Friday, December 30, 2011

Block Updates

When Ford cast the 351 Cleveland, they cast all of the blocks the same.  The Australian XE race blocks intended for drag and road race cars are the only exception.  Even the Austrailian blocks are essentially the same casting, and I was told that when stateside production halted, the molds were shipped to Australia.  All blocks have 4-bolt main provisions, even if they have 2-bolt mains.  This means if you have a set of 4-bolt main caps, you can drill the block and have a 4-bolt main block.  I think it's overkill to seek out a 4-bolt main capped block and many people would agree for a street-driven car, but I want to be able to really get on this engine.

My block has 2-bolt main caps.  I had 4-bolt main caps from the previous owner's engine, so I took them in to have them looked at when the block was being cleaned up.  Roger from the machine shop said that he put the torqued block and caps into his line hone today and confirmed that the 4-bolt main caps are usable with this block.  So, I can use the 4-bolt main caps I have, effectively making my block a 4-bolt main block.  I'm also going for ARP main studs.  I already have ARP head bolts.

After the align hone and rough bore, I'll probably stop everything on the engine and concentrate on body issues, of which I have several.

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