[97stang3.8]

my buddy is bringing a 351C into the shop to rebuild. it's a very tired motor, when it was still in the mach1 you could really tell it was down on performance, big time.

Does anybody have any advice to a couple of engine building novices? are there any special tools i need to concern myself with? or any easy ways to get a few extra ponies? How loose can we have the bearings for a quick revving engine?

I also was wondering if the Cleveland was a big block. ive heard that it is, and I have also heard that it is a small block that differs in design from the Windsor.

[boosted stang]

351 is a small block

[silver69]

I dont know your budget but roller cam and rocker arms are free horsepower! They make the engine run cooler and be rev happy. PM me I have lots of new 351C parts taken off my engine when i went to fuel injection. best advice is to keep it clean as an operating room when you stick it all back together. Use quality bearings and assembly lube on all rotating parts, follow torque specs closely and use no synthetics until broken in 3K miles at least. Use cam break in lube if going flat tappett. Just a few tips Im sure you'll get many more but good luck men

[6t6gt]

go find a quality automotive machine shop and get a price on rebuilding your engine, a fresh engine will always have more power than a worn out one, that is your cheapest options without spending all sorts of money on things that you dont need to try and get an old tired engine to run, then do not use synthetics at all , use an oil that has zddp's in it if you are going to run any style of non roller cam, like hydraulic or flat tappet, suggestions ( pennzoil gt ) racing oil it has pressure lubricants in it for yesterdays engines in todays times

[97stang3.8]

we're not trying to get a tired engine to run good. going to a machine shop was always in the plan. i was wondering more about things like heads and intakes; extra clearance in the bearings is cheap hp trick that Mopar uses but i wanted to know if it was recommended on a Ford engine.

After digging into the engine we found that the timing chain has a lot of slack. the bore came out to be .040" over and the journals are .010"under. it's pretty apparent this has been open before. Does anyone know how big this block can bore out to?

we're building this block in class by the way. the budget is negotiable, but we do have access to just about anything. this engine will be going back into the '73 mach1 after we rebuild the tranny in 6 weeks, after we begin learning about those.

[silver69]

There are lots of things you can do , champher the oil holes in the crank, stay away from high volume oil pumps in 351C's they oil the topside like crazy from the factory. use a billet dist. do not forget or remove the coolant flow restrictor that is under the thermostat, use roller everything if you can afford it. low compression 2V heads are good and means you can run more initial timing a use cheap gas(all we got anymore) Go with a quality intake and holley carb and dont go putting on a 750 double pumper either, unless it is stroked to 393 or 408cid 530
cfm is all the motor can use effectively and behave good all around. Keep the cam profile reasonable too - less is more here. dont overlook the crank pully - its probably rotten - replace it. use quality parts not store brands.
I could go on but you get the picture I'm sure.
good luck with the project and keep us posted! joe

[Gary 69 mach I]

Why not use a high volume oil pump?That is what mine has in it and i'v never had any problem.They all say clevelands have bad oiling problems

[97stang3.8]

they do? this one seemed alright.

does anybody know which style cleveland came in the mustang? this one is a 2V 2-bolt. but i've heard of 4V 4-bolt. 2-bolt seems too weak to be in a mustang, but i'm not sure. we found some stroker kits for cheap but we want to know if it's worth it with only 2-bolt mains.

[dodgestang]

Originally Posted by 97stang3.8

they do? this one seemed alright.

does anybody know which style cleveland came in the mustang? this one is a 2V 2-bolt. but i've heard of 4V 4-bolt. 2-bolt seems too weak to be in a mustang, but i'm not sure. we found some stroker kits for cheap but we want to know if it's worth it with only 2-bolt mains.

2bolt/4bolt is kinda meaningless with the 351c....they are all the same block. If you want 4 bolts buy the caps and have the machine shop drill/tap the block for you to install.