351C block

Hey Matt,
I know a fellow in Oshawa with a block bored 20 over and a crank 10 under. It's a D2AE-CA block with 2-bolt caps ... I'm pretty sure it was drilled and tapped for 4-bolt caps though.
When I was talking to him in the fall, I think he was looking for something in the $4-600 range (don't know if that's good or not).
Note, he winters down south, so if you have a need for it before the spring, it would be a deal brokered through one of his sons.

2nd option - Kijiji ... there's a guy in Mississauga with blocks for $150 plus $100-175 for the crank (so ~300ish)
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-car...V-W0QQAdIdZ521102081

One or two others on kijiji, but they are more than just the block and the price goes way up.

See this post - He's in MA....

Maybe Brian has what you are looking for.

351C Parts for Sale on PI Forum

Most shops do not like to do a line bore on a block.
If the main caps are original to the block, that isn't necessary.
If you change the main caps then I can virtually guaranty it will need it.
That is a controversial procedure in my view.
You can get a situation where the caps are misalighed the wrong way and to correct this you are machining needed material off of the mating surfaces of the caps.
On overbore on a Cleveland block, I've seen .040 overbores with not much issue. It seems to be about the limit though.
Thin Clevelands can act like overbored FE's in that they will run much hotter and hot restarts can overburden the starter motors.
I haven't seen any sleeved Cleveland blocks yet but I don't see why you couldn't do 8 sleeves in one to bring it back to standard.
I personally would consider that as a very good alternative before I started paying for shipping on someone else's unknown problem block?
At some point the total work on a block will exceed the cost of an aftermarket racing block.
You have to look at that as well.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Matt W:
I'm going to have my engine rebuilt this winter and just in case we open it up and the news is bad, I want to have a Plan B. I would like to know if anyone in southern Ontario, Ottawa, Quebec or even upper NY state might have a good block they would consider selling in the event that I might need one.[QUOTE]

An excellent idea! This can also allow you to get a rebuild done while still driving the car, with no sense of urgency that often leads to bad decision$. On ANY 351-C OR early '70s Ford block, I would do a sonic test on the donor blocks's cylinder walls to be sure you're getting a useable casting. '69-'70 was the first that Ford used 'thin-wall casting' and up to 90% of the blocks made in the early days were rejected for excessive casting-core-shift. This results in cylinder walls as thin as 0.080" on one side while the opposite wall may be 0.280" thick. Obviously, boring such a block AT ALL results in flexy cylinder walls that will not allow new rings to ever seal. It was so prevalent that Ford only recommended HONING cylinders 0.002" and did not sell oversized 351-C pistons. The war stories you hear about racers radically overboring 351-C blocks were using special castings, not production blocks. Or they had dumb-luck.
True, a few production blocks CAN stand a 0.030" overbore (max) while others cannot stand ANY. How lucky do you feel? A $75 sonic test sends acoustic waves into each cylinder wall in 4 places, to actually map all eight wall's thicknesses. It can save spending money rebuilding an essentially unusable core. Pressure crack-testing is also valuable. After all, these things are 43+ years old and few had easy lives!
4-bolt main caps may lessen what's known as 'cap-shuffle' in a high rpm, high horsepower engine and are easily added to a 2-bolt block by drilling & tapping the ten 3/8-16 SAE outside bolt holes. 2-bolt & 4-bolt blocks are otherwise identical and are equally strong.

When replacing caps, replacement main journals in used blocks can be line-HONED which doesn't remove much metal. I don't think there are short-length cam chains (to compensate for line-boring mains) for the all-but-obsolete 351-C, like there are for much more numerous 350 Chevys. Line-boring results in std length cam chains being slack when new, then they start to wear...

Do NOT accept a block- even free- that needs sleeving- especially in more than one cylinder. It will usually be a waste of time and money. The 351C's real weak spot is at the bottom of the cylinders where too much metal was sculpted away by Ford. Boring out cylinders and pressing in more than one (1.0) sleeve per side will produce notches right at the point where it will be least tolerated, so badly weakening the casting that some have split horizontally just above the crank! Only if for some reason you want to retain a particular keepsake-block would I recommend sleeving at all. If you cannot find a useable block and you orgininal one is wasted, there are two places that produce both cast iron and cast-aluminum blocks for quality rebuilds. They are around $4600 each. They can stand maybe 1000 horsepower.

Undersized crank mains & rods are fine- up to about 0.030"-under, since those are standard bearing sizes. Stock 351-C cranks are arguably the strongest part of the motor. As long as the grinder contours the cut journals into a nice chamfer, not a step. Cranks break at steps.

The 351-C is NOT like a Chevy- it has peculiarities and quirks. Try really hard to find a shop- maybe a race shop- that actually works on Clevelands regularly. Otherwise you may find that both you and the shop are on a steep learning curve... but you're paying the bills! All this can be lots of fun if done cautiously and correctly. But it can also be a truely discouraging money-pit. Ask LOTS of questions and good luck.

There is a 351 C for sale on CLASSICCARSFORSALE.CO.UK section AUTOJUMBLE PARTS for 2995 pounds,

#1154

I've overbored two D2AE-CA 4 bolt blocks .030 and ran them both hard. No problems with either.

Never could get a hold of those +.002 pistons. They were N/A when I first tried in '74.

quote:

Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
I've overbored two D2AE-CA 4 bolt blocks .030 and ran them both hard. No problems with either.

Never could get a hold of those +.002 pistons. They were N/A when I first tried in '74.

Me too! I have been running the living crap out of my .030" over 2 bolt Cleveland for 13 yrs now!! I guess I'm just lucky?? LOL


Ron

quote:

Originally posted by r mccall:

quote:

Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
I've overbored two D2AE-CA 4 bolt blocks .030 and ran them both hard. No problems with either.

Never could get a hold of those +.002 pistons. They were N/A when I first tried in '74.

Me too! I have been running the living crap out of my .030" over 2 bolt Cleveland for 13 yrs now!! I guess I'm just lucky?? LOL


Ron

Thanks guys for all the advice, Appreciated as usual.

Matt