I dont post here but I have always been wondering what the M stands for, I know C and W but i have no idea about M.
Another thing im wondering what does the d in c.i.d. mean. Cubic Inch "D" i donno....please help me with my retard questions.

 

M is for Modified, and D is displacement (or at least thats what i always thought)


dave

 

the 2 things i hear it stands for is modified or midland

 

The way I heard it is that Ford attached the suffix M to differentiate it from the venerable 351C (where C stood for Cleveland) and the 351W (where W stood for Windsor). From what I have read, Ford never said what the M meant, so somewhere along the line someone else decided that it probably meant modified as in modified (destroked) 400. Some have perpetuated this by further calling the 400 a 400M which makes no sense unless you are calling the 400 a modified 351C - which I suppose it is since the 400 is based on the 351C. To my knowledge, Ford never called the 400 a 400M - there was no need to since there was only one 400.

 

Somewhere on this site theres a big section that explains all of this with the cleveland and modifieds and when they were introduced and why. i remember reading it when i got my truck its really informative and showed me the light so to say. i'd like to read it again, anyone know where it is?

 

>Somewhere on this site theres a big section that explains
>all of this with the cleveland and modifieds and when they
>were introduced and why. i remember reading it when i got my
>truck its really informative and showed me the light so to
>say. i'd like to read it again, anyone know where it is?

It's in the Tech Articles section under High Performance Options for M Series

 

I wish somebody had an inside line to ford so we could finally put the "m" thing to rest.

 

this is an edited post i made earlier, and its been clarified.



ford engine designations

W - Windsor, cast in windsor canada
C - Cleveland, cast in cleveland oh
M - Modified Cleveland, cast in cleveland and michigan prmarily.

here are the engine designation i have seen from ford 351w, 351c, 351m, 400c and 400.

Most of this comes from the sales programs. Ford, deceided that car sales would be better if they called the 400 a Cleveland since it was derived from the much loved 351C engine. The reference to the 400c in the sales brochures was for the first 2-3 years that the 400 was made. But there was a lot of reference made to the fact that it was a Modified Cleveland, due to the upcoming EPA rules.
Thus the "Cleveland" block was modified to meet the new epa rules and accomidate the 4" stoke. This mod is one of the main reasons the deck height is taller in the 400 block. Now the 351m is a destroked 400, plain and simple, thus Ford saved money by casing one type of block. So it appears that the "M" designator applies only to the 351, but some engine builders refer to all 1975 and older blocks as "M" blocks. If my memory is correct, the letter designation was dropped after 2 years from the sales borchures, and from then after, the 400c was referred as the 400. I have seen a 1971 emission tag stating a 400c engine, and i have seen them with just 400.
To sum it all up, all 335 engines are unique. one poster here on this board complains when we try to group Ford blocks like gm blocks (small and big). In the case of Cleveland blocks (all 335) i have seen them referred to as small blocks, small large blocks, large blocks, and as i have begun to call them medium or mid size blocks. Ford always referred to thier engines as families.
Now as bill beyer has pointed out so often, finding official ford documents stating what exactly the "M" is for is hard. My brother an engineer at Ford, gave up trying. Now if bill wantys to add to this, he can, but in the end its just a letter designation and i will always call it a modified, and i think Bill will always just say M.

 

boy did i write a book, sorry if so long

 

My friend worked at ford during the 70s he also said the M stood for modified (modified cleveland). He also said they didn't use big or small block names. Just the family names.

 

M-mistake

(ADMIN Note: Chevyman == Gone)

 

I beg to differ.

 

Are you guys ready ?

Well, feast your eyes on this !

http://www.oemfordparts.com/faq/smallblockv8.htm#351M%20(MOUNTED)%20AND%20400


Dennis

Oh....Please Don't Ask Me Any Tough Questions As:
"I'm Saving Up MY Memory For When I Develop Alzheimer's"






78 F-150 429CJ C6 ,Silver w/Explorer Pkge
641/2 Mustang,Pre-World's Fair Car #8092
64 Fairlane S/C waiting for a 390-4spd.
68-Mustang.Sunlit Gold 80,000 miles

 

i think if you ask southwest ford, that is a site they made. and the use of mounted is thier word. cause i have never seen that use. but i am from the northeast.

 

I'm almost afraid to ask what (mounted) means!