I can't imagine how smarter I would be if I would have had Richard on youtube when I was a kid. People don't know how lucky we are to have someone like Richard coming on almost every night and showing us all this and answering our questions like he does.
It's a 5000rpm truck motor! It doesn't bolt to the small block bell housing. There are aftermarket intakes, but they fit the smaller ports in the factory heads with no quench! It works great in a truck used for towing and fuel economy was fair considering the application. While I guess you could put a set of Cleveland heads on, the intake manifold has smaller ports than the head. It's nearly 100lbs lighter than a 460, but a stroked Windsor is 100+pounds lighter, smaller, and parts are falling outta the sky if you stand in the right place! A 408 is lghtyears better, externally lighter, and parts are readily available! The even made 460 swaps obsolete!! I know some guys that ran a 400 till they got the 460 back together, it did OK, but Hot Rod magazine wasn't there taking pictures!! Put the 400 into an old f150 and use it to pull ur car to the track, you'll be satisfied that way!!
@@markmccarty9793 imagine if everybody that took the tall deck 4k rpm gm big blocks in 2 ton trucks and raced them thought that way lol, M based engines are heavy but the blocks are tough and Cleveland heads are cheap. Set of rods/pistons and some oiling mods they will run very well
Late to this chat, but I have owned a 1970 400M since 1973. Over the years, I have "Sooped Up" that engine with 351C 4V heads, CC 292 cam, 4bbl Holley, Huge Holley single plane intake, Doug Thorley Headers, Mallory dual point with an Accel super coil and MSD 6A box. My LTD ran low 13's at 100 mph through my modified C6 with a 10 inch TQ. Still have the engine. Forged TRW pistons and 11.5 CR. Looking for another body to put them back into. Maybe next year! Keep up the great work.
4" bore, 4" stroke, canted valves, such a good combo. They run so good and make really good power everywhere and are perfect for a truck. So many people think they're garbage boat anchors, but they're wrong.
Correct my friend, I've owned both the 5.0 and the 400 as well as a 351C. The 400 is a great engine which was designed to replace the 390 and did it very well. Those who disrespect the 400 haven't used one as harshly as I have and had it do well without a problem
@@lawnmowermanlawnmowerman9930 I have always been told the 400 had a lot of problems because the top end does not get a lot of oil when compared to other engines of the time. I also have known a lot of people who have been stranded by this engine. I personally have never used one. I’m thinking of buying one because there are some cheap ones in my area. I really like the 390 though and am currently building one.
Never understood why the 400s were hated so much. Smog engines suck. Stock efi 351s and 302s and every other smog engine around sucks. Stock. A 4” bore. 4” stroke, cleveland headed engine seems like a solid platform to me! Using one over a 385 series engine
@@mikehaslett3738 I'm looking to doa blower/sleeper build on my 400. With the amount of torque they can make naturally aspirated, I fear extra expenses will need to be taken to ensure the drive train doesn't get destroyed.
My dad had a 400 in a 1980 F250 camper special, this was in 1982 , it had a set of milled 2V heads to bump up the compression slightly, a Isky RV type cam, recurved distributor, Edelbrock SP 2P intake, 625 Carter, Eagle long tube headers , dual exhaust and C6 automatic with shift kit, If i can remember the rear differential had 3.73 gears. Tons of low end torque and it could really move for such a bulky vehicle. The original 351M that came with the truck went into my 76 Montego ,we put a Performer intake, 600 Holley, Wolverine low end torque cam,recurved distributor, dual exhaust,C6 with shift kit and stock 2.75 gears, so the big heavy car was a little sluggish off the line, but top end was amazing from those mild mods. This was thirty some years ago.
My 2V iron headed 400 made 425 HP with 8.3 compression and a Crane 266h cam and Weind intake. The heads are ported, 260 cfm @ .500" intake and 224 cfm exhaust. It powered a f150 for 22 years with no breakage or overheating. Best old tech Ford motors are Clevelands. My new CHI Headed 400 to replace it makes 490 HP with 9.8 compression and a Howard's roller cam, holley street dominator intake heavily modified. Heads flow 308 cfm @ .600 which is the actual valve lift. Clevelands rock.
In my 73 mustang I installed a 400, with a 4 degree advanced 280 Magnum cam (230@.050), cast 9:1 Pistons, 351C-4V heads, aluminum adapter plates to fit a 351C-4V Torker intake and a Holley 750 double pumper. The exhaust coming off the headers was 3 in, and then teed into a single 3.5 inch exhaust to the back of the car with a large super trap muffler on it. At the track I would just take off the band clamp and remove the muffler. With A 2500 stall, 4:11 gears and a weight of 3800lbs it ran 12.70@106mph. my guesstimation was about 390 to 400 horsepower. Had a lot of power down low but would run out of steam above 5500 RPM.
to much gear not useing the torque 373 s would have been a better choicei have one in a 80 truck and only use 275 s as a daily driver with a 268 cam reves 5300 8 to 1 comp
IF you install small end Rod bushings from a 292 ford, you can use any rudely available 351 Cleveland piston! That is the way I built my 400 Ford! with Flat top Cleveland pistons I had 12.75 to 1 compression with closed Chamber big port heads!
@@mylanmiller9656 hey, thanks for the tip. I have another 351 Cleveland four barrel engine sitting around so I might try and find another 400 and install the parts on it with the Cleveland Pistons
@@fishinfool63 the frame was stock and I believe I used motor mounts out of a 74-5 grand torino with a 351m/400. I used 351C headers but I had to ding them a little to clear the steering box I believe since the 351/400 is about3/4" wider on each side.
An old late 70’s F250 shop truck I used used to drive had the 400, I tried my damndest to buy it. Loved that truck. It had a posi and in the rain was an absolute blast!
I'm currently rebuilding my 400m into a twin turbo 434 stroker. Even my previous 400 build was enough to smoke all 4 wheels in 4-hi. Such an underrated engine.
I love the 335 series. My grandpa bought a 72 Ford country squire new. He sold it in 1990 with 260,000 miles. Nothing ever had to be replaced other than maintenance items. During the years of the M engines it was by far the best small block truck engine in either brand. My family was split Chevy Ford but there was never an argument on the best. We all new Ford was.
Back then it was pretty tough to say which was better. They were all pretty darn equal no matter who made them. Getting over 150k out of a v8 engine was an anomaly, I don’t care what engine it was or who made it. That required some really good maintenance practices at the very least.
400M with a mild cam, Good flowing aluminum heads and about 9.8:1 compression so you could run it on regular with a modern OD transmission in a mid 80s 4X4 F150 or Bronco would be a pretty sweet set up.
@@BuzzLOLOL It helps I was a head man for a machine shop. A good machine shop can get you new parts with the same specs as more famous names. Cams, valves, springs and such made by companies you have heard of but didn't know made those parts. It's been 20 years since I did that work so I couldn't tell you what companies are still around or if they still make those parts. Ash your machine shop if they can get that part for much less than online source. Could mean the difference of 6 bucks for valves vs 24 buck.
@@hom240 Pretty simple really. Modern port and chamber designs are simply more efficient and make more power. The best way to make drivable power is with the absolute best head you can get.
@@DBSSTEELER Agreed. It really comes down to availability, compatibility, budget, and most important common sense. If you are really serous about competing does it make sense to use 40-50 year old engine and vehicle designs?
I've built/run several 460's and a couple of 400M engines. Since I was using them in my '79 Bronco and '76 Ford Van for pulling they were both set up with an RV cam, Edelbrock Performer, recurved distributor, headers, Magnaflows with cross-over, tight converters, Edelbrock/Carter AFB carbs. In my estimation both were good motors but the 400M with it's long stroke was the torque king. The 460 made more power when I wound them way up but it never was as crisp as the 400. I really loved both the engines but I'll take the 400 anytime.
I agree I had a 460 in a 75 Ltd landyaut and 77 250 ranger with 400. The 400 had the grunt. Later I dressed the 400 with an erson cam and aussie 2v 4 barrel intake and Carter AFB 750 and that put the yea’haw in it. And it would talk to ya with open carb that was a fun truck. And smoke a set of 33x12.5 with ease. Nothing like the windows dawn and Watching the needled go all the way around in a heavy truck.
When I seen that the 351 and 400 used the same compression height, I decided to bush the Rods. 292 bushing was a prefect match to bring the small end down to .912 to fit the Cleveland piston.
