chath_brick

true, good point. i'm going to find a roller block i guess, i just need to start looking. i'll probably hit up the junkyards when the snow thaws...are all 351W blocks the same after 92? for example, would an F250 block be the same as any other 351 block, or are there differences?

vristang

There was no cutoff date for the non roller blocks.
Ford did produce roller blocks that were not equipped with hyd roller lifters.

The trick is to find the 'F4TE' cast into the block. It will be near the casting date.
If it says 'F4TE' on it, it will accept 5.0 hyd roller lifters.

Other than that all blocks of that era are the same...

jason

chath_brick

ok, good tip. thanks a lot man! i'm sure i'll be hitting you up for advice quite a bit when i start building it.

Ninety5five0

Cant you also convert an older one into a roller block ?

I hear 69 is the best year to have ( strongest ), and 70 and 71 follow.

chath_brick

check vristang's webpage out, he talks about converting it there

88BlueGT

Im pretty sure that the pre 74 blocks are all the same... no difference in 69.

Ninety5five0

Well that makes things better, leave a larger gap for the stronger block, atleast in my head. For somereason i was lead to believe the 69 was the strongest.....Hmm....I'll keep that in mind tho

vristang

All of the info I have gathered suggests that the 69 casting is stonger than the 70-74 castings.
Typically an engine block is over designed (for strength and durability in the first few years. This is a 'safe' practice for Ford. As they continue to test the engine block, they can refine the design, and remove weight.

The downside to the 69 block is that it is the only 351w to use a different deck height. This does affect intake manifold selection...


jason