393C school me on this motor please

1991notchbackLX

Active Member
Dec 25, 2007
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OK, so it's obviously a stroked 351 Cleveland motor. The motor is a longblock. I do not have much info on it, it will be acquired in a trade. I was told it has 4V heads and is "fully sleeved with valve reliefs." What is the potential of this motor and what should I know about it? What 351W parts are usable on this motor? Is the deck height different from a 351W? Are intake manifolds and headers from 351W usable on a 351C? Thanks in advance.

Chris :nice:
 
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Thanks, Guy. This is a 393C so I'm assuming the extra displacement with a good flowing top end will allow for some good numbers if I ever decide to use it. The four bolt main thing interests me quite a bit. Does that mean these cleveland blocks can handle big power numbers safely?
 
I can't think of a single 351W part that will work, even the thermostats are different.

That's a 351C with a stroker crank in it. Sounds like the block has had some serious work done to it if it's been sleeved...that was the hot trick for 351C motors 30 years ago. If it's got early 4V heads on it, it should run like a mofo. If you ask most older gearheads, Clevelands were the only ford motor that would run worth a crap, until the 5.0HO came out.

The nice thing about clevelands is you don't really NEED aftermarket heads to make 450hp, you can dang near fit a golfball in the 4V ports. :D Technology has caught up with the Windsor motors, but built right, Clevlands are still a force to be reckoned with, heck they have won the Engine Masters Challenge like 5 years in a row now.

Oiling and/or high RPMs are what kill Clevelands....the oiling mods to make them live at very high RPM are very well documented though. Cleve blocks are not QUITE as strong as a 351W block but they are still pretty sturdy.

Edited to add: The #1 internet myth about these things is "you can't build a good street motor with 4V heads" and "4V heads don't make torque". I've seen 4V clevelands that will tow a mountain, win most races, and still be tame enough that your granny could drive it to church.
 
I can't think of a single 351W part that will work, even the thermostats are different.

That's a 351C with a stroker crank in it. Sounds like the block has had some serious work done to it if it's been sleeved...that was the hot trick for 351C motors 30 years ago. If it's got early 4V heads on it, it should run like a mofo. If you ask most older gearheads, Clevelands were the only ford motor that would run worth a crap, until the 5.0HO came out.

The nice thing about clevelands is you don't really NEED aftermarket heads to make 450hp, you can dang near fit a golfball in the 4V ports. :D Technology has caught up with the Windsor motors, but built right, Clevlands are still a force to be reckoned with, heck they have won the Engine Masters Challenge like 5 years in a row now.

Oiling and/or high RPMs are what kill Clevelands....the oiling mods to make them live at very high RPM are very well documented though. Cleve blocks are not QUITE as strong as a 351W block but they are still pretty sturdy.

Edited to add: The #1 internet myth about these things is "you can't build a good street motor with 4V heads" and "4V heads don't make torque". I've seen 4V clevelands that will tow a mountain, win most races, and still be tame enough that your granny could drive it to church.

351w heads and 351c are interchangable with little modifications
 
from corral said:
Good luck with your build. with 4v heads try a gear 4.30 or bigger think 4.56 be my first try. was running a 393 cu cleveland in a 70 mach1 run about 10.30s in a 3350 lb car. good luck . see you are va. if need price on strker kit or a build Mark at MME shop in Md.
jim


Clevelands have been catching my eye lately, they make great power for a pretty reasonable price, that 10.30 in a 3500lb car would be a nine second pass in a light notchback.

Those 4V heads flow a massive ammount of air and those motors like to rev
 
here's a quote from an email to me from the owner of the long block:

"the cleveland however is the bad bitch. it is a high compression (14:1) race gas motor. It went 9.14 in a backhalfed notch and was built to spray 300 or so at."

it sounds like it should move on the hose...