Rebuilding a 351C

[74Ranchero]

I just got a 74 Ranchero, the motor sounds bad, clunking in bottom end.Im thinking spun bearing . It's got 150000 miles and is probably tired anyway.I have been doing some research and it seems theres a lot of ways to go with the 351C motor.I mean 2 barrel versus 4, Cams,carbs etc.I want to build a good street motor,will never be racing drags etc.I want to run on pump gas definitely.Any tips on which diection to take with the engine?

[Rancheroracer]

Look thru the 335/Cleveland section below, lots of info. Personally I'd use the 4v closed chamber heads with Lunati Bracket Master hydraulic cam.

[grclark351]

for a street engine on pump gas, i'd do a 2V open chamber build. comp cams 268H is a real nice cam for the application. sounds like you need the bottom end completely done, often times it's less expensive to take over another guys' project bail out. and you might even end up with more than you could afford(stroker?) if you were paying the bills. you can make it as complicated or as simple as you like. for a street engine, i would go simple. crank kit/bearings, pistons/rings, have bored to match pistons. specify a torque plate hone, it makes a little more power by improved ring seal. having the block sonic checked before doing anything might be a good idea, C's are famous for thin cylinder walls. .030" is usually the limit for the overbore, but there are products that can be used to fill the water jackets and reinforce the cyl walls. still, only bore as much as is needed to clean up the cyl's. a fresh set of heads with a little bit of bowl blending in the valve pockets goes a long way in the street power dept., or if you got a few bucks, edelbrock is coming out with some aluminum heads. they might make a bit much compression out of the box, but anything can be done, right? one point though, DO NOT USE STOCK VALVES, OR 2 PIECE REPLACEMENT VALVES! i've been bitten once and repeated the mistake before i found out about the problem, 2 piece valves have the head welded to the stem. they come apart under normal use conditions, even at idle. do yourself a favor and spend the couple bucks on 1 piece valves. one of these days i should take my own advice? before it's too late, again!

[Rancheroracer]

grclark351 absolutely right about the valves, especially with anything other than stock cam/springs, etc. I've had it happen also, completely destroyed engine, ruined the head, also.

[74Ranchero]

You guys are the right bunch to ask .thank you for your advice.Im leaning toward 2 barrell heads but can i put a 4 bbl carb (motorcraft)on them>>?Would it be an improvement? thanks again.

[Rancheroracer]

Yes, they make 4 barrel carbs for the 2v heads. I'd use the closed chamber heads, detonation is less especially when you keep deck height close to zero. Can run more compression that way.