I'm inclined to lean towards the 302 of 351. They're great engines, I just hate the way the look. I've gone on record as a Y Block nay-sayer, but in factory form, I'm not a hug fan of the FE either. I have a 64 Thunderbird with a 390 4 bbl/FOM, but I also have my 57 with a 383 Mopar/Torqueflight. Both are factory 4 barrel engines, both have stock iron heads, cast manifolds, electronic ignitions... that's where the similarities end. The Chrysler dumps all over the 390. To me, if I'm going to suck down that much fuel and deal with the expense of harder to find parts, I want the performance and "cool factor" to be proportional with the pain in the ass. And IMHO, the Y block and FE fall short. Realistically, your limiting factor is the justified requirement of an OD transmission. The 351 and 302 will allow you to put a stout powerplant directly to an AOD and not have to use an adapter, which is a nice feature and cuts about $700 off your total build. For the purposes of towing, I'd choose the 351 just for the free cubes and torque. The 302 will definitely get the job done, but you might have to stay in it more to get the pull you're looking for. The problem with the mid-50s Ford chassis is how narrow it is between the upper control arms. Friends of mine and I have done every imaginable swap in these cars; SBCs, 429 Cadillacs, 460 Ford, Big Mopars, 500 Cadillacs, ... the problem you will run into is where the exhaust dumps and its proximity to the control arms. The SBF is narrow, and can go in that chassis with basically off the shelf parts. Parts are readily available on the road. It's a no brainer to me
Did a lot of towing all over the North West with a stock 94 Ford BB 1 ton van with tall gears. 13,000 pounds going down the road, 7-8 MPG constant. pulled the passes easy.
I wonder what Roothawg did and how it worked out. Since he had an OD trans I would have hoped he didn’t have a high gear than 3.55 to tow. 3.90’s would have been my choice..
I know this is way off the forum but do a CUMMINS with Ford adapter from a bread truck and never look back . PM me if you would like to discuss . I have completed a few of these , you will not be disappointed .
So, the car is undergoing a custom conversion. I'll get back on it as soon as the Resurrection Roadster is finished. I just have a few things to tidy up on it. The 55 is gonna be down for at least a year. It's completely blown apart. See post here. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-mild-custom-transformation-mamas-55.1119265/ I rebuilt the 5.0/302 roller motor out of a 2000 Ford Explorer. Added a Trick Flow Stage 1 cam. I used the motor/ tranny and rear end out of the Explorer. For all practical purposes, it won't know it is a 55 Ford. The rear is a factory posi style with 3.73's. The tranny is the 4R70W. I told the guy that rebuilt it to lose any of the high failure parts and replace them with heavy duty parts, because I want to tow with this. I said "Don't tell me it won't be warrantied if I tow in OD. I told him to build it to tow in OD. That's what I want to do. So, he did. I'll have to buy a box to control the shifts, but it's pretty much plug and play.
Very cool. Please let us know how the stand-alone electronic module works out for you. I've often thought about ditching my Torqueflight for a 4L80E, but will require something like the TCI EZ-TCU to control it. While I'd love to have an OD trans that isn't computer controlled, I don't know how well a 700R4 would hold up behind a healthy big block Mopar.
This is only the second OD tranny I have ever owned, so I am not the guy to ask. Here's the link. https://www.usshift.com/usq2.shtml?...voNhn4hjczc2bfqDWl1OTGvsnste9QWxoCshUQAvD_BwE
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