I am interested in buying a 351 for racing purposes. I was wandering did ford ever make a 351,351M with 4-bolt mains. and if so when. also, I will probably be turning this engine in the neighborhood of 6000 RPM. Would I definitly need a 4-bolt main to stand up to this.

 

Ford did make some 351C blocks with 4 bolt mains, but no M blocks. Good luck finding a 4 bolt C block that is not in a car being sold for lottery size $.

A properly built Ford motor, balanced, blueprinted, etc. will handle 6000 RPM on 2 bolt mains very well. Remember, we're not talkin about those "other" motors that need 4 bolt mains and steel cranks to turn the Rs Ford racers have been doing it for over 40 years.

Nathan

 

Are all 351W's 2-bolt mains?

 

Yes.

 

You can get 4 bolt mains clevelands in Australia for about $200 USD. I think the company is called netengines.com.au or something similar. Do a search in OZ only and they will turn up.

 

If you want a 4-bolt main Windsor, you can buy them from SVO Ford
http://oemfordparts.com/partslist.asp?CategoryID=12
Part #: M-6010-S351 cost about $1700 US.

A cheaper alternative would be to use a stock block with a "main cap girdle" which ties all the main caps together to prevent "cap walk". This setup will easily handle 7000 RPM.

RCC