351 m/ 400 question
Thread Starter
|
Freshman User
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 28
Likes: 1
From: La Crosse
351 m/ 400 question
Hey a friend of mine and I got into a discussion about the 351 m and 400. Are they small blocks or big blocks from what Ive heard they were small blocks. My friend is the kind of guy who thinks he knows everything and is never wrong and he says theyre big blocks. So which is it?
Thanks
Thanks
Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,521
Likes: 2,827
If you look a the bore centers, it is the same as the small blocks.
If you look at the deck height, it is the higher than an FE and about the same as the 385 series, both big blocks.
I'd go with big block due to deck height.
Some people would say neither, or that the term does not apply to this engine or to Fords in general, and that it is a Chevy term. (Chevy SB/BB was/is always clear, with none of this halfway business)
And some people would call it a "Mutt", half of one, half of another.
So, ask your buddy who knows everything what came first, the 351 or the 400? Ask him about bell patterns. Ask him about compression ratios.
If you look at the deck height, it is the higher than an FE and about the same as the 385 series, both big blocks.
I'd go with big block due to deck height.
Some people would say neither, or that the term does not apply to this engine or to Fords in general, and that it is a Chevy term. (Chevy SB/BB was/is always clear, with none of this halfway business)
And some people would call it a "Mutt", half of one, half of another.
So, ask your buddy who knows everything what came first, the 351 or the 400? Ask him about bell patterns. Ask him about compression ratios.
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 831
Likes: 1
From: Tanilba bay NSW Australia
while the 400 (not 400m-dont ever go there on this forum!!) has the longest stroke of any factory ford V8, it is really only a little bigger due to the deck height than a standard 351C.
I am in aussie and if you called a 351 a big block you'd be called a ****** (jerk in US speak).
If you wanted to say big block in the same build period ie 70's-early 80's, then a 429-460 could probably be called a big block as it is quite a bit heavier and bigger and only a trainspotter would correct you, and most would know what you are talking about if you said you had a big block in your ford.
incidentally some of the FE blocks are called big blocks mainly due to their size/dimensions, even if the 352 is the same block as the venerable 390.
BUT everyone else on here is right. Big and small block is chevvy speak not Ford. Everything in this forum is a 335 series and 429-460's are 385 just as Mark A. has said.
The windsors (even the 351) are smaller than the 351 clevelands, so there you go.
I am in aussie and if you called a 351 a big block you'd be called a ****** (jerk in US speak).
If you wanted to say big block in the same build period ie 70's-early 80's, then a 429-460 could probably be called a big block as it is quite a bit heavier and bigger and only a trainspotter would correct you, and most would know what you are talking about if you said you had a big block in your ford.
incidentally some of the FE blocks are called big blocks mainly due to their size/dimensions, even if the 352 is the same block as the venerable 390.
BUT everyone else on here is right. Big and small block is chevvy speak not Ford. Everything in this forum is a 335 series and 429-460's are 385 just as Mark A. has said.
The windsors (even the 351) are smaller than the 351 clevelands, so there you go.
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 831
Likes: 1
From: Tanilba bay NSW Australia
By the way, the acknowledged way to determine a big block is bore spacing. Anything around/under the 4" mark (I'll be corrected on this if wrong I'm sure) is a small block- once you get into the plus 4" ie 4-3/16"-4-1/4" and bigger you are in "big block" country.
Trending Topics
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,937
Likes: 2
From: wyoming
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
Top 6 Best Deals Available on New Fords & Lincolns Right Now
Brett Foote
This Hennessey Takes the Expedition Tremor's Off-Roading Capability to the Next Level
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Fords at 2026 Carlisle Ford Nationals
Joe Kucinski
3 Best / 3 Worst Parts of Modern Ford Ownership
Brett Foote
10 Amazing Upgrades That Solve Common Ford Truck Owner Headaches
Pouria Savadkouei
Every 2026 Ford Engine Explained
Brett Foote
10 Ugly Ford Trucks That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Every Truck Owner NEEDS (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Verdad Gallardo
Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,521
Likes: 2,827
Really, as you say, you have to go by the series with Fords. I wonder if anyone at Ford every raised the question about why they had so many different series, and thousands of bell patterns to boot. Ever heard of "standardization"?
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 243
Likes: 0
Here we go again...
Small block and big block is Chevy-speak.
The 400 is a 335 series in Ford-speak.
If you wanted to "translate" to Chevy talk, you could argue it is a "small block" with a big block transmission bell-housing mount pattern, but again, there is really no such thing as a Ford small or big block.
Displacement is displacement. In a normally aspirated engine, 400 cubic inches is 400 cubic inches. The nice thing about the Ford 400 is that it is a "stroked" 351...or the 351M is a "de-stroked" 400...it all depends on how you want to look at it.
Keep in mind the 351M was a smog motor...the late 70's and California emissions laws meant retarded cams, low compression, and lots of anti-smog accessories like thermactor (air) pumps, EGR, heated air inlet system, 2 barrel carbs, and charcoal canisters with small air intakes all conspired to give these late 335 series engines the reputation of being boat anchors.
Modern thinking is that with the proper cam, pistons, heads, intake, and a good carb, and you can really make some good power. I think my 408 with TMeyer goodies will stack up just fine against any 400 cube motor from Government Motors, big block or small block aside.
Small block and big block is Chevy-speak.
The 400 is a 335 series in Ford-speak.
If you wanted to "translate" to Chevy talk, you could argue it is a "small block" with a big block transmission bell-housing mount pattern, but again, there is really no such thing as a Ford small or big block.
Displacement is displacement. In a normally aspirated engine, 400 cubic inches is 400 cubic inches. The nice thing about the Ford 400 is that it is a "stroked" 351...or the 351M is a "de-stroked" 400...it all depends on how you want to look at it.
Keep in mind the 351M was a smog motor...the late 70's and California emissions laws meant retarded cams, low compression, and lots of anti-smog accessories like thermactor (air) pumps, EGR, heated air inlet system, 2 barrel carbs, and charcoal canisters with small air intakes all conspired to give these late 335 series engines the reputation of being boat anchors.
Modern thinking is that with the proper cam, pistons, heads, intake, and a good carb, and you can really make some good power. I think my 408 with TMeyer goodies will stack up just fine against any 400 cube motor from Government Motors, big block or small block aside.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
351 XE UTE
335 Series- 5.8/351M, 6.6/400, 351 Cleveland
8
Jul 26, 2003 11:43 PM
jdbanks
335 Series- 5.8/351M, 6.6/400, 351 Cleveland
17
Sep 29, 2001 06:11 PM