'86 F150 Major Update/fix-up

On Wed, 16 May 2007 23:34:59 -0500, OldIron rearranged some electrons to form:

It's not just the springs that affect load-carrying capacity. If you overload the axles, you may have problems with bearings, etc.

If you're interested in reliabilty, I would take the limited funds you have and put it into the drivetrain, rather than the body.

Is the engine you have a 351M or a 400? (not that there's much difference between the two).

Ahh, I love that bodystyle, and I'm one of those rare guys who likes the 400 engine. You need to get an LMC catalog.

Every little thing you'd need is in there.

The 400 is very upgradable. Until the new generation of engines came out in the 90's the 400 had the longest stroke of any of Ford's V8's, and can be made a torque monster. Bore and Stroke are 4.00 x 4.00.

You should also look at the door placard and find out what level of braking that truck came with. You might want to upgrade those if they're not much.

CJB

There is a 351M AND a 400. There is also great controversy as to what the "M" stands for. I was told by more than a dozen veteran Ford Parts people that it stood for "modified" because it was a "modified Cleveland". Any time at all in a ford dealership and you will hear it called a 351 modified. And the difference between the 351M and the 400 is the crankshaft. The stroke is different. The 4" bore is the same.

Steve

Steve

Then, would my guess be right that the data plate for a 'true' 400 would just indicate such, and a 351m would has something to that effect on the dataplate?

OldIr>There is a 351M AND a 400. There is also great controversy as to what the

On Sun, 20 May 2007 08:13:17 -0500, Steve Barker rearranged some electrons to form:

The rods are also different, I believe.

Of the ones I've seen, they've all had "351M/400" on the data plate. The truth lies in the tag on the coil, which is rarely there after the first time it comes off.

Steve

Yes, the longer stroke would require a shorter rod . Probably a different piston also. I'm not sure about that one.

s

That doesnt make sense to me. If the stroke is longer it means the crank throws are longer. If you use a shorter rod, then wouldnt the piston skirt hit the counter weights on the down stroke? So wouldnt the opposite be true?

Whitelightning

Well if you use the same rod on a longer stroke, then the piston pops out of the hole. So a shorter rod and a different pin location are the trick.

Steve

Interesting. The 327 and the 350 share the same bore, different strokes, same piston and the same rod length. We take a 350 block , turn a 400 crankshaft mains down to 350 specs, and get a 383, using ether the standard

5.7 length rod or a 6 inch rod for radical compression even though the 400 has a much longer stroke than the 350.. In fact most all the chevy small blocks used 5.7 rods regardless of stroke. We did have to watch valve pockets though to avoid interferance. I am not up on fords. I like the the 289 and the 302 engines. The 351 Cleavland was a favorite as well, but I never really did a lot of mods on them. Lets face it a 351 4V Cleveland with a 4 speed in a 70 Cougar really didnt need any mods, it was a go like hell off the show room floor. Same with a 289 K pulled from a Fairlane or Comet and slammed into an early Falcon., or shoe horned into a Pinto Wagon, actually a 289/302 into a Pinto was ins some ways easier than the more common small block into a Vega.

Whitelightning

If you have a different stroke on the 350 and 400 then you surely have either a different rod or different piston. There's no way you can lengthen the stroke, stay with the same rod and piston and not have it pop out of the hole.