I am thinking about building a set of rods at work for a 400 that will bring the piston up to a zero deck and have the pin size of a cleavland. But I haven't been able to find any measurements of a factory rod. And I haven't been able to find a motor that I can use for mock up yet. So if any body has any can you post all the dimensions of a 400 rod. That way I can start trying to figure out what exactly I need to do

 

The 351m and 400 connecting rods are the same.

 

the only difference is the piston height and the crank. same bore at 4 inch. the stroke of a 351m is 3.5 inch and the 400 is 4 inch. the piston pin in a 351m is lower in the piston to comsenpate for the lower stroke. compare to the 400 the piston pin is higher to compensate for the 4 inch stroke. i can find the dimension for you tomorrow because im not home tonight. but i wil tomorrow.

 

M-Block 351M/400 Parts Reference important info for you here. good reading !!!

 

if you have a 351m take the 351m rods to a machinist and buy a set of 351c flat top pistons. the piston pin is smaller on a 351c. the machinist will have to bush the 351m or 400 rods to the diameter of the 351c piston. any good machinist can do that.

 

I already have a 400 that I built but I don't want to tear it down just to try to make some rods. But will a cleavland piston give me a zero deck. And I'm aware of the 351m and 400 differences but I'm wanting a stronger rod that will use cleavland pistons without having to put a bushing in and give me a zero deck

 

Have you had rod problems in the past ? There really isn't anything all that wrong with the factory rod once you put good bolts in and resize them. If you are dead set on making them, watch your weight. You don't want to end up with a $400 bill for getting them balanced in.

 

Are you running aftermarket heads or some head that has quench? If you aren't what's the point of 0 deck?

I would think putting the bushing in the end of the factory 400 rod and having it bored to make the rod as long as possible would get you to near 0 deck.

The factory rods for a 400 are good to at least 500 hp. Are you aiming for more than this?

 

Read this thread, https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...0-engines.html

 

But Tim has both H beam rods and a 13cc dish piston that is zero deck. problem solved.

 

Well I'm wanting to turbo it and have around 7-800 hp. unless Tim has recently started selling forged pistons his are hypers. Which is what is in my motor that I'm working on swapping over to efi

 

Well then, if your building a 7-800hp 400, buy custom pistons, Tims h beam rods and stud the lower for sure. Don't skip on anything. And good luck, many have said they were doing the whole turbo thing but nobody has came back and let us know it happened. Honestly at those power levels, your better off stroking a 460, but that's just my opinion.
1) has been done before and
2) would be much cheaper.

BUT, if your doing it too snub those arrogant 460 guys who thumb there noses at us 400 guys and talk trash, then by god please do!

 

Been sitting here thinking of your turbo project and I remember something a read a while back. Turbo or supercharged engines don't need nearly as much squish to produce quench. The forced induction produces quite a bit of turbulence under boost. You could probably get a away bushing the 400 rod with a 351C piston, yes it will be down in the bore, but you need a fairly low cr to really crank the boost. Well unless your running E85, methanol or something of the like. IDK, not real experienced with forced induction.

 

As mentioned above, we have an H-beam rod available.
We also have custom forged pistons that are available.
IF you are going to that point, the 444 stroker kit may be inline to
you ultimate goals.

 

This will only work if it's a 400, not a 351M. (Different pin height due to stroke).