so hey all, i was wondering which motor tows better, the truck i am buying from my grandpa has a 400 in it know, the truck my grandpa had had a 400 in it and it lugged down really well and it has the same bore and stroke as my 300 inline six, he also has two 351s that i could put in it for little or no charge, the main purpose of this truck is towing so i want the motor that does that best, whats your opinions, thanks guys

 

400 has longer stroke than 351M, all else being the same .... 400 will develop more torque just like you do when you use a longer breaker bar on that stubborn nut.

 

Just like tbear853 said the 400 has a longer stroke. Basically they are the same engine besides that. All you have to do to make a 351M a 400 is change crank and pistons.

 

Stroke = Torque

 

Both= lousy torque

 

Bogus! Lol just getting everyone's attention. Nah the 400 has plenty of torque. The 351 however...is rather gutless. I made the mistake of tossing a 351 in place of my 400 in my '78 supercab...all I can say is that the 400 has much better torque in the lower power band (or so it feels) than the 351.

 

Haha to each their own. You may have every last one of those boat anchors!

 

Aww hell no. I hate both M block engines..I'll take a 460 or a diesel any day. I'm just saying that the 400 felt like it pulled harder than the 351.

 

Everybody that bashes the 351M and 400 have never built one. From the factory they are pigs. A few aftermarket parts and they are a force to be reckoned with.

 

a 351 OR 400 to tow with? No! The best yer going to get is a small block Chebby! Ain't nothing a 350 cant pull!

Just kidding, I would never promote a Chevy engine. As the above have posted the longer stroke of the 400 yields more torque. If you are serious about towing(and keeping with gas) a 460 transplant is in order.

 

@61steven: for towing, how about a 300 6 swap? Haha loads better on gas!

 

ok thanks for all the opinions, unfortunately i dont have a 460 to swap in, which is probably a good thing or i would be broke. was just wondering because this engine basically can come with two engines a 351 or a 400, looks like i will keep the 400, and dave, i know the 300 6 is better on gas, thats why i got one as a daily driver in my 92, but because i am starting to get into the scrap buisness and my 92 is in pretty good shape i need a cheaper vehicle that i wont worry about getting banged up a little, and i want a 4wd when it snows

 

The 400 is the pitbull of engines. Its just miss understood. It is a bit of a dog when bone stock, but swal on a 4bbl carb, port the heads, and change the timing and you got some snort

 

They make peak torque at lower RPM than a 460, have the longest stroke of a ford pushrod motor and KAASE has won the engine master's challenge several times with them.

Those who don't realize the potential of a tall-deck Cleveland are ignorant.

Funny how when you ask old guys about clevelands they talk about how the cleveland Mustangs would whoop everything on the street, fastest stock blah blah blah, but then ask them about the 351m/400 and you hear, "Junk, boat anchor blah blah raaaaarg"



The stock cam is their biggest downfall.

 

Yeah to be such a piece of junk its amazing how many of em Ford built. And even more amazing how many are still running.