I am finally going to be building my 1978 F100 swb Ranger with a 351M and what I believe is an auto C4 tranny. I have the engine almost torn apart and Im ready to start ordering parts. I have never built a motor so I am doing this all from reading here and youtube. I plan on putting in a cam, having the heads and valve train rebuilt, timing set, intake manifold, carb and ignition. After that is broken in I will be doing the exhaust. I am going for a streetable, fun truck to cruise around town. I want good power and dont mind the fuel milage. I am not going to be swapping a 400 crank or pistons unless the bottom end is crap when I pull the heads.

For cam etc, I am thinking about a Comp Cams Thumpr set from Summit, part number k32-600-5. It includes cam, lifters, valve train and timing set for $460. The advertized duration is 278/296, with a lift of .506/.493. Usable RPM from idle to 5500.

I am thinking Edelbrock performer intake ($300) or Weiand Action Plus ($243), both are 4bbl and 2v heads. Is the Edelbrock worth the extra $?

I am not sure about carb yet. Probably 650cfm. Definitely open to suggestions. Do I want vac secondary? I know i need the ford auto kickdown option. I do not need any smog here in my state. Some good, affordable options for 4bbl carbs?

I have just started reading about ignition systems. I see that there are all in one setups so I can eliminate the control module and blaster and just have the coil and cap? I am seeing a huge price variance in these setups. I know I get what I pay for but what are some good setups that arent going to cost me an arm and a leg?

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

1978 F100 SWB Ranger, 351m and Auto C4.



Motor as I got it right before I started to tear it apart.



Carb removed, intake manifolf unboled and valve covers off.

 

Hey thats a sweet lookin ride.... I did what your doing last year to an FE390, so slightly different motor, but same theory.... I stuck with the setup it came with because it ran great b4 i tore it apart and my inexperience with the motor told me to rebuild like it was knowing it worked then (pulled motor, cuz it leaked from every seal). And you are correct the more you depart from the current setup the more cost is incurred, which in some cases is worth it. There is some wiring knowledge and research needed for the coil over cap upgrade.... I stuck with the remote coil like you have, so im still using the ICM boxes and I think my new one is failing now but they are relatively cheap.....

As far as the intakes and Carbs, its kinda like 'whats your favorite color ?' or the best rifle cartridge ... Your not going to go wrong with either of those intake manifolds, so just pick one IMO. Now carbs, i ordered a 4160 Holley 4b refurb from Holleys Ebay store and it showed up in 2 days like new and runs great. Its a 600cfm E-Choke Vac Seconds. But sky is the limit there also..... You cant go wrong with Edelbrock or Holley 4b's out of the box IMO. My vote is for the Vac seconds.... Why not, unless this is your daily commuter and you need 2 more MPGs.... Take a peak on Ebay for those ignition Dizzy setups, they can get pricey, but Im starting to consider one myself now..... Anywho's good luck, new parts are like Christmas every time the brown truck rolls in

 

Thanks for the input man, much appreciated. I think I am going to go with the weiand and a Holley 4b vac sec...the ignitions gonna take some more research.

 

I bet you have a C-6 trans.

Good reads here and below. History of the Ford 351M

Rumors & Myths

351M/400 Performance Build Up

Bubba's M-Block Ford V8 Workshop

THE 351M GURU. http://www.tmeyerinc.com/

Walk thru thread for 351M timing chain replacement. 351M/400/360/390/429/460 Timing Chain Replacement - Ford Truck Fanatics

C-4 info/id Ford C4 Transmission Information

 

that cam seems a little much to me unless you are somehow bumping compression, I would look more at a 265-270 advertised and about .480-.500 lift, edelbrock or weiand;, I like weiand products pretty well, but edelbrock makes nice stuff. Not planning on any compression increase?? That might be a little bit more air/fuel delivery for stock CR, bump a little would help.

 

A set of headers free up some Hp as well, on top of better mileage usually.

 

The Weiand is a fine manifold. It's less expensive than the Edelbrock, but it's made in China. The Edelbrock has a nice "USA" tag on top.

