Just gonna drop this right here....

[Fordzilla80]

Far cry from what it used to look like.

I still don't know what I'm gonna do with it, but for now, it will be painted up, gaskets put on, and then dropped into the engine bay so I can move the truck and engine at one time when I move to my own place.

 

[DNFXDLI]

Looks like a wonderful example of a tall deck Cleveland

 

[Fordzilla80]

Looks like a wonderful example of a tall deck Cleveland

Thanks! It's been fun learning the in's and out's of a manly motor instead of wimpy little high winding 302's and Wheezers.

I just wish it was a virgin block so I wouldn't be so back and forth on whether I want to get it running gain.

Of course, it wouldn't matter if 351M/400 blocks were a dime a dozen in Florida.

 

[fatherdoug]

Was that distributor wanting to stay in its hole?

 

[Fordzilla80]

Was that distributor wanting to stay in its hole?

Yep. It refused to come out until I pulled the bottom end apart to gain access to the hex key way on the bottom of the dizzy shaft. I stuck a long screwdriver down the hole, and after a few good whacks, the distributor finally came out.

Somebody tried to remove the distributor before I picked the motor up, so it was a bit tore up already, and by the time I finally pulled it out, it ended up in about 9 different pieces.

 

[fatherdoug]

It even LOOKS like it doesn't want to come out.

 

[Fordzilla80]

It even LOOKS like it doesn't want to come out.

It was a nightmare to say the least. It was the original Motorcraft distributor, with the original rotor. No damage to the block though, which is a relief should I decide to do something with this block.

Luckily everything else came apart easily, except for two exhaust manifold bolts. But I expected to break a few. Luckily for me I was one less.

-------------

I still would love to shake the hand of the person that dropped this 400 into the 87 Bronco. Not only did it have the correct 1980-1982 oil pan, it even had the correct 351M/400 frame perches swapped in, which was an even greater plus! Whoever did the swap sure did their homework.

 

[LEB Ben]

Looks good sitting in there. If there's no obvious wear in the rotating assembly and the cylinder walls look good, I'd just recondition the heads for 3-4 bills...cam kit (cam, lifters, springs, valve seals, straight up double roller set, and make sure you get the correct retainers for your application) 4 bills...intake and carb can be as cheap or as expensive as you want to make it...and probably upgrade ignition components. For less than $1250 you could a fun, reliable engine for quite some time.

 

[Fordzilla80]

When I checked the cylinder bore for wear, my feeler gauge wouldn't even fit between the piston and the cylinder wall. I still need to pick up a set of gauges for it and a micrometer to check everything for sure, but it really seems to be a decent block still.

As it stands, it needs a new cam kit, new push rods, a timing set, distributor, valve guides, gaskets, new rings, and paint. Although the bearings are in great shape, it wouldn't hurt to replace those as well.

 

[Fordzilla80]

This forum doesn't have enough up front pictures of 400's.

I'll fix that.

 

[flareside_thunder]

Looks good, keep it up!

 

[me thumper]

yea looks good!

 

[Evan's f250]

Nice...looks good