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Originally Posted by 302THEBOSS  Clevelands are a far superior design to the W, you couldnt build much more than 400 hp out of a Windsor without aftermarket heads, even if you stroked it to a 408 or so youd be lucky with 450 horses. You can easily make 500 with a 351 with 4V Cleveland heads. They might have less down low, but thats hwy you build a car as a complete package, you gear it and select a convertor to take advantage, or run a four speed.  |
Well, there's important points to each motor design.
The cleveland's monstrous head width means the block had to have a lower deck height(9.206") to keep the motor's overall width within the confines of their car's shock towers.
Therefore, if you want big cubes, you need to use a taller 351W block.(with a 9.503" deck)
The 351C oiling issues can be remedied with an external oiling line, and some pipe plugs in key places in the oil passages, after which, the 351C becomes a nice, solid, high rpm motor. The 351W, in contrast, has huge 3" main journals, which are too large to run at high rpm, as all that surface area creates a lot of friction and heat. That's why a screaming 351W with stock main journals will often spin a bearing.
So for big power, you either have to use journal sleeves and a 351C crankshaft, or keep the revs down by going forced induction or big displacement. (I'm currently gathering parts to build a 351W based on a '94 roller cam block with a 4.18" stroke x 4.030" bore, displacing 427 cubes.) My motor will make 600 hp and 500 ft/lbs on pump gas, without revving over 6500.(thus the planned hydraulic roller cam)
But I do like the Clevelands, largely because of how cool they look sitting in an engine bay.
It's kind of pointless to argue which is better, because there's so many variables to consider, including personal choice. Although, in the 351W's favor, there's a lot more parts available for it in the aftermarket, and in bone yards. And the 1994+ roller cams really do wonders for low speed torque, efficiency and engine longevity.
Nothing is close to a 426 hemi. I hate to have to say that, but it's the truth. As far as actual, to the wheels horsepower goes, the 426 hemi was putting out more than an 'R' code 427 by a couple of hundred, and more than anything GM built back then by several hundred. Dual quad 426 hemis in basically stock configuration dyno at something in the low to mid 800 hp range,
where a dual quad 427 will typically dyno at something in low to mid 600 hp range, both of which where rated at a ridiculously low 425 hp.
Most of GM's stuff dynos at or below where they rated them.
