I recently bought a 1978 ford ranger the guy told me they pu a 351 c in it.is there an easy way to tell if that is what the motor is or if was just telling me that i have 1978 custom with a 351 m in it and can't tell much difference in them thanks for the help

 

You can pull the breather off and look at the top of the bell housing on the tranny where it mounts to the engine block. If it has the big block bell housing of the 351M/400, the top of the tranny will be flat and have a bolt at each corner where the bell housing turns down. The small block C6 housing will have a peak in the center of the casting with one bolt to the engine block and each side flows down from that center bolt.

 

There ain't a lot of differences. The easiest way for me is to look at the bell housing on the tranny at the engine block. Big block tranny for the M blocks, small block housing for the Cleveland. The breather may have to come off for a clearer look.

 

you can also measure the intake manifold if you have a known 351m the manifold will be wider than the 351C manifold due to the higher deck hieght so if when you measure them they are the same it's a M if one is narrower then it is a C.
Another way is look at the motor mounts a 351m/400 will bolt to the block with 3 bolts straight into the block, a 351c will have to bolts that are vertical.

 

i checked bell housing on both trucks they are the same . but the motor mounts are different . the one that is supposed to be a cleveland has two the m has three so does this mean it really is a cleveland

 

With identical bell housings on the trannys you either have a combination of a Windsor and a Cleveland, or maybe an M-block and one of the other big block engines in the 385 series. Look at the info below and see if it will help clarify the identity. All 351C's will have the small block bell housing, and all the M-block engines will have a big block bell housing.


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 10.7" wide the 351C is narrow.

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.

 

If your sure it's a 351 the quickest way to tell is look at the distributer. On the C the block is flat around it. On the M there is a ridge ( I can't remember how high it is off the top of my head, but it is quite noticable). Also see if you can't find a casting number, it should be on the underside of the right front corner of the block. That would not only tell you for sure which one it is, it will tell you if there is any thing special about it.

 

are you absolutly sure the bell housings are the same or do they just look the same the small block and big block bell housings look the same but are slightly different sizes but the motor mounts are the teling factor a 351c uses the same motor mount as a 302/351w, but the 351m/400 uses a unique motor mount I would say that yes you have a cleveland if it meets the other descriptions of them ie right number of bolts in the valve covers, thermostat housing on block not on intake manifold etc. also like I said measure the width of the intakes

 

i found the numbers on the block above the starter can somebody tell me what they mean D7TE A2B

 

D7 means 1977, so it can't be a Cleveland...

 

Thanks For All Your Help Looks Like It Has To Be A 351m In It . On The Code Is D7te A2b. Ok The D Stands For 1970 7 Is For 77 T For Truck E For Engine I Understand That But What Does The A2b Stand For
Just A Note They Did Change The Engine Acorrding To The Vin It Came With 300 6 In It

 

Found this in the "Read First" post at the top of the "'73-'79 Truck" forum. Hopefully it'll help with decoding your truck's numbers.

VIN Decoding and Vehicle Rating Plate Codes

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Check out the list of links in my FTE webpage http://torque1st.clubfte.com for links to these items. You can also find some good decoders on Mil1ions Website.

VIN and data plate decoder: http://www.medicine.wisc.edu/~mrm/bronco/ftvin.cgi

VIN decoders and information can be found in any Chiltons, Haynes, or OEM service manuals also.

The OEM service manuals for many years can be found here at the online store.

The VIN number can be found on the ratings plate tag on the driver side door or on the top of the right hand frame rail somewhere on the front half. It can also be found on the certification label.

The ratings plate information is the rest of those letters and numbers on the door plate. The ratings are also found on the certification label.

The vehicle certification label is attached to the rear face of the drivers door or door pillar. The certification label has the VIN and ratings info.

On some models there is a rating plate on the right side of the cowl under the hood. Some Bronco models have the plate on the inside of the glove compartment door.

Build sheets for our trucks are available at:
https://www.customersaskford.com/

 

A2B is an engineering revision change. I'm sure there's some dusty, old documents stuffed in a file cabinet deep in some dark basement in Dearborn which tells what the specific changes for each revision were but I've never seen any decoding information on the 'net or in print.

That definitely is a 351M/400 block so you either have a 351M or a 400 depending on which crank & pistons are in it. The 5th digit of the VIN is the engine code.