@@mylanmiller9656 Good information.....smaller piston pin = less rotating friction = more HP. That was a smart move on your part.....good going! Keep the Faith, Tom
Thanks Richard, I'm building an 81 F150 short step, I have an early 90's 5.0 and a 400 sitting in the shop waiting to be rebuilt. After watching your videos, I'm going with "the other guy". Keep building the odd stuff and I'll keep watching!
had the 300 hp build in my 81 f 150 650 holley stock exhaust manifolds Edelbrock performer intake unmodified transmission 250 rear gears 4200 lbs ran 15.75 at 87mph in the quarter now the truck has the same 8.0 comp ratio motor with the same transmission but with a comp 268 cam headers and 275 gears is a lot faster enough to stay ahead of the new hemi trucks and the other guys to and does all this on regular gas and if you drive decently its decent on gas nice to see you do this for this misunderstood motor Richard THANKS
I continue to love watching your dyno tests and lives, the information you give is a credit to your professional approach. 5:48 Stock, the 400 M had a tiny carb, with about 9" of Hg Vaccum at WOT with a 368 CFM Motorcraft or 424 CFM 2bbl Autolite. It never got a 500 CFM 4412 Holley that you tested it with. Ford rated the first year 400 M as 265 HP gross stock, but you got 267 HP gross. The FE was rated at around 270 HP gross, so Ford had to make the 1971 debut 400 engine stronger than the 12 year old thoroughbred. Our Australian 351 C gave 171 hp net stock with a stock 2bbl (rated 250 hp gross) and 216 hp net stock (Rated 290 HP gross) with a ThermoQuad. Just a 1978 pre production spec 4bbl iron intake with a Carter ThermoQuad adds 63 hp net on a stock 400 M, making 232 hp net, and drops the WOT vacuum to under 1.5" Hg. The stock 2bbl carbs restrict the 400 M to such a huge degree , it's like the world's most Factory Restrictor plate you can imagine. Exactly like a 250 in line six with a Single Carter YFA carb, 175 cubic inches per inch of carb Venturi on each engine. Adding a carb with 85 cubic inches of engine per 1 sq in of carb Venturi adds exactly 63 HP on a 102 hp net engine. Try it yourself next time you test. You never saw a similar improvement with the 292 Chevy engine when it went from 1bbl to 2bbl because of the points and the cam duration qas very mild. On the other channels guys who did the 300 six with the 1bbl carb saw a huge gain with the 2bbl, a 75 hp gain with a 625 cfm 4bbl verses the big YFA Carter 1 bbl. The 400 M is exactly the same case..
in 1973 my dad and i took a friend down to the local Ford dealer to drop off her car. he putz around in the showroom for about 10 minutes and since i was 8, i didnt pay much attention to what he was doing. 2-3 days later we took her back to pick up her car and h and i looked at a brand new LTD Country Squire, 8-pax station wagon in wimbledon white with the faux wood sides. it also sported the trailer towing package. i drove that car 5-12 years later and of course as i got my license i looked more into the car. it had the 385 series 400cid motor in it. being a towing package car it had some rear end grunt to it that shocked some of my friends who had more performance oriented cars. we drove it until about 1986 or 87 when my dad gave it to one of my mom's cousins for their kids to drive. big heavy car that pulled the 20' trailer like nothing was behind us and if we were careful still managed about 18mpg...
I remember helping a friend change the plugs in a Maverick with a 302 in it and it was almost impossible! I don't see how you could shoehorn a 400 in a Maverick, VOODOO? LOL
@@danboren6567 Changing plugs was easy. Got out of high school and scored full time employment and then bought my 1969 Buick GS400. The Buick had new plugs in it. Problem solved. Check out Sleeperdude videos and his 460 Turbo Maverick. Cheers!
Uh... no. I had a 72 Mav with a 351c and fitting "well" wasn't the word. I know for fact the shock towers have to be cut to get the C to fit and the 400 is wider. Now with a M2 front end swap and shock towers deleted it would be tight but .... perfect. ;)
@@cammontreuil7509 well don't tell that to the guy who is running a 460 turbo maverick with several videos here on TH-cam. Until you get your wrenches out and try something, don't call BS on those of us who have been doing this for 30 years.
@@bigboreracing356 John Mihovetz has made over 3,000 hp on factory block and head 4.6 4V.... no two valve 4.6 has come close to that. The 4V is the king. He's also made over 3,000 in the W.R. standing mile Ford GT also sporting factory cast block and heads 5.4L and ran 300.4 mph in one mile.
First time viewing your channel. I knew I had a Diamond in the rough. Recently picked up a 1977 f150 4x4 painfully bone stock with a 351 m400. Or as you call it the 400m. It has been sitting for years. After a little TLC it fired right up. After researching this engine I told myself this is a 351 Cleveland stroker. 61 years old being an old hot rodder bells and whistles went off in my head with all the possibilities this engine has. Great video simple and straightforward facts. Keep up the great work.
Why shouldn't he call it a M? the W was cast in Windsor, the C was cast in Cleveland, and the M was Cast in the Michigan Foundry, and the 460 lima was cast in Lima. IF a 400 is not a M engine then a 351 Cleveland is not a Cleveland.
@@mylanmiller9656 i always thought it was m for modified. i wonder if the pre smog 400s were labeled on the valve covers as 400M or just 400. might not have had that label though
400 Ford with a set of Australian 302 Cleveland closed chamber heads on it , bolt straight on and instantly gain 10.5 to 1 compression on smog pistons ! And i never get why people run fown the 400 so much 1. its a member of the 335 series small block family that includes 302 Cleveland, 351 Cleveland, 400 and 351 M 2. Its just a tall deck Cleveland and any time you can fit a longer rod in an engine the better. 3. People rave over the 300 Ford six , how its soo good . The 400 is exactly the same engine , just with 2 extra cylinders , same 4 inch bore , same 4 inch stroke , infact same exact pistons, rings, rods, bareings, etc. 4. Sorry its only a 400 no M . The M stands for " modified" because the main bareings on a 400/ bore spacing are exacty the same as 351W , and Ford at that period in the 1970s needed lots of engines of that size , they realised you put a 351W crank in a 400 block you get a " modified 400" down to 351 ci so 351 Modified . The same was true the other way and a popular 1980s stroker with all ford parts was a 400 ford crank in a 351W , 0.030 overbore and a set of Cleveland heads you got a Boss 409 with all ford parts !
Got a 400M in my 79 4x4 custom.. it has done everything I have ever asked it do.. trust me I never babied it.. mud ..snow,.. you name it.. I went places.. still have it.. went completely through it.. kept it in the family.. because it is family.. that’s when they built trucks! ,😊😊😊😳
I punched my 400 40 over had the bottom end worked really well with aluminum cheap intake 650 double pumper Holley hei distributor mild towing cam and cheapest set of headers I could find. It does very good in my long bed 77 ranger 4x4..good all round power very durable but not a hot rod to tear shit up constantly. Excellent work horse.
I had a 1962 F100 short bed unibody. Mine has the 351m and a FMX. IT WAS A PERFECT TRUCK engine. I gave the truck to my granddaughter. Woth the 378 rear end it's a real stump puller not a hot rod but a great combo
Loved the video especially when you pulled the numbers out, one of the most reliable vehicles I ever owned was my 78 bronco with a 400. Let it sit for 2 years got in it and drove it 300 miles, never missed a beat.
I’m glad to see someone finally talking about the good things on the 400m. I love them they aren’t the most powerful stock but they are work horses and very reliable. I know they have a lot of untapped potential and are extremely underrated and berated.
The oil system mood is easy. I have done it on another one I owned and it worked great. My current one I haven’t had to do it it has great oil pressure
Better pushrods and a set of arp rod and main bolts and you can push them to 7500rpm with the stock rods and no bent pushrods. I had a buddy who’s 400m regularly seen 8200rpms with no issues
We did this swap. My brother in law had a giant station wagon with a 400 M. My friend Jerry had a 1970 Torino. It was orange. We took the 400M out of the wagon and put it into the 70 Torino. Jerrys girlfriend said that car was undriveable because it would peel out the tires on every turn
400's made peak torque from 400 - 355 ft lbs at 1800 - 2200 depending on the year it was in. all 2V only. 5 cams were used in car or truck according to year or use
A friend too 351C flat top pistons and shaved them a little bit to fit the deck. And did a lot of modifications to the top end and made crazy power with it.
I call it a 400 Cleveland. The 351M was only given the Modified designation to denote it was a de-stroked tall deck 400 truck block, not a normal 9.2" deck 351-2V or 351-4V. Some just call it a 400 with nothing added, some insist the tall deck height makes it an M. (even though it came out first, without an M)
I have a 400 I built with 2v Cleveland 2.02 heads from a 1970 cougar, balanced and blueprinted, 10.5:1, street master 400 intake, 351 Cleveland pistons with the wrist pins sized down and it’s a solid motor in my truck. It had not problem blowing up my 9” rear end. Skipped the pinion gear on the ring and cracked the carrier.
@@cammontreuil7509 I looked in my book with the build specs on the motor and it has 2.05” and 1.65” exhaust valves. Too many specs to remember everything perfectly!
The biggest difference in between the Cleveland and the M engines is the bellhousing. The M engines use the big block bellhousing (429-460) and the Cleveland uses the Windsor bellhousing.
Just a little note to remember. 289-351W-351C all use the small block transmission bell housing bolt patterns. 351M-400 429-460 use the big block bell housing bolt pattern.
@@richardholdener1727 Yes, In was told years ago they didn't. Go to summit racing and look up a c6 trans for small block ford. It shows all the motors it will fit.
