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351C in place of a 351M

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
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Hey fellas...got an opportunity to get a pretty hot 351C for $300. I don't know an awful lot about 351C's...so my question is, what are the odds that the 351C will drop into place of the tired 351M I have in my Bronco? I figure the deal is too good to just pass up, but if it won't work for me...then I don't need it. I realize that alot of the parts won't swap from a M to a C...but this opportunity just fell in my lap, and figured I'd see what you guys have to say about it. Thanks for any input.
 

TexasNomad

FTFS Designated DRINKER!
From what I've read, I'm pretty sure it should fall in place..
But I think you should go for it, the money you would save on not rebuilding that old engine would make up for what you might have to buy.
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
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From what I've read, I'm pretty sure it should fall in place..
But I think you should go for it, the money you would save on not rebuilding that old engine would make up for what you might have to buy.



Alright...I just may bite then. As for rebuilding the 351M...already have everything I need except for headers...but I guess that could go towards the 351M in the 78 Bronco I'm planning on getting.
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
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Getting another bronco Ben?



Thinking about it...it's been sitting in the guy's side yard for about 3 years, still runs really well, but the C6 is trash. It looks like scott's (ranger429) Bronco, but with 30 years of wear and tear. The guy said he'd take 1500 for it. Looks really good, some paint fade, minimal rust, and anything else you'd expect from a 30 yo rig...but the engine was redone to stock specs 20k ago.



Side note...the guy said the 351C had a 3spd manual tranny behind it. Didn't know Ford had a 3spd manual...beside that, how would I get that to mate up to a C6?
 

radialarm

Clown of Death!
There may be a difference in the tranny bolt up!!!

Better do some checking!!!

I do remember the Torino wagons had a 351cj in '74!!!

Cobra Jet!!! YeeeHaaa!!!
 

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
My understanding is the bell housing is the same as a 302, 351W, but the rest of the motor shares with the M. On the 3 speed manual, not entirely uncommon in the 100's and 150's 2wd models. I have one that came from behind a 360.
 

UNRULEE

^LARGE carbon footprint^
351c's were all "small block" bellhousings. So sorry Ben, unless you swap to a different trans, it's not going to work.

But for $300 if it's got some decent speed parts I'd grab it. There are a lot of the 351c parts that are interchangable with the 351m400's. Namely the heads, cam, valvetrain, water pump, and some other things that I can't think of right now.
 
Probably the old tired Column 3speed that Ford had in their trucks for ages... for $300 that motor is a great buy. :)
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
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Yeah...after doing a little reading, I pretty much came to the conclusion I'd need a new tranny, and I'm not looking to do that. It's a little more work than I wanted to deal with. Only thing I might be remotely interested in are the heads. It was fun to think about though.
 
Yeah...after doing a little reading, I pretty much came to the conclusion I'd need a new tranny, and I'm not looking to do that. It's a little more work than I wanted to deal with. Only thing I might be remotely interested in are the heads. It was fun to think about though.

You could always replace the bell housing or use an adaptor plate, neither or which is incredibly difficult... Or you can put a "3 on the tree" in your Bronco... smilieneenar :rofl:
 

F 150Cobra

"Wild HoRsE" Got Torque?
3,642
104
Aruba
what if you put the c heads on the m? the c engines all the performance is in the heads right??
 

radialarm

Clown of Death!
what if you put the c heads on the m? the c engines all the performance is in the heads right??
I don't know all specifics but you may need to drill holes for water circulation!!!
 
jajaj, no the m heads are virtully identical to the c 2v heads, the difference would be in a minimal combustion chamber sizes... 75 later and up heads have more restrictive exhaust ports...

As for the 351c, its basicly the same deal as building a 400, 9.5 zero deck pistons a good rv cam headers etc, al though turnung that 351m into a 400 will work way better than the cleveland on the aerodynamic brick you will be putting it on, due to torque....

you could stroke your cleveland but it would cost alot more..

If it were me id store the 351c for a more revvy project and stroke that 351m!!
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
34,919
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Thanks Joe...the exact kinda info I was lookin for. I was just gettin all excited about doing something a little different. I'll probably pass on it for now...just don't see a use for it in the near future, and the parents are getting sick of me storing stuff at the house...haha.
 

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