Unless it's a complete Boss 351 engine, carb to oil pan, and had a tarp over it, it isn't worth 500 bux. My uncle has a circle track 351c 4v engine he is trying to sell running for not much more than that! The problem with 351c engines that everyone has been refering to when it comes to rusted cylinders is that they often cannot be bored more than .030". I have seen them bored to .040" and .060", but they are real iffy and run hot, unless you have the block sonic checked before hand to make sure it is a factory freak with enough meat to bore it so much. If that engine you are looking at has ever been bored in it's life, you are already too late IMO. Add to that the fact that it could have more rust in the cylinders than .030" bore can clean up. These are the things the previous posters have been going on about generally speaking. You also haven't told us if the engine is 2v or 4v, and if they are open or closed 4v heads. You should also know the year as well to determine what the engine is all about. A 2v Cleveland is worth spit, the 4v open chamber is not far behind as they are prone to detonation and flow within the chamber is not effecient. They only made the Cleveland for about 4 years, but each and every year has pros and cons. It was constantly changed during the production run. If you really want a Cleveland, find one that has never been bored or left outside. Unless you find another shyster, the price should be roughly the same depending on how long it has sat and what year/heads it has.
iam not gettin the cleavland cause a head is cracked and its locked up. but for a 302 with the gt-40p heads what would everybody sugest for amount to bore and port and polish the heads? actually .03 is almost accactly 10 sheets, most paper is .003. im majoring in tool and die
Depending on the grade of paper it's between .004 and .003 that's using a starret 0-1 four place mic and BTW I have been a aircraft machinist for 22 yrs for the Air Force. That's the great thing about the internet you never know who you are talking to.
If you want a good rebuildable 351C , I have one to sell. Complete long block and accessory brackets. This one's never been apart since it left Ford. It jumped time (chain stretched) Std bore, std crank. 2 bbl heads. I have overhauled a Cleveland that sat outdoors for years. It smoked a bit, but ran after taking it down, honing the cylinders, cleaning the pistons, cam, etc. Replaced the rings, bearings and lifters, replaced the heads. This one was so bad, it had a fire ant colony taking up residence in the Edelbrock intake. There were at least two cylinders that were frozen with water & rust.
jd, unless you are having some one else do head work that has experience, you will get into trouble trying to port the 40p heads. There is water jacket right in front of the exhaust valve stem guides and the port face that the older heads don't have. These heads are the best factory mass production head that was produced for the 5L motor before they were discontinued in 2001. If you could find a low mileage 2000-2001 Explorer motor, they have the 40p heads and a nice 5L block. But you need to change the oil pan, the oil pump pickup, the front damper and front cover to use is an older application. t A look at the ports by the experienced shows the special casting shapes that make the head as good as it is. The only way you know what to do for porting is the know what the port map looks like for exhaust and know some basic of intake porting.. You just don't go wild with a grinder and remove metal and make things bigger. That's not the way if you want to accomplish higher airflow.. It's a science as well as some art. As an example; on another board a guy bought new heads, had them flowed for baseline numbers, ground away and lost flow in every area except at very high valve lifts his cam does not eve lift to; all because he thought bigger was better and came to the board wondering why.. He provided photos that showed he took metal out of the wrong places without understanding what the effects would be. I know you want to join the rest who do these things within the hobby but you need some grounding first or have some one else do the work. For the 302/5L motors, 30 overbore is safe but going beyond is a risk for a lot of power. If I were you I would buy a new/rebuilt short block and rotating assembly in any one of sizes from 306 to 347 cu/in, then add the cam per the application, then decide on the heads and intake. Believe me, you will have more power than you though possible. You will be much farther ahead and able to enjoy the use of that motor much faster without a lot of extra hassle from misstakes along the way not to mention the the ill feelings and cost that will build up from it.. Good luck
Nobody learns unless they make mistakes. What do you learn buying an assembled short block/long block? Very little other then how to write big checks. Do your research before you try home porting. It can be done and has been done. People have also made costly mistakes in the process. Find a roller 302 block, get a plan and go to town...
What were you planning on putting that 351c into?? Why not the winsor motor? the w is more compact and parts are dime a dozen. I have personally never worked on a cleveland but i want one baaaadd. I have been told that the only parts that are the same on both are the oil pans and a few others
Only parts that interchange are the distributor cap, rotor, coil, and the carb (2 bbl only) Everything else is different, except the bore & bore spacing.
baddad, how much do you want for the 351c? bluegrass, i have someone thats gonna port polish the heads and bore the block. do you think the explorer would be the best to get my motor out of, i planed to get a 86 to 93 mustang motor and jus buy the heads
yeah, my uncle was a tool and die machanist in the air force too until he had a wreck on leave that paralized him. he built parts for the stealth before anyone knew what they looked like. he built 3 parts that was supose to take a week a piece all in one week.
Don't let the 351c size worry you man... The 351c is wider than a W until you need to run your exhaust! Then the 351c is actually smaller. The exhaust ports exit the heads in a way that they are almost pointing down at the ground. So you don't have impossibly sharp bends trying to clear shock towers like you do with the W. That is why it takes a BFH to get 1.75" tubes into a 351w Maverick. The Cleveland headers for a Maverick can be had up to 2" tubes if you like! Try that with a Windsor... Another good point that the 351c crowd brings up about the price difference between the engines is the fact that 4v closed chamber heads can be had far cheaper than the aftermarket aluminum heads you need for a 351w to breath nearly as well. So that offsets the small price differences between the rest of the basic stuff. Personally, I would steer clear of 2v or open 4v heads, no matter what the magazine crowd says. Anyone who has actually run 4v heads on the street will tell you they are the sh!t. I have run them all, 2v/4vO/4vC, and I am sold on the 4v closed. They put those engines in some real land yachts in 70-74, and I have never heard anyone complain their Torino or Montego didn't run good on the street because of 4v heads! They will tell you the opposite! Put it in a light car like a Maverick, and looking for 2v head torque is silly. I have done that too, the car drove like a dumptruck... all torque and no quick.
