Any advice on what to do with this engine. I'm mostly going to haul wood and possibly some things that involve leaving black marks on pavement

 

Questions end with question marks, and sentences with periods.

Any advice given will depend on WHICH engine you have, they're not both the same thing.

 

IF it's a 351M, make it a 400 and see below.

If it's a 400, go through it and add compression and decent cam. You can stop right there for a decent power upgrade. Add intake and 4bbl, add headers if you like. Add an indecent cam.

Look at this link and pick and choose from there.

Ford 400

 

What he said! But, to elaborate: these engines have poor performance for two main reasons - lack of compression and retarded cam timing. There are no pistons available to give an M good compression, but Tim Meyer makes pistons for the 400 that give any compression you want. So, make it a 400 if it is an M as all it takes is a 400 crank and pistons.

As for cam timing, the engines came from the factory with retarded cam timing. I have a friend that recently swapped out the timing set for an aftermarket one with "straight up" timing. That and and Edelbrock intake and carb seemed to wake the stock 400 up significantly. And, it would also help an M.

 

Right it is the 400. I've installed a mild comp cam, lifters, and valve springs. Also a new timing set. I'm just looking for a little more torque. Would a four barrel help out in that part?

 

A 4bbl only helps at higher RPM, say maybe from 3000 up. Prior to that the 2bbl has enough flow to satisfy the engine. However, the primaries on a 600 CFM 4bbl are quite a bit smaller than the 2bbl, so part-throttle acceleration feels better or crisper.

So, if you are revving the engine up and it lacks power on the top end then go for a 4bbl. But if you are looking for more torque from a stop then a 4bbl won't help. For that you need a higher compression ratio.

 

Maybe talk to Comp and get their input on cam timing for your situation.Technical Specs & Information

While not "indexed", I set my cam 2 degrees advanced.

 

That's kinda what I was thinking as well. I don't plan on drag racing or an things so I'll stay with the 2bbl for now. Thanks for the help

 

The more modern cam will help your engine breath better. Before you invest in a 4bbl conversion, I would suggest headers. Remember that an engine is air pump. If you the slap on a 600+cfm carb and improved flowing intake, with the larger than stock cam you've installed, you're going to be leaving some air pump performance restricted by stock exhaust manifolds. The primary tube size will determine your torque curve. 1 5/8" primaries will work on a 400 CID engine that lives below 5000 RPM. If you have enough cam and intake flow capacity to go north of 5k(5000) RPM, then you'll want a minimum of 1 3/4" primaries, and commonly you'll find 1 7/8" primaries available for most, but not all, trucks that came with the 351M/400. Larger tube headers will sacrifice some marginal low end grunt(off idle), but should still provide more than stock exhaust manifolds, so there's that trade off with the potential for more power to clean the mud out of your tires. Header and collector leaks can be an issue, but a little common sense paying attention on gasket installation goes far.

 

Sounds like I should just leave it be for now than. Maybe headers tho. Thank you guys for all your help and advice. I'm still new to messing with stuff like that

 

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

 

Well I'm pretty sure my 400 has spit the ghost. I got it going good and than once it warmed up to running temp it started knocking. It got worse the more I ran it. It sounded like a lifter so I pulled the intake and valve cover. The lifters appeared tone okay but I noticed there was a piece missing from my camshaft. I dropped the oil and it's full of metal but it doesn't attract to a magnet. Piston or bearing?

 

Yes, piston or bearing. Probably bearing given the cam problem. But, it doesn't matter which, you are going to have to pull it down and ascertain what is bad.

 

That's what I was figuring thank you. I think now is a good time to put somthing fuel injected in there though.

 

You can FI a 400. Or do you mean something more modern? Like a 3.5 EB?