A friend of mine has a 1979 Ford Bronco, that is all original. We are having a huge argument on what motor is in it. He says its a 351C; I say it is a 351M....Who would be right if it is all original like he says? What can I look at to identify what it really is?

 

There were a number of engine options, but by far the most popular engines in 79s were the 351M and 400s. Both are M blocks, and have the same heads as the 351C. If it's still original, look at the engine info decal on the valve cover. The 400 is a 6.6l displacement, and the 351s are 5.8l. If it says 5.8l, check the width of the intake. M blocks use a 11+" wide intake, where Clevelands are 9.something. Clevelands were out of production by 1979, but after 25 years, "all original" may be a misnomer unless he is the original owner.

 

There isn't any way it'd be a 351W, how would I tell the difference here? I'm gonna go measure his intake in a few minutes here and go from there. There is a sticker on the inside of the hood that says something about "B" code, I'll also check that out.

 

A 351W will have 6 valve cover bolts, as will a 302. The Cleveland and M blocks will have 8. Intake width is the best way to eliminate the Cleveland as your engine. Again, if it is truly 100% original, Ford did not offer a Cleveland in 79, production of this engine ceased sometime in 74. Go get 'im, my money's on ya son.

Ernie

 

There was only two factory engine options for the 79 Bronco 400 & 351m.
The Cleveland was never offered in a truck.

Pat

 

The only truck the cleveland was used in was the ranchero. Odds are he has the 351M.

 

A Torino with a funny looking trunk does not a truck make.LOL

 

Ford called them a truck though . Or at least classified them that way.

 

What gets me is that technically they are a truck....according to the DMV. Here in Montana we used to have 'normal' stamped license plates that actually meant something before they went to the screen printed generic random letters/numbers that other states have. For example, the first one or two numbers (1-56) was the county designation followed by a dot then a number from "000" to infinity depending on the number of registered vehicles in that county. Then the state changed that a little by putting a "P" or "T" after the county designation for "passenger car" or "truck". Every Ranchero or El Camino had a "T" after it.

I guess the Ranchero and El Camino never really died. We just have other "trucks" now that have taken their place....Compact trucks like Toyotas and Honda Ridgelines, Rangers, S-10's...and fullsize Chevy pickups built after 1987, F-150s after 1996, and 1500 Dodges after 2002.

Cody

Oh yeah, Hooker Bob is right. The Cleveland boat anchor was never offered in a truck. Believe it or not a 302 was offered in the 78-9 Broncos...good luck finding one though.

If someone did do an engine swap from a 351M/400 to a Cleveland, they went to a whole lot of trouble for nothing. All of those 335 series engines are equally worthless. Only engines I've ever seen though that will run for tens of thousands of miles with no oil pressure.

 

Yeah I know and Chrysler calls the PT Cruiser a truck also. Ain't that kick

Aw come on Cody tell us how you realy feel about the 335 series


Pat

 

Well, proving him wrong wasn't too hard. IT was stamped right under the hood...5.8M or 6.6 B series.

What auto trannies were available in the Broncos? C4? C6? His is smoked and we need to find a replacement. Was NP205 the only case available also, or were there others?

 

Behind the M block it would have been a C6, large bolt pattern. If you're going to swap trannies anyway, you can put in whatever tcase you want. 205s are great, but heavy - 208s are a nice alternate, lower low range, and are plentiful at jyards. You may need a crossmember and new driveshafts.

Good Luck,
Ernie

 

I have a C6 from a '75 Highboy that he wants to use. Would a 360 tranny bolt up to a 351M? If it would I'd hafta put on his tailhousing an crap since the tranny I have is for a divorced t-case.

 

Nope....gotta love Fords!!!!


Yep. Also, besides the tailshaft housing, the tailshaft as well. That involves tearing the transmission apart.


Question:
Why not rebuild the one he's got. Full rebuild kits and parts are available everywhere for the C6 for CHEAP!!! Besides, the C6 is about the easiest transmission in the world to rebuild.

Cody

 

If it was me in the situation he is in I would rebuild it. But, he is strapped for cash and I figured if my tranny would work we'd just use mine and he could have it. He opened up the local bar/restaurant here (very small community) so we all try to help him stay open by doing whatever we can.