V8 pictures

[ShaneJ]

I've had my heart set on fitting a late falcon 6 into my van but after lots of measuring I have come to the realisation that its not going to work. Not if I want to leave some room for the passengers legs anyway.

So I'm thinking about going back to the plain and simple EFI 302. I dont have one available to me at the moment to get measurements or anything. Are there any pictures around of some Bedfords with the Windsor engine fitted?

Thanks

[BusyKiwi]

go small block chev - cheaper and smaller

If you can afford it, get a crate engine, vortec

[restoreid]

Check out Craig's gallery page 1 & page 6 in his gallery Has a little windsor in one I recon there narrower than cheve & would be a great swap Idd stick to carby motor

[rossie]

There was a LWB for sale a while back with a Windsor in it backed by a 5 speed. Great little engine, one of my favorites

[Dano]

hoe much differance is there between a vortec and pre 85 SB chev

[Mattty]

I have just picked up a vp 5L v8 . I will be using all the running gear for   My swb. I wil upload photos during the project.

[BusyKiwi]

the vortec engine is an updated engine, uses different manifolds etc, cheaper to run .. and if running through a computer you can chip them etc

[MaTTe]

Dano, the vortec is a roller block with better heads. I was looking into ti, and can get a rebuildable block for $650 i think it is. A pre vortec can be modified to suit the gear but it is difficult.
I'd been considering doing the build as 400hp is relatively easily achievable with the zz4 hot cam I think it is, as the heads flow REALLY well compared to earlier heads. I'm looking at another avenue currently tho.

Shane, I have long considered the falcon 6, what era were you looking at EA-AU, or BA-FG?
If EA-AU to make it easy, you'll want to get the EA or early EB log manifold to replace the BBM so that the manifold sits lower which should clear the floor. You will lose some of the low down torque the BBM manifold provides, however some people who have done the log to bbm conversion say its negligible. If going BA-FG the earlier manifolds wont fit the heads, so the best options here are either the FG XR6turbo manifold, or an aftermarket turbo manifold as they're similar to the log manifold. Realistically doing this with a turbo mounted would be ideal, as the XR6 turbos have soooo much potential with relatively simple mods and a tune.. Food for thought

[Zeeman]

Are there any pictures around of some Bedfords with the Windsor engine fitted?

This is a 351 Windsor, so slightly taller. I would go for the 350 Chev personally, both for size reasons & that the Chev is cheaper to build/modify.

[ShaneJ]

Shane, I have long considered the falcon 6, what era were you looking at EA-AU, or BA-FG?
If EA-AU to make it easy, you'll want to get the EA or early EB log manifold to replace the BBM so that the manifold sits lower which should clear the floor. You will lose some of the low down torque the BBM manifold provides, however some people who have done the log to bbm conversion say its negligible. If going BA-FG the earlier manifolds wont fit the heads, so the best options here are either the FG XR6turbo manifold, or an aftermarket turbo manifold as they're similar to the log manifold. Realistically doing this with a turbo mounted would be ideal, as the XR6 turbos have soooo much potential with relatively simple mods and a tune.. Food for thought

Hi mate,

To start with I was going to use an AU engine as I have one sitting here.
The biggest problem with the AU engine is the front sump so you have to mount the engine way to high. You could cut and modify the sump but you'll structurally weaken the engine doing this.
I have an early and late EA/EB inlet manifold here but they make zero difference to the width of the engine. Its only the height they help with. As for the performance loss, believe me you loose a lot! About 8kw peak power and bucket loads of low down torque. With about 16 AU and later sixes under my belt and over 100 hours on the dyno with them,  I know the difference! Believe me.
To resolve the front sump issue I started looking into the FG6 but again the width was a killer. About 40mm wider than the AU and the fact the inlet pipe also enters from the passenger side, your passenger would have no foot room at all. A log style inlet and a very low down turbo manifold and this engine may be doable, but it wont work for my purpose.

My van is going to be my tow car for trips to the NT. With a 3000k trip each way I need something reliable and not to thirsty. And being a Ford man, I think the 302 is the only option left for me. I did look at the explorer 6 engine, but they are to costly and not very reliable for the bit trips.

Zeeman, thanks for posting that picture. I have looked at it a few times but I'm puzzled why its sitting so high. My calculations and measurements (based on a Windsor 302 with rear sump) the valve covers should only just be protruding through the floor. Do you know if there is any pictures of underneath anywhere?

Thanks all for you're input. I'm not fitting a chev though