Hey all. After I pulled my old 351 from my truck(I did a 460 swap) I decided I wanted to rebuild this engine with quite a bit of horses and im planning in putting it in a Ford car. My Crank is in good shape and im mostlikely going to replace the cam. My question is; what do I need for this motor so it pushes atleast 400hp (if possible for this engine block). Should I go with Alluminum heads or cast iron? DO I need to bore the block a little bit more? Im a little new to rebuilding this engine but I do know how to work on engines. Money is little bit of an issue because Im in High School and I'll be rebuilding this in my autoshop class, but I think I can get enough money when I get another job. Sorry for long read but thanks for your input.

 

First of all you should get a 400 crank and pistons since it is a 351m and the only diference is the crankshaft and the pistons , everything else works, then a nice cam, a good intake, a carb and some headers,

Im doing exactly what you are doing, adn im kinda difrently oriented than guys in this forums, cuz i have a 2400 lbs muscle, so im using a long duration crane cam (282 degrees intake 290 exht) some 9:1 pistons a milled deck, a sigle plane intake manifold , a 850 vacum secundaries carb, and home made thick headers with 4 moflers,

I havent spent more than 1000 bucks on my stuff and im cose to the 400bhp

I personally prefer the 400 more for a street / performance engine than a 351c, cuz the streetable amount of horses you can get on a 400 are way off than for a 351c because of the fast torque peaks, sure a 351 c revs fatser but you couldnt get a 400 horses 351 c be as drivable as a 400 horses 400, hell im using a stock stall converter and my tires are leaving marks!

So it all depends on your aplication....

anyways, start with a cam ( about 130 bucks ) pistons ( 100 aprox ) ( used crank 100 aprox ) leave the rest stock , then save to buy the intake carb and headers that are very easy to install...

 

Thanks for the reply hollenjoe. Is there a certain kind of cam to get? what degree of lift? ext. And do you think i should port the stock heads?
As for a 400 crank I can get that when I get a better set of cylinder heads at a pick-and-pull. And will I have to bore my engine to fit 400 pistons or will they be the same?

 

keep the stock cilinder heads, instead mille them by .0025", get some 9.5 to 1 pistons from tmeyer (the sponsor of this forum) for 130 bucks, get the crankshaft and you dont have to bore the engine since the bore of a 351 m is the same as a 400 (4"), the 400 crank and pistons will fit perfectly as a 351m is a destrocked version of a 400 and you would only be strocking it back to normal, and I personally love this cam
( http://www.cranecams.com/?show=brows...tType=camshaft ),
start this way, its not possible to port your valves on your stock heads, but its ok, with this components plus a 750 carb headers and intake you should have a monster,
buying a new aluminium head is to expensive for my taste, but aha its just me....

 

ok cool thanks for the input, I will definantly post a thread of the build-up of this engine just incase i get stumped later on down the build.