too much electrical load.

Landshark-Thanks! I'll get them from you next time we're both at a meeting, if that works for you. Can't afford a wiring harness...yet. Viper, thanks also! I've re-read the articles at oldfuelinjection.com and the CB article on the serp setup about 5 times, am mostly deciding on the long term plan. I hadn't thought about buying a whole Explorer motor now and just using parts-that isn't a bad idea. Mostly I'm trying to figure out how bad an idea building an engine myself is as compared to buying one that Ford built. Problem is, most of my bad ideas turn out to be fun.

Your build thread is part of what had me thinking about it. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll end up putting EFI on my rig, then building up a gently stroked 351 just for the fun of it.

www.sbfbuilding.com is going to be an awesome resource for SBF builders. $20 is probably very worth it for the amount of videos and information he has on there. I haven't signed up yet but may soon.

Yea......but you only pay for the what you need.