What to look for in a rebuilt 351C?

[mbrew2]

Going to look at a Rebuilt 1971 351C. Says 4 bolt mains, edelbrock torker 2 intake, Erson 517/292 cam and double roller timing chain, 40 over TRW forged pistons. Never run since build. Supposedly came out of 71 mach 1. What do I need to look for? Only asking $1250. To good to be true?

 

[will e]

Sounds too good to be true. Since it is never run it isn't in a car. You need to pull the oil pan to confirm it is a 4 bolt. 40 over is pushing it for a cleveland. If he has receipts then it's worth the risk. If the block is crap you will have a good set of parts to work with. The caps, crank, intake, etc are all worth 1250 on their own. You can turn a 2 bolt bock into a 4 bolt block if you have the caps.

 

[mbrew2]

Ha Ha. Speaking of too good to be true, spoke to the guy that built this engine - 18 YEARS AGO!!! Lost interest and put it up in trailer - DRY - No fluids, not sealed up in any fashion, no exhaust manifolds, carb, plugs, distributor, fuel pump, anything that would have sealed the block. Admitted that he probably made a mistake saying everything was "new", but said it was new 18 yrs ago. With the humidity in Mobile, AL, things will rust up that you use every day, not to mention the critters that may have found a home in this motor - sad for the loss of a 351C out of ignorance.

 

[barnett468]

Ha Ha. Speaking of too good to be true, spoke to the guy that built this engine - 18 YEARS AGO!!! Lost interest and put it up in trailer - DRY - No fluids, not sealed up in any fashion, no exhaust manifolds, carb, plugs, distributor, fuel pump, anything that would have sealed the block. Admitted that he probably made a mistake saying everything was "new", but said it was new 18 yrs ago. With the humidity in Mobile, AL, things will rust up that you use every day, not to mention the critters that may have found a home in this motor - sad for the loss of a 351C out of ignorance.

There is nothing "lost" about it as it is most likely rebuildable.

 

[mbrew2]

Ha Ha. Speaking of too good to be true, spoke to the guy that built this engine - 18 YEARS AGO!!! Lost interest and put it up in trailer - DRY - No fluids, not sealed up in any fashion, no exhaust manifolds, carb, plugs, distributor, fuel pump, anything that would have sealed the block. Admitted that he probably made a mistake saying everything was "new", but said it was new 18 yrs ago. With the humidity in Mobile, AL, things will rust up that you use every day, not to mention the critters that may have found a home in this motor - sad for the loss of a 351C out of ignorance.

There is nothing "lost" about it as it is most likely rebuildable.

Admit that I don't know much about 351C, I'm more of an old FE guy - but - Motor was already bored .40 over, crank was ground .30/.30, heads were milled but he couldn't remember how much. Never turned over. Now it's frozen up. In this climate, between the humidity and salt air coming off of the Gulf, I can assure you that freshly machined bare metal parts are not going to just clean up after 18 years. Just honing the cylinders after that amount of time isn't going to cut it. Would love for someone more knowledgeable than me to bring it back. He did did say it had the small chamber 4 barrel heads with stock springs. If you think its salvageable, his number is 251-298-3011. I'd rather take a chance on a 200000 mile motor out of a junkyard.

 

[Mister 4x4]

I beg to differ - .040 is not the end of the road for a Cleveland. If you're wanting to race it, sure it probably won't last long at all. But if you're looking for a weekend driver to enjoy, then .060 should be fine... otherwise, they wouldn't make .060 pistons/rings without having to be special-order items.

Mine's .060 and runs like a champ - no overheating and plenty strong. It was seized with #4 & #8 rusted in the holes - were it not for 30+ years of sitting and rotting away, it would've only taken .030 for the rebuild... but the scars in #4 didn't come out until the shop when to .060. If it ever blows up (and it's still usable otherwise), I'll have it sleeved and start over again with standard or .020 bores.

You'll be just fine with .040 bores.

 

[clevelandcoupe]

Hmmmm hasn't this been discussed many times before ?

 

[Mister 4x4]

WAY too many times, it seems. :whistling:

I guess it just depends on who you wind up talking to. A lot of folks will throw out perfectly good blocks because they've been bored .030 over - personally, I think that's just dumb. But again, opinions being what they are and everybody having them...

 

[barnett468]

you can also get high quality custom pistons for $575.00 and go .045" etc on the cylinders if that will clean up the rust . the rust also wont likely destroy the heads . as far as the crank goes, you can grind it even more and use chevy rods if need be as long as you don't put a ton of hp into it . use half groove bearings and good oil and it can go another 100,000 miles if properly built.