I have a 1956 F-100 with a 351 Cleveland in it..I just recently got this truck as my own to take to shows and do whatever i want with it...Anyway, the Cleveland is a 2v i think....I think its a 2v cause on the carb. i seen something that said 2v...Anybody know how much power this thing is probably pushing at the wheels? And is a 4v better then a 2v and if so, anybody know if i can just change it over or not? Any feedback you can give me on this engine would help me out a lot to understand what im working with here...I dont know to much about Ford Motors.

 

at the top corners of the heads there might be a number cast in, where the valve cover radius turns down from the the top to the sides. 2V and 4V top ends are interchangeable. as far as which is better, that depends on what you want out of the engine. and how much $$$ you got? you can $$$ a lot on a 2V too!

 

I got a decent amount of $$$ to put into the truck..Id like to be able to do something like 13s in the 1/4 mile and id be happy for it being a truck...I also have no idea what year 351 this is...I have a chart that tells you the HP of the 351Cs for each year they were in the Mustang but i dont know what year it is, so the chart doesnt really help lol...Anyway on finding out what year it is?

 

there is a build date code stamped in the block, just to the side of the dowel pin that locates the timing pointer. it looks like "1A12", the first digit is the year of the decade. prolly the 70's? the next letter is for the month, A is january, M is december, I is not used. the last two digits are the day of the month. there is also a cast date cast into the block by the starter. it is decoded the same way.

 

i have some 4v heads for sale.

 

You don't know "to" much about ANY motors.

 

who are you talking about?

 

You talking about me?? Sorry im not some gearhead junkie who knows all this **** about motors..Im not some mechanic or anything like that..And if i dont know anything about motors, then how did i even know that my engine is a 351C and not a 351W? The keys were just handed to me and i was told to take it, nothing more, nothing less...Nobody told me what the truck had in it or anything, i figured that out for myself...I know how to tell the difference between the 2 of them, so i guess that must mean i know a lil something something..

 

I have 63 F-100 with a Cleveland 2bbl. From what I have learned, someone correct me if I'm wrong, your looking at about 250-270 horse power stock depending on the year. The earlier the better because of EPA smog laws. With the 2bbl. heads, your looking at about 380 lbs. of torque. Mine is a daily driver so I've only done some small modifications, rv cam, headers and kept it a 2bbl for mileage. Even so, it still has some kick. I have heard that Eddelbrock (sp?) makes a 4bbl. intake that fits on the 2bbl heads. With a combination of that intake and a 600cfm or whatever carb., I've heard it's awesome. I think I've seen it in Jeg's.

 

the edelbrock performer only qualifies as a 4bbl carb adapter in the performance arena. the only advantage is that it does provide a 4bbl carb pad and is lighter than the cast iron factory manifold. it becomes an RPM limiter above about 5500. good news is that supposedly edelbrock is coming out with some new intakes to go with their new alloy heads? just gotta wait and see.

 

personally the 2v is a better set up except for racing vehicles, just bolting a set of 4v heads and intake on will definatly increase your HP but it will kill your bottom end the ports on the 4v heads are massive, and really need some rpms to flow properly, they can be made to perform at lower rpms but it will take alot more than just swapping heads, but for a street driven vehicle the 2v heads work great, I would put a weiand xelerator manifold, and 600-650cfm carb, decent ignition, and headers and you will see alot of improvement without even hurting fuel economy (as long as youstay out of the 4bbl), I even use 2v heads (although they are the aussie heads worked over)on my race truck, and turn it 7000rpm, and it screams

 

Ok well i got some bad news...I went outside today since its a really nice day and decided id try and start the truck up..It hasnt been started since i was a kid when me and my dad use to take it to shows all the time and thats was about 6 years ago..Anyway i went to start it and it turns over but it wont catch and start...I had this guy i know look at it and he said its getting no spark and that i prob need a new coil...So i talked to somebody else and told him what that guy said and he said i prob need new wires and plugs, a new cap and rotor, and prob a new coil...Then i told all of that to somebody else and they told me that the 351C has a points system in it..Im not really sure what he was tryin ot say, but he said they could of rusted from sitting and there not opening up to allow the spark to go through and that i should prob just change my points...How does all of this sound? Can anybody follow up on any of this information and tell me if its correct or not...

Also, this one guy told me that there should be a cap i can get for the engine to get rid of the whole points thing cause as he says "points are a pain in the ***"...ANybody know about that also?

 

well any of the above could be the problem, and yes most cleves had points, pull the dist cap, and look at them to see if they are rusted, next make sure you have power to them, and to the coil. even bad plug wires should get some spark through may not start or run good but a no spark situation is very rarely bad wires only. also make sure you still have a rotor in the dist. basically start with the basics do you have electricity to all of the components then trace from there, points should be reasonably cheap so relpace them and the condensor (this could also be the problem) if still no spark at the coil then possibly bad coil take one off of a running vehicle, and put it on see if that cures it, etc etc.
as far as electronics the 351c 351m/400, and 429/460 all use the same dist. so if you can find an electronic dist, and ignition box from a newer vehicle with one of these engine you can change them.
also the "cap to get rid of the whole points system " is more than just the cap but the whole dist, one option is a DUI dist this is an hei style and is self contained so all you need to change is the dizzy

 

Im not a motor man, so im not to good at fixing stuff myself..Eventhough the stuff may not be hard, i still have no idea how to do it..Ive always had other people work on my trucks/cars and im just start to get hands on with it now..So i have somebody do it and help them with the process so i learn how to do it...But anyway, i found this online...www.performancedistributors.com/forddui.htm....From what it say it has the cap and the coil all in one and from what it shows, itll run with the 351C...Is this something i could use?

 

yea that is the one I listed in the bottom of my last post, you have to pull your dizzy, and put that one in in the correct position, and hook the wires up, and remover your coil, also you will need new plug wires as the caps use a different style of plug, but that would be the fastest, and easiest way to go to get rid of your points ignition.