@@ahoneyman 351M Ranchero's 1975/1976 also had the small pattern. 1978 and newer 400 blocks had reinforced thrust main webs. Some blocks also had visible 4 bolt areas cast into the webs. No real difference in block strength. Biggest issue is motor mounts...unless you use motor plates, then 351C plates work fine.
I like the Ford 400. You can make cheaper power with a 400 than you can with a 460. Back in the mid-70's, the 460 couldn't pass emission standards, so the 400 was created.
That is not really true the 400 was made to replace the 390 and 428 that ford had discontinued in the cars. It was made with the same bell bolt pattern as the 429, so Ford could use the same transmission that was used behind 429 and 460. it was a middle of the road engine never intended to be a performance set up, ford wanted torque to pull around there large body cars. the first 400 was built for the 1971 model year!
I just pulled my 351m and want to do a 408 stroker down the road. For now I am replacing it an early 429 I rebuilt, very similar to the mild 460 video this gentlemen did.
I call it a 400 C! I put some 4V closed chamber heads on a 400C and it was a MONSTER! I used an Edelbrock Torker intake with ported Weiand spacer plates, BG 750 cfm Holley, needed MORE. The cam was an Erson 295 duration and about .600 lift, I don't remember the exact specs. Custom made headers were required. This was back in 1988 so not a lot of choices for aftermarket heads.
I keep seeing everybody knocking the 4V heads and I have never had a problem. I had a 4100 lb Ranchero with a 351 Clev., Crane cam, factory stall converter, 3.25 gears and it was great for low end. Take a look at Richards test on the "M" code 351 Cleveland. The ports could be better which the alloy heads prove but I was more than happy with mine.
You ever have problems with the crank walking itself out into the transmission? Was there a good fix for the thrust bearings? Idk how many times I did the combo of input shaft on tranny and a new crank and thrust bearings. Never got more than 60k on one but might have been a symptom of cold climate starts.
The only reason I will change the 351m in my truck (79-F150) will be for a powerstroke 7.3 . Other than that I’ll just keep on upgrading its parts . Last run I had was with a 2014 bmw , I didn’t won but I didn’t lose either, this engine just keep surprising me. By the way I have only removed the emission system so far. Next will be the intake manifold (4 barrel) then the camshaft. Wish me luck 🍀
I have an 81 Ford F-350 dually 4-speed and I was wondering what the motor made stock, because all I have left to do on it is put soft fuel lines in it. And because of the 4 speed I was wondering how easy it’d be to drive. Thank god the motor makes tons of torque in the low end. And thank you for making this video.
NOT a 400 "M"!!! ...anywho...lol, love these 400 vids you're making thanks for doing all the leg work for the rest of us looking at upgrading our boat anchors.
Hopefully before too long I will be upgrading the 400 V8 in my 77 Thunderbird before too long. Just with some carb tuning and timing it is much more fun to drive now. But there is a lot of power to make this thing a sleeper, muhahaha. Thank you for the information, this will come in useful when I start to plan my build.
I had two 77 f150 4x4’s that had cams, headers, intake and carbs. It was a great motor! In stock form its a choked up smog motor. But had huge potential.
This is why I love Holdner. He doesn't care what your darling combo is, because he's gonna kit them all out and see what they do anyways. Would totally love to see what performance you could get outta the 400 if you maxed everything out & possibly a blower.
I had a "67" mustang coupe that had a 400 M in it. 4 speed...4;30 gear. Did little 2 inch wheel stands and ran mid 12's all day. I ran the crap out of that engine and it thanked me by out lasting three cars...
Grate video I can't wait to get my 400 in my 78 f150 I got all the parts just need to put it together. Ported factory heads with fresh valves. Comp xe 262h cam and valve spring kit. Scorpion roller rockers. Tmi pistons .060 over long story on why I had to go so far out. Edelbrock 600cfm carb with there dual plane intake. Will probably upgrade to a bigger Holly as I don't think the edelbrock will be enough. Headers and truedule free flowing exhaust. All Arp hardware for the rods mains heads and intake manifold. Hopeing to make 400hp and about 500 tq will see.
Bigger is better More is always more And boost makes everything more better Lmao Please don’t ever stop Thank you for sharing your thoughts and knowledge.
There are some out there with the small bell housing pattern, but they are kind of hard to find. They are really popular with the Pantera guys who want to swap out the Cleveland.
The 400m is a badass engine me and my dad run the same engine on the street it makes a lot of power and torke the 400m is a ass ripper on the street best engines I run a 400m in my 70ds ford ltd 4 door car that was used as fleet and police car with it modified with a mild RV cran fire ball with an old holley street dominator intake it's a torke monster and horse power went up a lot
This comment is off subject but, there's a video a guy posted on youtube a few months ago where he modified a set of 6.0 LS heads to roughly fit a 351 SBF, then boosted it till it popped. Seems right up your alley
what about comparison between chrysler 400, chevy 400 sbc and ford 400m. It might be cool comparison because these guys have all different bore-stroke ratio. Also what about chrysler 400 for the other guy engine.
Didn't Ford have a 406 FE-based motor for a while? Throw that in the mix for good measure. Stir well. It's a comparison I'd like to see too...along with a 6.8 V10 big blow 💥
Don't go too far, Mark. 400 blocks are prone to cracking in the upper valley after overheating a few times. Engines from the cold states are a better bet.
@@hotrodray6802 my '71 Ford Ranch Wagon Custom had the 400 and it pulled a wheelie on me driving home from school the day I had rebuilt the carburetor in auto shop. I passed a school bus on a 40mph two lane road, the kickdown dropped it to first when I hit 55mph it shifted to 2nd and the whole front end stood up! All I could see was white knuckles, hood and sky and hear cheering kids on the bus as I blasted by. I barely got it back on two wheels and stable enough to get it back into my lane before the next oncoming traffic. The old A arm bushings were tattered so it was like driving jelly once the front end bounced back down, that got the ticker going! Heart rate must have jumped at least a hundred BPM on that one. I wish I still had that car it was such a nice cruiser.
Would like to see how this engine would do if built like the Super Stock engines of the early 60's (Ford 406, Chevy 409 and Mopar 413 with big solid lifter cams, long tube headers, dual 4 barrel carbs).
i run a d1 (1971 flat pistons stock pre emissions) casting 400m w aussie heads, high energy, camshaft, hei ignition , and a few more and mine was dyno-ed at 436 rwhp its a great engine , i get shunned on both sides ford ppl and the others but when im completly twisted up pulling away
Ill never forget a story in one of the car magazines… perhaps Hot Rod … and they decided to build a 400 Ford, to show what could be done. Back then, dynos were a lot harder to come by, so the only available one near them was at a Porsche dealership. The Porsche people laughed at the anemic numbers from the bone stock motor. The team then threw all the typical upgrades on, the best of what was available at the time (some time in the late 80s I believe), and took it back to the Porsche dealership to dyno it. The Porsche people were rather miffed that, for a pittance (compared to building a Porsche engine), they had increased power to WELL over 400hp. Lol If I remember right (and please correct me if Im wrong), for those who dont know … after deleting the 351C from their lineup, Ford realized there was still a demand for another engine that size. Rather than re-introdcing the 351C, they noted the journal size between the 351W and 400 were the same, so the 351M was created by putting a 351W crank in a 400. Therefore, a cheap way to increase your displacement is to swipe a rotating assembly from a 400, and install it in your W or M block. I cant remember if rod length needs to be adjusted in a W block, requiring shorter rods, but if you have a 351C, Journal and rod size would def have to be reduced for use in a 351C block, however, youd have to ensure that the crank is in good enough shape to remove that much material.
The 400M was a phenomenal engine. Maybe the best truck engine at that time time of full size trucks. If it had come out in 1969 it would be revered today. Just came out at the worst time for emissions.
All my freinds with F250's and Broncos ripped out the 400, and went straight for the 460. Of course that was 20+ years ago. It seemed like all the factory 400 camshafts were soft as butter, because most high mile units had power balance issues, caused by wiped out cams and lifters.
My 140000 mile Galaxy cam was fine. Lifters starting to dish a little. I had replaced the rockers which shut up the tappet noise. Even with as it turned out 25lb oil pressure as it turned out
@@ldnwholesale8552 Mostly old farm trucks, and probably somewhat dubious maintenance schedules, I suspect that many weren't "cared for". Michigan farm truck is a damn hard life.
The original intension for the 400 Ford engine was to replace the FE series Engine in the Full size ford Cars. The big block like Bell housing pattern made it so they could use the same transmission as the 460 engine! the 400 was first used in 1971 and was not used in trucks until 1977!
We had one we dropped into 67 galaxie (originally 390). Hydraulic cam, Weind intake and headers. Stock c6 with no stall. No weight reduction and 488 gears. Ran 8.8 in the eight
@@richardholdener1727 you,d have to feed it with big ports all the way and shortest distance, . So the fuel is their to help the piston speed, I think . What what intake would you use.
