Comparison Photos of Engine Perches (2025)

There are only three styles of engine perches for '65-'79 trucks:

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FE/I6 engine stands vs. Windsor stands

The four photos here compare the FE/I6 engine stands with the Windsor stands. In these photos, the black powdercoated FE/I6 stands are bolted to the frame and the rusty 302 stands are simply set next to them for comparison purposes.

The Windsor stands are 1" lower in overall height than the FE/I6 versions, as evidenced in Figs. 1 and 2. Also, the flat portion across the top where the motor mount sits is about an inch wider and several inches longer. However, once they're bolted up to the frame and crossmember, an FE will bolt up to them just fine....your engine will just sit 1" lower. You should still have plenty of oil pan clearance. This would be a great mod to help lower your truck's center of gravity for slightly better handling. However, you COULD have driveline angle problems, due to dropping the engine 1" but not dropping the transmission a similar amount.

Conversely, bolting up a 302 using the FE/I6 stands will cause your engine to sit 1" higher and I've been told this could also cause problems with U-joint bind due to improper driveshaft angles.

Shown below is a comparison shot of the two styles installed:

Fig. 5

The small-block stands were also used in the '73-'79 trucks with 351M/400 engines and will work just fine for swapping a small-block into an earlier truck.

In case you're going to start hitting NOS dealers or high-end salvage operations, the new part numbers for the small-block stands are:

• D0TZ-6028-A - right stand

• D0TZ-6029-A - left stand

Note: When installing Windsor stands into a '67, '68 or early '69 truck, the front crossmember won't be drilled for the lower attachment points on the engine perches, since the 302 wasn't a factory offering until 'mid-'69. You'll have to bolt up the perches up using the top holes and then drill the lower holes, using the perch as a template.

How to correctly position Windsor stands:

IMPORTANT: There's a rumor floating around that Ford redesigned the front crossmember for the '77½ through '79 2WD trucks, which also meant the engine perches had to be redesigned, so these trucks couldn't be used as engine perch donors for earlier trucks. However, while there were redesigns on stands in '77½, it wasn't due to a change in the crossmember. (In fact, '79 6-cylinder trucks use a D4TZ (left) and a C5TZ (right) stand. That means one stand never changed from inception!) The '79 trucks use a D6TZ-5019-B frame front crossmember which is also the replacement for '73-'78 and fits all F100/F150/F250 and F350 2WD with Twin I-beams.

REVISIONS:
- The FE stands were revised in '74 and have D4TZ numbers
- The Windsor-351M/400 stands were revised in '77 (D7TZ numbers) but are used as the replacement for all 73-79 Twin I-beam trucks
- The right-hand 6-cylinder stand for '74 was a D4TZ but was replaced in '75 by the C6TZ right-hand, and then in '78 both 6-cylinder stands were redesigned and had D8TZ numbers.

Ford discontinued the 390 V8 in the F-100 in 1975 and both the 360 and 390 in all light-duty trucks by 1976....except in CA, where you couldn’t get a 390 in an F100 after '73. Therefore, to install an FE into a '76-'79 truck you simply use the I6 stands (Fig. 6) when doing this swap.

Fig. 7

Here are a couple more comparison shots: