I'm seriously considering a new purchase but truck is far away & trying to make determinations before traveling to look at truck. Its an F100 & owner claims its a 460. Understandably, aint seen to many of those so I'm trying to process info. Doing research but think (older gentleman) is mistaken. What I gather is that a 73' only had options for six cyl, 203, or 360. Or could possibly be a special order 390. Any comments?

So if a 360 what engine series is that? (335 or 385?)

I'm going to talk to him later today & ask for a VIN. Short of that, I can't find any reference to a 460 in a 73' F100.

StevenD

 

Engine Identification
The 351W and 351C did not come stock in 73-9 trucks. Some of them have been "transplanted" tho.

Engine Identification:
=================
351C/M/400 335 series: 8 bolts in rectangular valve covers. Timing chain housing is part of block. Thermostat housing on block. Exhaust bolt holes diagonal.

351M/400 335 series: intake is 12.7" wide the 351C is narrow. The 351M and 400 are identical externally, only internal parts examination can tell them apart.

351W/302/5.0L 6 bolts on trapezoidal valve covers. Thermostat housing on intake. Exhaust bolt holes horizontal.

429/460 385 series: 7 bolts in rectangular valve cover

352/360/390/427/428 FE series: Intake goes under valve covers.

Not sure it that year came with a 460, I believe it was a F250 2wd 78/79 that got them. Never know what got swapped in there, I bet if factory, it's a 360.

 

Yes it could be a 460 from the factory (2WD only, 460 wasn't available in 4WD models). If it is factory, the fourth VIN character will be "J". In fact, if you're looking at a 2WD model w/ a 460, the VIN should start F10J.
In '73 the engine choices for 2WD were: 300 6 cylinder, 302 V8, 360, 390, and 460. The 4WD models only had two engine choices: 6 cylinder and the 360.
The 360 and 390 are identical on the outside. Like has been said many times, a 360 "magically" becomes a 390 on sale day. Fourth VIN digit for a 360 is "Y".
Also, the FE series (360/390) valve cover has five bolts. And on the 351M/400 the bolts that attach the fuel pump to the block are at 6 & 12 o'clock position, all the other pumps are at 3 & 9 o'clock.

 

1973 VIN engine codes (4th digit): A = 240 1V I-6 / B = 300 1V I-6 / G = 302 2V / H = 390 2V / J = 460 4V / Y = 360 2V

 

351 Cleveland was never factory in any truck. The "M" on the heads stands for Mercury and was a car only engine.

 

Ah ok..I copied pasted that info off of here.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ease-read.html

Post #10

 

On 351 M engines the M stands for modified cleveland

 

351 m is a modified 400. There is no "M" anywhere on a 351m or 400 engine but there is an M on the heads of a 351c

 

M = VIN engine code (5th digit): 1970/74 Ford/Mercury Passenger Cars & Ranchero 351C 4V with 4 bolt mains.

 

When the 351 Cleveland was discontinued after the 1974 model year, Ford needed another engine in that size range, since production of the 351 Windsor was not sufficient and the 390 FE was also being retired.

To replace the 390, Ford took the 400 engine's tall-deck block and de-stroked it with the shorter-throw crankshaft from the 351 Windsor, and taller pistons, to produce a 351 cubic inch (5.8 L) engine whose components were largely compatible with the 400. 351M block castings were modified to prevent cracks in the lifter area; additionally, the 351M casting contains X marks cast next to each lifter bore.

351M production began in 1975 in the Michigan Casting Center, and continued until mid-year 1978, when manufacture was transferred to the Cleveland Foundry/Cleveland Casting Plant.

The M-block, as it became known, was the last push rod V8 block designed by Ford. The M-block also shares some elements with the Windsor engine family: bore spacing, cylinder head bolt-patterns and crankshaft journal dimensions.


There exists debate as to what Ford intended the "M" designation of the 351M to refer to. Some claim the "M" stands for “Modified” - due to the derived components from both the "Cleveland" (block, heads) and "Windsor" (crankshaft) components - though others claim that the "M" refers to the Michigan Casting Center, where the 351M began production.

Likewise, Ford's use of the 400 block in the creation of the 351M engine has resulted in the 400 mistakenly being referred to as the "400M" or "400 Modified," despite having been the design basis from which the "modified" 351M was derived. Additionally, while the 351M and 400 motors are both based on the Cleveland block, Ford's official name for the block contains no additional designations - the proper nomenclature is simply "400."

http://www.projectbronco.com/History..._ford_351m.htm

http://classic-web.archive.org/web/2...s/parts03.html

http://projectbronco.com/Technical_A...e_build_up.htm

http://www.projectbronco.com/Technic...the_rumors.htm

 

M referred to Modified from day one. The heads used on these smogged up turds (1975/78, FoMoCo changed 'em in 1979) were very prone to cracking.

Most of the time this occurred after the 2 year or 24,000 mile warranty period ran out, which p!ssed off many owners, as Ford refused to do anything about it.

Because new heads didn't come with valves, usually rebuilt heads with valves were installed to replace the cracked turds.

The Ford dealer parts & labor cost to the customers back then was roughly $700.00, which included the heads core charge, since the POS heads were no good.

700 bucks was a lotta money back then. From circa 1975 thru 1982, I passed out well over 400 sets of these heads to mechanics to replace the turds.

One parts guy at one dealership, now multiply this by 7,000, the number of US/Canadian FoMoCo dealers back then.

IMO, the 351M (and 1975/78 400) belong in the same FoMoCo scrap heap as the awful 3.8L "miracle" V6, A4LD & AOD.

 

Actually, in the corners of the heads, there is an "M" cast on the 351M (which stands for modified 400. ie: 400 with a shorter stroke)

If only the cleveland engines came with the "M" cast in them, I've seen MANY, MANY 351M's with cleveland heads swapped on. 400's were smooth and had no casting at all in the corners.