Let me add to a mention I made the other night in the live 400 video. Racetec has a recent addition forged 4032 piston, part #100773 for the 400 Ford. The deck is raised over stock and will give 10.2 compression with a 72cc chamber. This part of their Autotec line. Autotec slugs can have the deck height changed over listed spec for 10 dollars per set. Also custom bore sizes at 10 dollars per set. As is, these pistons are $550 jobber, which is phone-in price. They are currently moving a couple sets a week, so get on the program. If you say 400"M" on the phone, they will hang up on you. OK, not really, but I have to keep jabbing Snake Boy until he relents.
I built a beetle engine with a massive stroke and stock pistons (with relocated piston pins) Trick parts are game changers. Even better when they are affordable.
This is very cool! I tried to build my 351m into a 400 about three years ago but I was instantly priced out of it. I also called all over around the country and couldn’t find a crankshaft for it. That is really cool that someone is finally making performance pistons for these engines.
There was a shoestring budget combo people used to build back in the heyday of Fox bodies. It was, I believe, a 400M crank offset ground to a bit shorter stroke, Chevy 350 flat top pistons, and Chrysler V6 rods. It made 377 in a Windsor block and with decent heads it was a holy terror. Don't throw out those 400Ms!
I remember reading something about Ford considering offering a 4V 400 for the mid-late 70s. Might have been in step with other rumors that the 400 was supposed to replace the 460 in at least big passenger car application. That obviously went no where, but might have given at least some extra kick. I had some passing association with 400 powered LTD II police package cars. They weren’t exactly known for being blazing fast. Didn’t really even seem to have much advantage over the 1979-80 351W Panther platform LTDs. Those were just bad days across the board for the while industry. A 400 4 barrel single exhaust Plymouth Satellite police with bubble gum machine bar only had a top end of around 110-115. I never had a 400 but some high school classmates who did claimed that they did pretty decent on gas in their Torinos. I think that for normal cruising, a 400 likely was more efficient than a 351M in a heavy car. I like seeing what a 400 would really do when the potential is explored. I vaguely remember advertisements suggesting that 4V intakes were available for the 400 back in the 80s, but don’t know anyone who actually bought or installed one. I do remember seeing the Edelbrock SP2P two barrel intake for smog motor operators who wanted a little bit more but wanted avoid the alleged federal prosecution rumored at the time for tampering. We should have had the Internet back then.
Richard would you ever entertain doing a video on all the nomenclature used in your videos. I’ve messed with cars/trucks all my adult life, but must have been busy with life and kids and work when all this 2v 3v stuff was invented. At first I was thinking you were referring to 2 valve per cylinder vs 3 valve per cylinder heads, but now I think it more refers to a “version” or design of the heads. All with two valves per.
My 400 has 139k miles, is 49 years old, and still smokes the tire. Never rebuilt all original 72 ltd brougham Edit: the timing chain finally had enough slack to fall off and I lost oil pressure and she has been taken apart after 49 years service. Not one lifter is scarred or rounded, not one rod is bent, all rockers are perfect, the cylinders still have cross hatching from honing 49 years ago, the piston heads have 0 pitting. I'll be taking the pistons out soon and will update condition of mains.
@Cam montreuil engines they were about to. I lost oil pressure 2 weeks ago, right after that comment. I had a issue with timing as well. It was unfortunate to put the 49 year old 400 to rest temporarily. I went to pull the pump and realized the motor had to come up a foot to clear the pan, once pulled up I checked the timing chain. End of story 😂😂😂
@Cam montreuil engines I beg the differ. Tmeyer has proved that for years now. The 400 has won many engine competitions as well. You may have built them in the 80s but its a new game now with parts. You wanna put any ls to shame throw some edelbrock aluminum heads on, a muther thumpr cam, flat tops by tim Meyer, and a 4 barrel intake....easy EASY 450 hp at 150 lbs less than the piece of shit 460 at half the cost. Not to mention thats all on 2 bolt mains, stock rods, stock crank, shall I go on. Put 4k in one and see what happens. I've seen much more money in big block fords do way less.
@Cam montreuil engines you can get the same power from those heads using 351c heads, or just deck the ones that came with it and port them. Its that easy. You are old and stuck in your ways. You couldn't build a 400 with power to save your life. I can tell you how to build one with 500 hp without any aluminum or new parts but you should already know how old man.
The 2v head on the 351M-400 truck engines has a radically different exhaust port compared to a 351C 2v. A real 351C 2v has a much nicer shape. how does a stock 400 compare to a stock 460?
Stock for stock this is not a good comparison because the 400 was never available with a 4V carb. I bite my tongue on this one there was a limited Supply of police and fire chief Torino's with a 4 v carb. I have only seen one manifold that was at my local Auto Wreckers!
I can't imagine how smarter I would be if I would have had Richard on youtube when I was a kid. People don't know how lucky we are to have someone like Richard coming on almost every night and showing us all this and answering our questions like he does.
I was lucky enough to read all of his articles back in the 90s growing up in MM&FF. The man is a legend🤘
He's spot on 🤺
@@dom_not_torretotedesco5707 we getting old, MM&FF is still live on line i heard just no magazines to flip thru anymore
Agreed
Most people don't even use the potential of the internet, ignorance is everywhere. lol
Thanks for doing the 400. It deserves a lot more respect than it gets.
All the 400 and 351m need is more compression. The 7.5-1 compression kills it. 9-1, 4barrel, rv cam, and 2v Cleveland heads perfect
@@dgambrel9241 and to loose weight.
Thanks for labeling the 400 correctly.
It's a 5000rpm truck motor! It doesn't bolt to the small block bell housing. There are aftermarket intakes, but they fit the smaller ports in the factory heads with no quench! It works great in a truck used for towing and fuel economy was fair considering the application. While I guess you could put a set of Cleveland heads on, the intake manifold has smaller ports than the head. It's nearly 100lbs lighter than a 460, but a stroked Windsor is 100+pounds lighter, smaller, and parts are falling outta the sky if you stand in the right place! A 408 is lghtyears better, externally lighter, and parts are readily available! The even made 460 swaps obsolete!! I know some guys that ran a 400 till they got the 460 back together, it did OK, but Hot Rod magazine wasn't there taking pictures!! Put the 400 into an old f150 and use it to pull ur car to the track, you'll be satisfied that way!!
@@markmccarty9793 imagine if everybody that took the tall deck 4k rpm gm big blocks in 2 ton trucks and raced them thought that way lol, M based engines are heavy but the blocks are tough and Cleveland heads are cheap. Set of rods/pistons and some oiling mods they will run very well
Late to this chat, but I have owned a 1970 400M since 1973. Over the years, I have "Sooped Up" that engine with 351C 4V heads, CC 292 cam, 4bbl Holley, Huge Holley single plane intake, Doug Thorley Headers, Mallory dual point with an Accel super coil and MSD 6A box. My LTD ran low 13's at 100 mph through my modified C6 with a 10 inch TQ. Still have the engine. Forged TRW pistons and 11.5 CR. Looking for another body to put them back into. Maybe next year! Keep up the great work.
4" bore, 4" stroke, canted valves, such a good combo. They run so good and make really good power everywhere and are perfect for a truck. So many people think they're garbage boat anchors, but they're wrong.
Correct my friend, I've owned both the 5.0 and the 400 as well as a 351C. The 400 is a great engine which was designed to replace the 390 and did it very well. Those who disrespect the 400 haven't used one as harshly as I have and had it do well without a problem
@@lawnmowermanlawnmowerman9930 I have always been told the 400 had a lot of problems because the top end does not get a lot of oil when compared to other engines of the time. I also have known a lot of people who have been stranded by this engine. I personally have never used one. I’m thinking of buying one because there are some cheap ones in my area. I really like the 390 though and am currently building one.
@@MistaSweeeft7214 Easily solved by installing a high volume oil pump. Which always worked on my 400 engines
Never understood why the 400s were hated so much. Smog engines suck. Stock efi 351s and 302s and every other smog engine around sucks. Stock.
A 4” bore. 4” stroke, cleveland headed engine seems like a solid platform to me!
Using one over a 385 series engine
@@mikehaslett3738 I'm looking to doa blower/sleeper build on my 400. With the amount of torque they can make naturally aspirated, I fear extra expenses will need to be taken to ensure the drive train doesn't get destroyed.
My dad had a 400 in a 1980 F250 camper special, this was in 1982 , it had a set of milled 2V heads to bump up the compression slightly, a Isky RV type cam, recurved distributor, Edelbrock SP 2P intake, 625 Carter, Eagle long tube headers , dual exhaust and C6 automatic with shift kit, If i can remember the rear differential had 3.73 gears. Tons of low end torque and it could really move for such a bulky vehicle. The original 351M that came with the truck went into my 76 Montego ,we put a Performer intake, 600 Holley, Wolverine low end torque cam,recurved distributor, dual exhaust,C6 with shift kit and stock 2.75 gears, so the big heavy car was a little sluggish off the line, but top end was amazing from those mild mods. This was thirty some years ago.
