quote:1. Did the 351C have a valley pan??
Yes, commonly called a Turkey Pan. Whether to use it or not seems to be about a 50/50 division. I personally hate the damn thing and do not use it. Good FelPro printo-seal intake gaskets and a quality RTV silicone for the valley ends works fine. I center punch dimples into the block and intake valley ends to provide better adhesion for the RTV. One of the common stated reasons for using the Turkey Tray is it keeps hot oil from collecting on the bottom of the intake, raising your air intake temperature. I find that to be most likely very minimal, especially as our engine compartments are so damn hot anyways. They also say that same oil will carbonize when long-term baked and drop crap into your oiling system. I pulled off my intake with about 30K miles on it, no Turkey Tray, and ZERO carbonized oil. Do a search for Turkey Tray and you will become totally confused as to which method to use. This is a personal choice issue.
quote:Does anyone know a vendor for a melonized steel dist gear
Not sure of your term 'melonized'. In any case, there has recently been a long thread on dizzy gears on the POCA forum. The steel gears are just about unobtanium now. Not an easily solved issue. Glad I'm not stuck with that issue - now, at least.
Larry