The Performer is perfect for your application as the Torker is for higher RPMs.

I'd go vacuum secondaries on the carb. 600 CFM should be plenty. I've used both Holley and Edelbrock carbs and they're both fine. Summit carbs are probably ok, too

Headers are nice, but the duals and new mufflers that you'll want dwarf the cost of the headers themselves

Count the bolts on the pan-your transmission is more likely to be a C6

I went with the Summit RV cam and lifter kit. It works well. When you get the heads rebuilt, make sure to get springs to support the lift on your cam

The summit double-roller timing chain is not very expensive and is a great upgrade. Install it straight up.

While you have the front end off, replace the water pump. Map the bolts as you pull them out, cuz they're different lengths and need to go back in the same place

I wouldn't be in a hurry to replace the distributor, as the duraspark system is perfectly fine. You might benefit more from a 3G alternator upgrade.

Good luck!

 

The cam you want to use will most likely make you very unhappy. You have a heavy truck, with what looks like 33" tires, probably stock 3.50 gearing, low compression ratio, & a stock torque converter. Way too much cam for that application. You want a cam that builds lower end power, not top end. Personally, I'd be looking for a cam a couple of steps above stock, preferably from anyone but Comp Cams.

Listen to what papabearyuma says, lots of good advice there!!

 

Thank you all for the input. I love the internet. Its cool as hell to me that I can post something and have so many knowledgeable answers so fast.

@77&79 F250 Saved me a ton of time, i bookmarked all those links. Thank you.

@F-250 Warhorse I would bump compression up but I dont want to do a crank, piston or new heads. I will be having the heads redone though. I will definitely look into some less aggressive cams. I do want more of the low end torque that I will use more often daily driving. Do you have any other suggestions as to raising the CR? I will for sure be getting headers and eventually a full exhaust.

@PapaBearYuma I am thinking Weiand manifold, for sure vac sec and probably 600cfm, ready to run msd (pretty sure my distributor shaft is bent and its fuzed to the block). I guess its hard for me to look at a "lesser" cam as more, but I understand the reasoning behind it. When I think about it I want low end torque for more stop and go fun. I am for sure doing the timing. I will count the bolts on the tranny pan tomorrow and let you know. I thought there was a 'mercedes' symbol on the rear of the trans if it was c6? Ill just count the bolts.

@scottscott Thanks man, Im gonna rethink cam choice for sure.

 

I will look for some more 351M links I have saved...info is power and shopping smart saves time and $.

 

Trans pan has 17 bolts, so it is a c6 from what I understand.

 

Anyone have any experience with ebay ready to run distributers? I am looking and only really see the expensive msd and the cheap 90-130 ebay ones.

 

A/T should be a C6 (17 trans pan bolt holes), not the C4 (11 trans pan bolt holes).

C4 only installed with 240/300 I-6 & 302.

All 1977/79 F100/350 & 1978/79 Bronco 351M/400: C6.

 

the intakes you're listing are the benchmark of 1970's design .. meaning they ain't much more than stock other then lightweight and cool aluminum colour

if you're going to spend money for an intake then let those ones stay on the swap meet table where they belong and see what the 21st century has to offer

https://www.summitracing.com/int/sea...ford-cleveland

the only thing the older intakes have to offer is they fit under 1 70's CAR hood with ford's then pathetic hood clearances at the time

you're building a truck with no such clearance issues

the eddl performer and eddl performer rpm are two very different intakes

the most an old performer intake is at best is is a 4BBL conversion manifold
I had one it was not impressive in any way

you might also want to compare the cost of rebuilding your cast iron heads vs buying the new eddl aluminum performer heads - if you're going to end up spending a couple of, to a few hun, rebuilding each head , depending how deep in you want to get, the slight aditional cost of the eddl heads might be worth considering

Idono what you're planing for the heads but if you buy new valves , springs , locks N retainers + machine shop costs then the new eddl head might really look like a good decision
any aditional cost can be atributed to the fact the eddl head is ment to be a performance improvement also , straight out of the box

+ there's the 60-70 pounds the heads and an intake should take outta the front end