My 2V iron headed 400 made 425 HP with 8.3 compression and a Crane 266h cam and Weind intake. The heads are ported, 260 cfm @ .500" intake and 224 cfm exhaust. It powered a f150 for 22 years with no breakage or overheating. Best old tech Ford motors are Clevelands. My new CHI Headed 400 to replace it makes 490 HP with 9.8 compression and a Howard's roller cam, holley street dominator intake heavily modified. Heads flow 308 cfm @ .600 which is the actual valve lift. Clevelands rock.
In my 73 mustang I installed a 400, with a 4 degree advanced 280 Magnum cam (230@.050), cast 9:1 Pistons, 351C-4V heads, aluminum adapter plates to fit a 351C-4V Torker intake and a Holley 750 double pumper. The exhaust coming off the headers was 3 in, and then teed into a single 3.5 inch exhaust to the back of the car with a large super trap muffler on it. At the track I would just take off the band clamp and remove the muffler. With A 2500 stall, 4:11 gears and a weight of 3800lbs it ran 12.70@106mph. my guesstimation was about 390 to 400 horsepower. Had a lot of power down low but would run out of steam above 5500 RPM.
to much gear not useing the torque 373 s would have been a better choicei have one in a 80 truck and only use 275 s as a daily driver with a 268 cam reves 5300 8 to 1 comp
IF you install small end Rod bushings from a 292 ford, you can use any rudely available 351 Cleveland piston! That is the way I built my 400 Ford! with Flat top Cleveland pistons I had 12.75 to 1 compression with closed Chamber big port heads!
@@mylanmiller9656 hey, thanks for the tip. I have another 351 Cleveland four barrel engine sitting around so I might try and find another 400 and install the parts on it with the Cleveland Pistons
And what frame and motor mounts did you use for the swap?
@@fishinfool63 the frame was stock and I believe I used motor mounts out of a 74-5 grand torino with a 351m/400. I used 351C headers but I had to ding them a little to clear the steering box I believe since the 351/400 is about3/4" wider on each side.
An old late 70’s F250 shop truck I used used to drive had the 400, I tried my damndest to buy it. Loved that truck. It had a posi and in the rain was an absolute blast!
I'm currently rebuilding my 400m into a twin turbo 434 stroker. Even my previous 400 build was enough to smoke all 4 wheels in 4-hi. Such an underrated engine.
Smoke all 4 chained to a tree . Come on man
I know right lol
Oh but he had 5:36 gears in it lolol
1978 (D8_ _) block were recalled for block cracking @ casting flange between lifter bores. Tmeyer racing has nice Stroker kits
I love the 335 series. My grandpa bought a 72 Ford country squire new. He sold it in 1990 with 260,000 miles. Nothing ever had to be replaced other than maintenance items. During the years of the M engines it was by far the best small block truck engine in either brand. My family was split Chevy Ford but there was never an argument on the best. We all new Ford was.
Back then it was pretty tough to say which was better. They were all pretty darn equal no matter who made them. Getting over 150k out of a v8 engine was an anomaly, I don’t care what engine it was or who made it. That required some really good maintenance practices at the very least.
@@stevenvanheel3932 poorly tuned carbs killed a few engines prematurely
@@inharmsway526 and the majority of the ones that were poorly tuned were because of all of the emissions crap that old school engines had to have.
I'd like to see a test of the 70s smogger 400s. The olds 403, Pontiac 400, sbc 400, mopar 400, ect.
@@BuzzLOLOL Introduced in 1970 for the 1971 model year.
every one made a 400 even amc this should be a class of racing
That would be interesting as everyone made a 400. Buick, olds, amc and even Cadillac had a 425
yup
@@BuzzLOLOL Ford has there 400m also.
400M with a mild cam, Good flowing aluminum heads and about 9.8:1 compression so you could run it on regular with a modern OD transmission in a mid 80s 4X4 F150 or Bronco would be a pretty sweet set up.
The stock heads with 4V valves and a good blending pocket porting will work for what you suggest here.
@@BuzzLOLOL True, but why pass up 25-35hp for so little effort and money?
@@BuzzLOLOL It helps I was a head man for a machine shop. A good machine shop can get you new parts with the same specs as more famous names. Cams, valves, springs and such made by companies you have heard of but didn't know made those parts. It's been 20 years since I did that work so I couldn't tell you what companies are still around or if they still make those parts. Ash your machine shop if they can get that part for much less than online source. Could mean the difference of 6 bucks for valves vs 24 buck.
@@hom240
Pretty simple really. Modern port and chamber designs are simply more efficient and make more power. The best way to make drivable power is with the absolute best head you can get.
@@DBSSTEELER Agreed. It really comes down to availability, compatibility, budget, and most important common sense. If you are really serous about competing does it make sense to use 40-50 year old engine and vehicle designs?
I've built/run several 460's and a couple of 400M engines. Since I was using them in my '79 Bronco and '76 Ford Van for pulling they were both set up with an RV cam, Edelbrock Performer, recurved distributor, headers, Magnaflows with cross-over, tight converters, Edelbrock/Carter AFB carbs. In my estimation both were good motors but the 400M with it's long stroke was the torque king. The 460 made more power when I wound them way up but it never was as crisp as the 400. I really loved both the engines but I'll take the 400 anytime.
plus much better on gas consumption
I agree I had a 460 in a 75 Ltd landyaut and 77 250 ranger with 400. The 400 had the grunt. Later I dressed the 400 with an erson cam and aussie 2v 4 barrel intake and Carter AFB 750 and that put the yea’haw in it. And it would talk to ya with open carb that was a fun truck. And smoke a set of 33x12.5 with ease. Nothing like the windows dawn and Watching the needled go all the way around in a heavy truck.
When I seen that the 351 and 400 used the same compression height, I decided to bush the Rods. 292 bushing was a prefect match to bring the small end down to .912 to fit the Cleveland piston.
@@mylanmiller9656 Good information.....smaller piston pin = less rotating friction = more HP. That was a smart move on your part.....good going! Keep the Faith, Tom
Thanks Richard, I'm building an 81 F150 short step, I have an early 90's 5.0 and a 400 sitting in the shop waiting to be rebuilt. After watching your videos, I'm going with "the other guy". Keep building the odd stuff and I'll keep watching!
Ive been around a few roller cammed 400s that play in mud holes. The mud boggers love them for that low speed torque.
had the 300 hp build in my 81 f 150 650 holley stock exhaust manifolds Edelbrock performer intake unmodified transmission 250 rear gears 4200 lbs ran 15.75 at 87mph in the quarter now the truck has the same 8.0 comp ratio motor with the same transmission but with a comp 268 cam headers and 275 gears is a lot faster enough to stay ahead of the new hemi trucks and the other guys to and does all this on regular gas and if you drive decently its decent on gas nice to see you do this for this misunderstood motor Richard THANKS
I continue to love watching your dyno tests and lives, the information you give is a credit to your professional approach. 5:48 Stock, the 400 M had a tiny carb, with about 9" of Hg Vaccum at WOT with a 368 CFM Motorcraft or 424 CFM 2bbl Autolite. It never got a 500 CFM 4412 Holley that you tested it with. Ford rated the first year 400 M as 265 HP gross stock, but you got 267 HP gross. The FE was rated at around 270 HP gross, so Ford had to make the 1971 debut 400 engine stronger than the 12 year old thoroughbred. Our Australian 351 C gave 171 hp net stock with a stock 2bbl (rated 250 hp gross) and 216 hp net stock (Rated 290 HP gross) with a ThermoQuad. Just a 1978 pre production spec 4bbl iron intake with a Carter ThermoQuad adds 63 hp net on a stock 400 M, making 232 hp net, and drops the WOT vacuum to under 1.5" Hg. The stock 2bbl carbs restrict the 400 M to such a huge degree , it's like the world's most Factory Restrictor plate you can imagine. Exactly like a 250 in line six with a Single Carter YFA carb, 175 cubic inches per inch of carb Venturi on each engine. Adding a carb with 85 cubic inches of engine per 1 sq in of carb Venturi adds exactly 63 HP on a 102 hp net engine. Try it yourself next time you test. You never saw a similar improvement with the 292 Chevy engine when it went from 1bbl to 2bbl because of the points and the cam duration qas very mild. On the other channels guys who did the 300 six with the 1bbl carb saw a huge gain with the 2bbl, a 75 hp gain with a 625 cfm 4bbl verses the big YFA Carter 1 bbl. The 400 M is exactly the same case..
33 hp
in 1973 my dad and i took a friend down to the local Ford dealer to drop off her car. he putz around in the showroom for about 10 minutes and since i was 8, i didnt pay much attention to what he was doing.
2-3 days later we took her back to pick up her car and h and i looked at a brand new LTD Country Squire, 8-pax station wagon in wimbledon white with the faux wood sides. it also sported the trailer towing package.
i drove that car 5-12 years later and of course as i got my license i looked more into the car. it had the 385 series 400cid motor in it. being a towing package car it had some rear end grunt to it that shocked some of my friends who had more performance oriented cars. we drove it until about 1986 or 87 when my dad gave it to one of my mom's cousins for their kids to drive.
big heavy car that pulled the 20' trailer like nothing was behind us and if we were careful still managed about 18mpg...
