go faster's

i'm going with they were called M blocks because

they started out casting them at Michigan Casting Center.

the 400 looks good to me.

anybody been there and back with these?

from the pictures i've seen the 400 heads

look kind of ho-hum, but that's ok, it is a torque motor.

have a good one!

 

good engine but not a high rpm engine. The con rod ratio for 4" stroke is getting in the 1.64 range and the rod caps don't like. will do a good job but if turning 4000 to 6000 for extened lenghts will take away from life span. But if keeping below this in OEM rod and 5000rpm and down should be a good long life engine. catch you later. kinda like this engine for light duty workhorse engine.

 

wyoming

i think i'm learning something here.

'The con rod ratio for 4" stroke is getting in the 1.64 range and the rod caps don't like.'

i think i get you, the stroke can be in the crank throws,

which is where i always thought it was.

length of rod enters in there.

i'm stopping there, it's giving me a headache.

many thanks

 

wyoming

you mean the 400 right?

it has the 4" stroke.

so the rod length is 1.64 times the stroke?

did you buy that engine math book?

what do you think of the 400's big chamber heads?

do you know if the 351M, that was called a Cleveland by

Ford in advertising, has racy heads or no?

have a good day!

 

wyoming

just found out about Thermactor passages in heads.

i can deal with it!

check this out.

Bubba's M-Block Ford V8 Workshop

the parts i read so far are rock solid advice.

have a good one!

 

i actually learned about rod to stroke ratio about 20 yrs ago and the effects. I am a graduate of school of automotive machinist in houston. great school. judson really helped me simplify things and myths of engine theory. some engines ran better than other engines and wanted to know why. use to run a 429 for many yrs. then started into bigger stuff and stroking on up to the 4.3" cranks in the 532" stuff, lots of fun and broke lots of stuff. dirt tracked and mudraced, drag raced with many friends over the yrs. i now just mess with a few things (4wds mountain trucks) not much but stay sharp and build something cool every once in awhile to stay sharp. lately its been a 400 ford. check out tim meyers website and read on cam bearings and lubrication of the 351m and 400. i have photos of this upgrade in my albums. cool stuff!

 

seen my first 400 ford with tunnel ram about 20yrs ago. mud racer guy. not a hole lot of support for these engines. so this guy built a 400 with cobrajet heads and 351 cleveland tunnel ram. on the spacer plates he used wood for the adapters for the port mismatch. the cleveland has a shorter deck height so you have to have a spacer plate to fit to 400 with taller deck height. they now have better parts for these upgrades. He did use a good oak wood and silicone and used screw instead of bolts holding the intake to wooden spacers. sounds kinda crazy but i worked and worked well. no heat transfer from block to intake and turned it about 6800 to 7000 rpm for mud racing. the ole ford could run. this truck is what inspired me to build the current engine i built last year.

 

wyoming

i'm starting out slow here.

here's the year run for all Clevelands.

'The Ford 335 engine family were a group of small-block V8 engines built by the Ford Motor Company between 1970 and 1985.'

335 family of engines is the official name for Clevelands.

in that M engines are a sub group of Cleveland's.

i'll post the first year of 400M and 351M next.

gee, your're already up to putting a tunnel ram on!

have a nice day!

 

racers

the 400M came out first.

'It was introduced in model year 1971 with a half-inch (12.7 mm) longer stroke than the 351 Cleveland, making it the longest-stroke Ford pushrod V8 engine.'

long stroke sounds like a torque engine to me!

so far the stock M heads are shaping up as torque heads.

have a nice day!

 

M is for michigan. not suppose to put a m behind 400 some people get a little sensitive!! not really a big deal to me but figured i let you know. have you checked out my photos in my albums. problem with these engines are low compression and retarded timing at camshaft. fix these 2 things and your engine will really wake up. some issues with quench and i have run dome pistons in a engine and this really helped out alot. no problems with pinging or anything. ran 88 octane gas and 91, was a heck of a engine. learned alot about this combination. mudholer type truck.

 

Casting Center has absolutely nothing to do with it.

351M = M refers to Modified / It does not refer to Michigan, Muncie, Midland or anything else.

There's no such thing as a 400M .. it's just plain 'ol 400.

351C = 1970/74 Ford/Merc Passenger Cars/Ranchero's.

351M = 1975/79 Ford/Merc Passenger Cars // 1977/79 F100/350 / 1978/82 Bronco / 1980/82 F150/350.

400: 1971/79 Ford/Merc Passenger Cars / 1978/79 Lincoln/Continental Mark V // 1977/79 F100/350 / 1978/82 Bronco / 1980/82 F150/350.

FoMoCo never referred to any engine as a "small block." Small block is a GM term.

And btw: 351M's were very prone to cracking cylinder heads. Many were replaced under warranty or customer pay, but some were welded.

Have the puppies magnafluxed first, to verify they're not cracked.

 

wyoming

thanks!

numbers dummy

sure, whatever.

bye.

 

Very well put!