Shopping for a Cleveland is easy... sorta.

1)You do not want to bore a block more than .030" so, if you are buying one ready to run, make sure it was not bored over .030! If you are purchasing one to rebuild, shop around for one that has never been bored, you can find them.

2)Moroso makes a oiling modification kit, it is cheap, use it if you are building up an engine.

3)Clevelands are more expensive to buildthan Windsors, but... if you want something different they are the way to go, check out CHI, they make some wicked Cleveland heads. The canted valves are superior to the straight Windsor design.

4)Yes headers can be a pain in the a$$, but Sanderson in South San Fransisco makes some really nice blockhuggers.

5)If you want something different, build a Clevor, Edelbrock now makes intake manifolds for this application, making it easy to build a Clevor or a Boss 302. This way you can have the stout Windsor bottom end with limitless aftermarket possibilities for the rotating assembly, and then top it off with a set of CHI 3V heads for something stupid fast.

6)Ditch the Cleveland only thermostat and brass bypass cone. The Pantera guys run a block off plate and a conventional thermostat, keeps things simple, and eliminates the possibility of destroying your engine because of a bad bypass.

 

The utter lack of anything even remotely resembling a fact regarding costs in this thread makes me want to puke.
It is always cheapest to build what you own.
If you don't own either and have to buy all new, buy what you want/like.

I will of course back this up with facts that it took me less than 5 minutes of research to assemble here in a nice nifty visual aid.
I of course assumed you would want to make a stroker either way with relatively good parts, with the pistons on the arms, have it all balance, get a new balancer, flexplate...that kind of stuff:



Feel free to call me anything you think I may have missed.

 

I see that you 'cooked the books' by about $700 using the heads. Nice spreadsheet though.
Jim

 

both 351W & 351C are good motors, but i think the cleveland just sounds awesome with a good cam.

 

dodgestang, thanks for this info. big help to know the facts.

 

i think his representation was to acheive the same HP goal, and frankly - if you dump 800 bucks into some C heads of any flavor they are going to most likely outperform the 1500.00 he has listed for the edelbrocks and the light prep work on those. so lets say you bolt the edelbrocks on right outta the box, your still 175.00 cheaper with the cleve - not to mention you'll have something a bit different.

btw,
o rly?? can you provide a link please!!!!!!!

 

you are thinking of the Modifiedcause one year there was aprob with castings i believe it was 76 and only 76 blocks and don't think that the M is a crappy engine they can acutally be really fun when you fix the cam and the pistons and unless you are racing i see no need for the cleve ya its a great motor but its lacks torque compared to a 351m both built repectivly (if the m wasn't made a smog motor) cause the M has a longer stroke than the C therefor more torque which is what you want on the street so just cause the EPA screwed that motor up it can still be very good check thse out

http://www.projectbronco.com/Technic...e_build_up.htm

http://home.earthlink.net/~bubbaf250/perf/perf01.html

http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/i...00_Engine.html

https://fordmuscle.com/archives/2007...d400/index.php

 

You have to go some distance to find someone who isn't aware that you don't need to buy new heads to build big power with a 351c. The biggest problem with the 4v heads on a cleveland has always been they flow too much, but with the extra displacement afforded by the stroker they work great.

The only thing you give up is weight

Stock 351w weighs 525 lbs
Stock 351c weighs 550 lbs

Source: http://raceabilene.com/kelly/hotrod/engine.html

If I float an 'opinion' and say that after taking the cast heads off the 351w and installing the aluminum you will net out at 25 lbs less (500lbs total) that puts 50lbs difference between the 2 motors. Another 'opinion' is that 100 lbs is worth .100 second (tenth of a second) in the quarter mile so 50lbs would equate out to about .050 second faster in the quarter mile. Unless you are a professional I don't think .05 seconds is going to matter match to you. If you are doing brackets, consistency and reaction time are what you need. If you are doing heads up...reaction time and picking the right opponent is key . I will admit that if you have everything dialed in and you keep running a 12.03 in the 1/4 loosing 50 lbs would be swell to help get into you the 11s. I have the same problem with my dually; 15.03 consistently....I wanted in the 14s so bad that I lost 45 lbs of personal weight to try and help (which it didn't so I don't have as much faith in that rule of thumb as I used to). If this motor is for autox or road racing a properly tuned chassis/suspension will overcome 50 lbs more in the front. If this is for a street car...I highly doubt you would ever even notice the extra weigth in the front.

And to the point I failed to clarify, my spreadsheet quantifies using readily available parts to build for the same HP level in a 351c vs 351w. There are obviously lots of little things not included...like gaskets, bolts, etc....it is my opinion that the majority of these are common in nature and while they would increase the totals, would not offer any significant $$ advantage to one vs another since these items would be the same $$ for either block. I've owned both motors and I like both motors. I would build either motor depending on what I had, because the $$ ar close enough that if you add sourcing a block into the equation for one and not the other it makes it cheaper to build the one you already own.

 

Here are the Edelbrock CLEVOR and BOSS intake part numbers, finally you can build a Clevor and soon you can build a Boss without any headaches.

Clevor 351W.... Edelbrock part #7183...on the market

Boss 302 intake...Edelbrock part # 7129...not released

Check out CHI for some really nice Cleveland heads, Edelbrock also makes some, both are about $2K a pair.
http://www.chiheads.com/index.php