I'm currently working on a 400 stroked to 434. Love these vids!! Keep em coming!!
I have a 351m that I also plan to increase the displacement on. Are you using a stroker kit or a custom bottom end?
Thats an easy boost in power by stroking the 351 to 400 same block, great idea. I wish i would have done that years ago with my 351M .
Love the 400M. This was my cheap speed secret in the early 90s. It fit in my then cheap Maverick real well. Cheers!
I remember helping a friend change the plugs in a Maverick with a 302 in it and it was almost impossible! I don't see how you could shoehorn a 400 in a Maverick, VOODOO? LOL
@@danboren6567 Changing plugs was easy. Got out of high school and scored full time employment and then bought my 1969 Buick GS400. The Buick had new plugs in it. Problem solved. Check out Sleeperdude videos and his 460 Turbo Maverick. Cheers!
Uh... no. I had a 72 Mav with a 351c and fitting "well" wasn't the word. I know for fact the shock towers have to be cut to get the C to fit and the 400 is wider. Now with a M2 front end swap and shock towers deleted it would be tight but .... perfect. ;)
In a maverick ? Bulloney ?
@@cammontreuil7509 well don't tell that to the guy who is running a 460 turbo maverick with several videos here on TH-cam. Until you get your wrenches out and try something, don't call BS on those of us who have been doing this for 30 years.
the ford 400 is actually 402 cubic inches ....and has the longest stock stroke of ford v8's built in the last 50+ years ...longer then a 429..or 460
...not quite as long as the 5.4l Mod's stroke, LOL
@@RyTrapp0 Real Ford motor...not mod garbage
@@polishedturdspeedshop the mod is as real as it gets for furd.
@@RyTrapp0 you are right.but i was talking old school motors ..and i did leave out the old 255 flathead with over 4 inch stroke
@@bigboreracing356 John Mihovetz has made over 3,000 hp on factory block and head 4.6 4V.... no two valve 4.6 has come close to that. The 4V is the king. He's also made over 3,000 in the W.R. standing mile Ford GT also sporting factory cast block and heads 5.4L and ran 300.4 mph in one mile.
First time viewing your channel. I knew I had a Diamond in the rough. Recently picked up a 1977 f150 4x4 painfully bone stock with a 351 m400. Or as you call it the 400m. It has been sitting for years. After a little TLC it fired right up. After researching this engine I told myself this is a 351 Cleveland stroker. 61 years old being an old hot rodder bells and whistles went off in my head with all the possibilities this engine has. Great video simple and straightforward facts. Keep up the great work.
Why shouldn't he call it a M? the W was cast in Windsor, the C was cast in Cleveland, and the M was Cast in the Michigan Foundry, and the 460 lima was cast in Lima. IF a 400 is not a M engine then a 351 Cleveland is not a Cleveland.
@@mylanmiller9656 i always thought it was m for modified. i wonder if the pre smog 400s were labeled on the valve covers as 400M or just 400. might not have had that label though
A buddy had a 73 LTD with a 400M. He’s always wondered what kind of power it made. Sent him this video. Thanks for testing that mill.
400 Ford with a set of Australian 302 Cleveland closed chamber heads on it , bolt straight on and instantly gain 10.5 to 1 compression on smog pistons ! And i never get why people run fown the 400 so much 1. its a member of the 335 series small block family that includes 302 Cleveland, 351 Cleveland, 400 and 351 M 2. Its just a tall deck Cleveland and any time you can fit a longer rod in an engine the better. 3. People rave over the 300 Ford six , how its soo good . The 400 is exactly the same engine , just with 2 extra cylinders , same 4 inch bore , same 4 inch stroke , infact same exact pistons, rings, rods, bareings, etc. 4. Sorry its only a 400 no M . The M stands for " modified" because the main bareings on a 400/ bore spacing are exacty the same as 351W , and Ford at that period in the 1970s needed lots of engines of that size , they realised you put a 351W crank in a 400 block you get a " modified 400" down to 351 ci so 351 Modified . The same was true the other way and a popular 1980s stroker with all ford parts was a 400 ford crank in a 351W , 0.030 overbore and a set of Cleveland heads you got a Boss 409 with all ford parts !
Got a 400M in my 79 4x4 custom.. it has done everything I have ever asked it do.. trust me I never babied it.. mud ..snow,.. you name it.. I went places.. still have it.. went completely through it.. kept it in the family.. because it is family.. that’s when they built trucks!
,😊😊😊😳
I would of loved to see a closed chamber 2V aussie headed dyno test in comparison to the aluminum heads.
I punched my 400 40 over had the bottom end worked really well with aluminum cheap intake 650 double pumper Holley hei distributor mild towing cam and cheapest set of headers I could find. It does very good in my long bed 77 ranger 4x4..good all round power very durable but not a hot rod to tear shit up constantly. Excellent work horse.
Love the 302 to 400 comparison! Engines don't care. They just want to run.
I had a 1962 F100 short bed unibody. Mine has the 351m and a FMX. IT WAS A PERFECT TRUCK engine. I gave the truck to my granddaughter. Woth the 378 rear end it's a real stump puller not a hot rod but a great combo
Loved the video especially when you pulled the numbers out, one of the most reliable vehicles I ever owned was my 78 bronco with a 400. Let it sit for 2 years got in it and drove it 300 miles, never missed a beat.
I’m glad to see someone finally talking about the good things on the 400m. I love them they aren’t the most powerful stock but they are work horses and very reliable. I know they have a lot of untapped potential and are extremely underrated and berated.
@@BuzzLOLOL and oil system mods
I have had quite a few over rub them push right then like wet pasta. For what it cost to make one of these boat anchors usable, just get a 429 or 460.
The oil system mood is easy. I have done it on another one I owned and it worked great. My current one I haven’t had to do it it has great oil pressure
Better pushrods and a set of arp rod and main bolts and you can push them to 7500rpm with the stock rods and no bent pushrods. I had a buddy who’s 400m regularly seen 8200rpms with no issues
We did this swap. My brother in law had a giant station wagon with a 400 M. My friend Jerry had a 1970 Torino. It was orange. We took the 400M out of the wagon and put it into the 70 Torino. Jerrys girlfriend said that car was undriveable because it would peel out the tires on every turn
I’ve got one for my 65 Galaxie that I’m building up. Really looking forward to getting it in the car
HAD A BUDDY WHO HAD ONE IN A 66 GALAXIE WOULD PEEL OUT 30 FEET OF RUBBER NO SWEAT
5:47 Just pause right there. 400 lb*ft of torque at 2000 rpm. Now that's a truck engine, right there, buddy. I hope to tell ya!
Dyno curve looked like a diesel!
400's made peak torque from 400 - 355 ft lbs at 1800 - 2200 depending on the year it was in. all 2V only. 5 cams were used in car or truck according to year or use
A friend too 351C flat top pistons and shaved them a little bit to fit the deck. And did a lot of modifications to the top end and made crazy power with it.
Man thanks for throwing out the lame ole industry biases and just loving to make buff horsepowers.
I call it a 400 Cleveland. The 351M was only given the Modified designation to denote it was a de-stroked tall deck 400 truck block, not a normal 9.2" deck 351-2V or 351-4V. Some just call it a 400 with nothing added, some insist the tall deck height makes it an M. (even though it came out first, without an M)
I had a 1976 F-100 with the stroked Cleveland. The only problem I had was the module. Other than that it was fine.
I have a 400 I built with 2v Cleveland 2.02 heads from a 1970 cougar, balanced and blueprinted, 10.5:1, street master 400 intake, 351 Cleveland pistons with the wrist pins sized down and it’s a solid motor in my truck. It had not problem blowing up my 9” rear end. Skipped the pinion gear on the ring and cracked the carrier.
Why the smaller valves ? Stockers are 2.04. 'S.
@@cammontreuil7509 I looked in my book with the build specs on the motor and it has 2.05” and 1.65” exhaust valves. Too many specs to remember everything perfectly!
@@gravytrainoutdoors Melling V1270 Ford 400 intake valve.
Got a 78 Grand Marquis with a 400 this is great to see it get some love.
I love the 400M I just got my first engine to rebuild because of your videos, hope to be done soon.
@@BuzzLOLOL yes I got a 400
Dress it well it will give you wings.
Watch "myvintageiron" channel for some excellent know how in rebuilding engines! The absolute best engine know how on TH-cam!
I love clevo,s. Good work Richard
The biggest difference in between the Cleveland and the M engines is the bellhousing. The M engines use the big block bellhousing (429-460) and the Cleveland uses the Windsor bellhousing.
The 351m/400 block also has a taller deck height, however there are also small bell housing 400 block out there.
@@projectmayhembronco5457 ford did a lot of crazy stuff with all their engine lines.
I have a 351C in my 74 Torino Wagon, and I have a 71 model 400 in the garage. I really want to build it.
Congratulations ok Hitting 150000 thousand Subscribers Richard. Well deserved Mate.
Thanks 👍
Hot Rod magazine ran an article years ago hopping up a400 into a 406 with mild porting and gasket port matching.
