[Boomer]

Im doing a 351W carbed roller motor swap into my 86 noch. Im gonna run an E303 cam. Now I know that I have to use a distributor with a steel gear. I went to the local Yearwood here in town. I was told that the MSD Pro-Billet Ready-To-Run part number 8598, which is for a 289/302 would work fine. But I really dont think it will. First of all arent the deck heights of the 5.0 and 5.8 for the distributor different? Second, I believe the 5.8 uses a 5/16" oil pump drive shaft and the 5.0 uses a 1/4" oil pump drive shaft, or do both the 5.0 and 5.8 us the same diameter shaft? Could some one help me out please? Thanks.

[thesource]

302 distributor is totally different than a 351 unit . What intake are you running ? You will need to run a steel or bornze gear not the cast gear most of them come with .

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by thesource

302 distributor is totally different than a 351 unit . What intake are you running ? You will need to run a steel or bornze gear not the cast gear most of them come with .

Im not sure what exact model the intake manifold is. Its a FRPP part that a firend is giving me off of his 351W, all I know about it is from what he has told me. He says that it makes a lot of torque, and its a low rise, closest to stock height manifold that FRPP makes cause he uses it with the stock hood and just has enough clearance to close the stock hood with the under bracing of the hood cut away, on his 93 Fox Stang.

I dont know much of anything on doing a conversion from fuel injection to carbureted. Im just going off of basically what I read on the net. Could you point me in the right direction for the correct MSD Distributor for a 351W Roller Motor set up for carbed use with MSD Ignition Box & Coil? Thanks

[Sonic Blue 85]

Is the block a roller cam block? Ford only made roller cam blocks from '94-'98.If it is not a roller cam block, you can not use a roller cam made for roller cam blocks, you would have to use a conversion roller cam. If you do have a roller cam block, I would not run an E cam. It does not have enough duration to be good for much of anything, in a 351. If the block is not a roller cam block I would not buy a roller cam conversion. They cost a lot of money, you can make as much or more power with a flat tappet cam,for a lot less money. I recomended the same thing to a friend of mine, he did not take my advice, bought a roller cam conversion,paid a lot of money and the car did not run very quick. He also used a cam someone from comp cams recomended, it had duration and LCA very close to a E cam but a lot more lift. He has pulled that engine out of the car and put it in his truck. As for the distributor, the gears are the same for the 5.0 and the 351W, if you do use a roller cam use a steel gear it will last longer. You can use one for a roller cam 5.0, either pull one off of a stock roller cam 5.0 distributor or buy one from a Ford dealer,either way you will have to drill a new hole through the shaft and gear.Just make sure the gear is in the correct location before you drill the hole. The Ford gears will fit the MSD distributor. You are correct the distributors are not the same, because of the oil pump drive being larger on the 351,you are correct it is a 5/16". The old 289s and 302s the whole distributor shaft is smaller, but the 5.0s use a distributor shaft that is the same size as a 351,but it is necked down below the gear to fit in the 302 block and then has the 1/4" oil pump drive on the inside.

[thatdavidkid]

Originally Posted by Sonic Blue 85

Ford only made roller cam blocks from '94-'98

... excuse me? i dont know much about 351's so maybe if that's what you're talking about then sure, but that statement is way too broad

[Sonic Blue 85]

He is asking about 351Ws, so I did not think that I needed to say 351 roller cam blocks.The 5.0s started in '85 and were used until around '00 when they stopped making the last body style Explorer.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Sonic Blue 85

He is asking about 351Ws, so I did not think that I needed to say 351 roller cam blocks.The 5.0s started in '85 and were used until around '00 when they stopped making the last body style Explorer.

Yes my 351W is a Roller Motor, out of a 95 F150. Thanks for the info. I ended up ordering the same Billet Ford V8 MSD Series Distributor, part# 8584 for 351W, and will probably get the Crane Bronze Gear that will fit. Its $43 bux on summit. I was gonna get the MSD Steel Gear but its $65.

The 5.0s started in 82 when Ford made it official switch of designations from SAE to Metric going from Cubic Inches to Liters.

[Sonic Blue 85]

The roller cam 5.0s started in '85 and Ford started calling 302s 5.0s in '79. The '82 and newer engines have the one piece rear main seal and the 50 oz imballance cranks. You can use a stock Ford distributor gear on the MSD distributor and they are a lot cheaper than the MSD gears. I think the last time I bought a gear from Ford it was less thatn $20. The steel gears will last a lot longer.

[thatdavidkid]

Originally Posted by Sonic Blue 85

The roller cam 5.0s started in '85 and Ford started calling 302s 5.0s in '79. The '82 and newer engines have the one piece rear main seal and the 50 oz imballance cranks. You can use a stock Ford distributor gear on the MSD distributor and they are a lot cheaper than the MSD gears. I think the last time I bought a gear from Ford it was less thatn $20. The steel gears will last a lot longer.

what i would do (and did), find someone who's dist. took a dump, or someone that upgraded to an msd, and buy that dist. for like 10 bucks... i got a 94 w/ steel gear that way.. using that gear on my billet distributor