Thank you for the Dino info. I’m building a 400(M) right now. Trying to decide which way to go with it.
Just a little note to remember. 289-351W-351C all use the small block transmission bell housing bolt patterns. 351M-400 429-460 use the big block bell housing bolt pattern.
does the 351C use the same bellhousing pattern as the 351W?
@@richardholdener1727 Yes, In was told years ago they didn't. Go to summit racing and look up a c6 trans for small block ford. It shows all the motors it will fit.
@@richardholdener1727 Simple answer is yes. And also the same as a 300M 6 cylinder!
There are dual pattern C6 bellhousings. I think they came in Torino's.
@@ahoneyman 351M Ranchero's 1975/1976 also had the small pattern. 1978 and newer 400 blocks had reinforced thrust main webs. Some blocks also had visible 4 bolt areas cast into the webs. No real difference in block strength. Biggest issue is motor mounts...unless you use motor plates, then 351C plates work fine.
Very Informative, Thank you. I'm building a 400 engine to play with. I definitely needed this information 😊
I like the Ford 400. You can make cheaper power with a 400 than you can with a 460. Back in the mid-70's, the 460 couldn't pass emission standards, so the 400 was created.
That is not really true the 400 was made to replace the 390 and 428 that ford had discontinued in the cars. It was made with the same bell bolt pattern as the 429, so Ford could use the same transmission that was used behind 429 and 460. it was a middle of the road engine never intended to be a performance set up, ford wanted torque to pull around there large body cars. the first 400 was built for the 1971 model year!
I just pulled my 351m and want to do a 408 stroker down the road. For now I am replacing it an early 429 I rebuilt, very similar to the mild 460 video this gentlemen did.
found the video, 400 great motor glad you had this motor covered, also found out looking for this video i have seen many many videos yet
I call it a 400 C! I put some 4V closed chamber heads on a 400C and it was a MONSTER! I used an Edelbrock Torker intake with ported Weiand spacer plates, BG 750 cfm Holley, needed MORE. The cam was an Erson 295 duration and about .600 lift, I don't remember the exact specs. Custom made headers were required. This was back in 1988 so not a lot of choices for aftermarket heads.
WHY? use bad heads, the 2Vs are far better. 4Vs make good door stops!
4vs make more power
I keep seeing everybody knocking the 4V heads and I have never had a problem. I had a 4100 lb Ranchero with a 351 Clev., Crane cam, factory stall converter, 3.25 gears and it was great for low end. Take a look at Richards test on the "M" code 351 Cleveland. The ports could be better which the alloy heads prove but I was more than happy with mine.
Loved my 351M/400’s. Used to run a 500cfm two barrel Holley and a towing/rv cam on mine, pretty dang torquey.
You ever have problems with the crank walking itself out into the transmission? Was there a good fix for the thrust bearings? Idk how many times I did the combo of input shaft on tranny and a new crank and thrust bearings. Never got more than 60k on one but might have been a symptom of cold climate starts.
The only reason I will change the 351m in my truck (79-F150) will be for a powerstroke 7.3 . Other than that I’ll just keep on upgrading its parts . Last run I had was with a 2014 bmw , I didn’t won but I didn’t lose either, this engine just keep surprising me. By the way I have only removed the emission system so far. Next will be the intake manifold (4 barrel) then the camshaft.
Wish me luck 🍀
I had a couple Fox Mustangs (88 GT and 91 LX) Both 5.0/ 302s.
Great motors, I needed nothing more.
I have an 81 Ford F-350 dually 4-speed and I was wondering what the motor made stock, because all I have left to do on it is put soft fuel lines in it. And because of the 4 speed I was wondering how easy it’d be to drive. Thank god the motor makes tons of torque in the low end. And thank you for making this video.
what motor
NOT a 400 "M"!!! ...anywho...lol, love these 400 vids you're making thanks for doing all the leg work for the rest of us looking at upgrading our boat anchors.
Hopefully before too long I will be upgrading the 400 V8 in my 77 Thunderbird before too long. Just with some carb tuning and timing it is much more fun to drive now. But there is a lot of power to make this thing a sleeper, muhahaha. Thank you for the information, this will come in useful when I start to plan my build.
I had two 77 f150 4x4’s that had cams, headers, intake and carbs. It was a great motor! In stock form its a choked up smog motor. But had huge potential.
In stock form it was a slug and a gas hog. With some TLC, it's just a gas hog.
@@billdang3953 guess you don’t really know your way around an engine as good as you think then…..
This is why I love Holdner. He doesn't care what your darling combo is, because he's gonna kit them all out and see what they do anyways. Would totally love to see what performance you could get outta the 400 if you maxed everything out & possibly a blower.
I had a "67" mustang coupe that had a 400 M in it. 4 speed...4;30 gear. Did little 2 inch wheel stands and ran mid 12's all day. I ran the crap out of that engine and it thanked me by out lasting three cars...
Thank you Richard for the videos! Love the Ford stuff!!
Mod motor guy here ,but that 400 is brutal!
Grate video I can't wait to get my 400 in my 78 f150 I got all the parts just need to put it together.
Ported factory heads with fresh valves.
Comp xe 262h cam and valve spring kit.
Scorpion roller rockers.
Tmi pistons .060 over long story on why I had to go so far out.
Edelbrock 600cfm carb with there dual plane intake. Will probably upgrade to a bigger Holly as I don't think the edelbrock will be enough.
Headers and truedule free flowing exhaust.
All Arp hardware for the rods mains heads and intake manifold.
Hopeing to make 400hp and about 500 tq will see.
Bigger is better
More is always more
And boost makes everything more better
Lmao
Please don’t ever stop
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and knowledge.
The only trouble is the bellhousing and motor mounts are completely different. It takes a 385 series bellhousing, and unique motor mount bolt pattern.
There are some out there with the small bell housing pattern, but they are kind of hard to find. They are really popular with the Pantera guys who want to swap out the Cleveland.
@@projectmayhembronco5457
Yes but rare when new... Tougher 50 years later.
The 400m is a badass engine me and my dad run the same engine on the street it makes a lot of power and torke the 400m is a ass ripper on the street best engines I run a 400m in my 70ds ford ltd 4 door car that was used as fleet and police car with it modified with a mild RV cran fire ball with an old holley street dominator intake it's a torke monster and horse power went up a lot
Rebuilt my old pickup's 400 into a 446 stroker after the cam went bad, thing's an animal now.
How many horses
What bore and stroke?
@@robertgray6310 math says 450hp/600ftlbs, but i've yet to dyno, probably won't, it gets going good enough to just enjoy.
@@rolltide9547 40 overbore with 4.350 stroke.
This comment is off subject but, there's a video a guy posted on youtube a few months ago where he modified a set of 6.0 LS heads to roughly fit a 351 SBF, then boosted it till it popped. Seems right up your alley
what about comparison between chrysler 400, chevy 400 sbc and ford 400m. It might be cool comparison because these guys have all different bore-stroke ratio. Also what about chrysler 400 for the other guy engine.
Fantastic idea!
Now that is a video I'd like to see.
@@BuzzLOLOL i guess the BBC 396/402 would qualify also
@@BuzzLOLOL AMC 401 🤔
Didn't Ford have a 406 FE-based motor for a while? Throw that in the mix for good measure. Stir well. It's a comparison I'd like to see too...along with a 6.8 V10 big blow 💥
Richard, looks like a road trip pick-n-pull is in my future, thanks for the great comparison
Don't go too far, Mark. 400 blocks are prone to cracking in the upper valley after overheating a few times. Engines from the cold states are a better bet.
Please do more 400M videos!
YES!
I know what a 400 is. What's a6 400m ?
As to Australia where the Cleveland is easy to get as are the "Aussie" 302 closed chamber 2V heads but the 400M isn't seen for sale all that much,
Wow! This really changed my mind. I always thought they were garbage based on the rumors.
I think some 400’s have won some engine building contests
Damn rumors
All built in the smog era. Hence sucky performance stock.
Installing just a 71 C timing gear helped a lot.
@@hotrodray6802 my '71 Ford Ranch Wagon Custom had the 400 and it pulled a wheelie on me driving home from school the day I had rebuilt the carburetor in auto shop. I passed a school bus on a 40mph two lane road, the kickdown dropped it to first when I hit 55mph it shifted to 2nd and the whole front end stood up! All I could see was white knuckles, hood and sky and hear cheering kids on the bus as I blasted by. I barely got it back on two wheels and stable enough to get it back into my lane before the next oncoming traffic. The old A arm bushings were tattered so it was like driving jelly once the front end bounced back down, that got the ticker going! Heart rate must have jumped at least a hundred BPM on that one. I wish I still had that car it was such a nice cruiser.
Would like to see how this engine would do if built like the Super Stock engines of the early 60's (Ford 406, Chevy 409 and Mopar 413 with big solid lifter cams, long tube headers, dual 4 barrel carbs).
i run a d1 (1971 flat pistons stock pre emissions) casting 400m w aussie heads, high energy, camshaft, hei ignition , and a few more and mine was dyno-ed at 436 rwhp its a great engine , i get shunned on both sides ford ppl and the others but when im completly twisted up pulling away
How much larger dimensionally and weight wise is a 400m vs a 302?
Ill never forget a story in one of the car magazines… perhaps Hot Rod … and they decided to build a 400 Ford, to show what could be done. Back then, dynos were a lot harder to come by, so the only available one near them was at a Porsche dealership. The Porsche people laughed at the anemic numbers from the bone stock motor. The team then threw all the typical upgrades on, the best of what was available at the time (some time in the late 80s I believe), and took it back to the Porsche dealership to dyno it. The Porsche people were rather miffed that, for a pittance (compared to building a Porsche engine), they had increased power to WELL over 400hp. Lol
If I remember right (and please correct me if Im wrong), for those who dont know … after deleting the 351C from their lineup, Ford realized there was still a demand for another engine that size. Rather than re-introdcing the 351C, they noted the journal size between the 351W and 400 were the same, so the 351M was created by putting a 351W crank in a 400. Therefore, a cheap way to increase your displacement is to swipe a rotating assembly from a 400, and install it in your W or M block. I cant remember if rod length needs to be adjusted in a W block, requiring shorter rods, but if you have a 351C, Journal and rod size would def have to be reduced for use in a 351C block, however, youd have to ensure that the crank is in good enough shape to remove that much material.
The 400 was a replacement for the 390, not the 460.
Correct. The 429 460 were a better performance choice.
I'm pretty sure it was a replacement for the fullsize vehicles in their 70s but the 460 lived 8n trucks until the late 90s
The 400M was a phenomenal engine. Maybe the best truck engine at that time time of full size trucks. If it had come out in 1969 it would be revered today. Just came out at the worst time for emissions.
It was an emissions engine. Replaced the FE which had no chance.
Just a smooth lumbering high torque engine.
It was an emissions engine. Replaced the FE which had no chance.
Just a smooth lumbering high torque engine.
All my freinds with F250's and Broncos ripped out the 400, and went straight for the 460. Of course that was 20+ years ago. It seemed like all the factory 400 camshafts were soft as butter, because most high mile units had power balance issues, caused by wiped out cams and lifters.
My 140000 mile Galaxy cam was fine. Lifters starting to dish a little. I had replaced the rockers which shut up the tappet noise. Even with as it turned out 25lb oil pressure as it turned out
@@ldnwholesale8552 Mostly old farm trucks, and probably somewhat dubious maintenance schedules, I suspect that many weren't "cared for". Michigan farm truck is a damn hard life.
Didn't know Ford did a GM one tine with their cams and lifters!
The original intension for the 400 Ford engine was to replace the FE series Engine in the Full size ford Cars. The big block like Bell housing pattern made it so they could use the same transmission as the 460 engine! the 400 was first used in 1971 and was not used in trucks until 1977!
That 400 must have sounded downright scary at 6500 rpm
That some great power out of the boat anchor 400M!
We had one we dropped into 67 galaxie (originally 390). Hydraulic cam, Weind intake and headers. Stock c6 with no stall. No weight reduction and 488 gears. Ran 8.8 in the eight
I call bs.
I would like to see a 351M test, I know they lack in aftermarket support especially pistons.
Gday Richard, You,v got me thinking now. I Wander how the 400M would go with a 5" stroke, an Edi Torker and 4V,s on Nos. Plain and simple .
torker is not a good intake
@@richardholdener1727 you,d have to feed it with big ports all the way and shortest distance, . So the fuel is their to help the piston speed, I think . What what intake would you use.
Let me add to a mention I made the other night in the live 400 video. Racetec has a recent addition forged 4032 piston, part #100773 for the 400 Ford. The deck is raised over stock and will give 10.2 compression with a 72cc chamber. This part of their Autotec line. Autotec slugs can have the deck height changed over listed spec for 10 dollars per set. Also custom bore sizes at 10 dollars per set. As is, these pistons are $550 jobber, which is phone-in price. They are currently moving a couple sets a week, so get on the program. If you say 400"M" on the phone, they will hang up on you. OK, not really, but I have to keep jabbing Snake Boy until he relents.
I built a beetle engine with a massive stroke and stock pistons (with relocated piston pins)
Trick parts are game changers.
Even better when they are affordable.
This is very cool! I tried to build my 351m into a 400 about three years ago but I was instantly priced out of it. I also called all over around the country and couldn’t find a crankshaft for it. That is really cool that someone is finally making performance pistons for these engines.
There was a shoestring budget combo people used to build back in the heyday of Fox bodies. It was, I believe, a 400M crank offset ground to a bit shorter stroke, Chevy 350 flat top pistons, and Chrysler V6 rods. It made 377 in a Windsor block and with decent heads it was a holy terror. Don't throw out those 400Ms!
Was that with a short deck 302 or the taller 351W?
@@mitchellyardanoff4666 the 351W block.
With a little love the 400 and 351 are beasts take all the smog crap off of them they make great power
I like the 400
When I was looking for 79-80 4×4 ford I looked for the 400 or 351m I would consider a 302 at all.
Did the 400M have the same oiling system/problems as the 351C ? RPM is great for HP but the 351C needs to have the oil system mods to survive.
400 any day of the week.
Twice on Saturdays. 😎👍
I remember reading something about Ford considering offering a 4V 400 for the mid-late 70s. Might have been in step with other rumors that the 400 was supposed to replace the 460 in at least big passenger car application. That obviously went no where, but might have given at least some extra kick. I had some passing association with 400 powered LTD II police package cars. They weren’t exactly known for being blazing fast. Didn’t really even seem to have much advantage over the 1979-80 351W Panther platform LTDs. Those were just bad days across the board for the while industry. A 400 4 barrel single exhaust Plymouth Satellite police with bubble gum machine bar only had a top end of around 110-115. I never had a 400 but some high school classmates who did claimed that they did pretty decent on gas in their Torinos. I think that for normal cruising, a 400 likely was more efficient than a 351M in a heavy car. I like seeing what a 400 would really do when the potential is explored. I vaguely remember advertisements suggesting that 4V intakes were available for the 400 back in the 80s, but don’t know anyone who actually bought or installed one. I do remember seeing the Edelbrock SP2P two barrel intake for smog motor operators who wanted a little bit more but wanted avoid the alleged federal prosecution rumored at the time for tampering. We should have had the Internet back then.
Richard would you ever entertain doing a video on all the nomenclature used in your videos. I’ve messed with cars/trucks all my adult life, but must have been busy with life and kids and work when all this 2v 3v stuff was invented. At first I was thinking you were referring to 2 valve per cylinder vs 3 valve per cylinder heads, but now I think it more refers to a “version” or design of the heads. All with two valves per.
My 400 has 139k miles, is 49 years old, and still smokes the tire. Never rebuilt all original 72 ltd brougham
Edit: the timing chain finally had enough slack to fall off and I lost oil pressure and she has been taken apart after 49 years service. Not one lifter is scarred or rounded, not one rod is bent, all rockers are perfect, the cylinders still have cross hatching from honing 49 years ago, the piston heads have 0 pitting. I'll be taking the pistons out soon and will update condition of mains.
One tire on fire.
Swap those 2.50/2.75 gears for 3.25 with a posi.. 😁😁
@Cam montreuil engines they were about to. I lost oil pressure 2 weeks ago, right after that comment. I had a issue with timing as well. It was unfortunate to put the 49 year old 400 to rest temporarily. I went to pull the pump and realized the motor had to come up a foot to clear the pan, once pulled up I checked the timing chain. End of story 😂😂😂
@Cam montreuil engines I beg the differ. Tmeyer has proved that for years now. The 400 has won many engine competitions as well. You may have built them in the 80s but its a new game now with parts. You wanna put any ls to shame throw some edelbrock aluminum heads on, a muther thumpr cam, flat tops by tim Meyer, and a 4 barrel intake....easy EASY 450 hp at 150 lbs less than the piece of shit 460 at half the cost. Not to mention thats all on 2 bolt mains, stock rods, stock crank, shall I go on. Put 4k in one and see what happens. I've seen much more money in big block fords do way less.
@Cam montreuil engines you can get the same power from those heads using 351c heads, or just deck the ones that came with it and port them. Its that easy. You are old and stuck in your ways. You couldn't build a 400 with power to save your life. I can tell you how to build one with 500 hp without any aluminum or new parts but you should already know how old man.
The 335 series engines are GREAT
Lol , that's what my 1976 Mercury Montcalm said on the valve cover , 400 "M" Cleveland . Man I wanted to keep that engine 😒
The 2v head on the 351M-400 truck engines has a radically different exhaust port compared to a 351C 2v. A real 351C 2v has a much nicer shape. how does a stock 400 compare to a stock 460?
Stock for stock this is not a good comparison because the 400 was never available with a 4V carb. I bite my tongue on this one there was a limited Supply of police and fire chief Torino's with a 4 v carb. I have only seen one manifold that was at my local Auto Wreckers!
Have a look at the 3.0l ford engine and the jaguar Dohc aluminum variant? Considering light weight with sufficient torque and boost!