What is the difference between ford V8's

[toph99]

like you have the 351W(Windsor?) the 351C(?) etc. and i think there's another 351... what's the difference?

 

[Howard]

They are manufactured at different plants. M is for modified, BTW.

I believe the W is a smallblock, while the Cleveland is a big block. W has inline valves (all aligned) while Cs have canted valves (different angles to each other). The M is a modified C, I don't know how.

 

[toph99]

see now that brings be back to the question i had a few months ago, what's the difference between big and small blocks? if they have the same displacement, the blocks should be the same size(more or less) right?

 

[JC]

"Big block" typically refers to an engine over 400ci....not necessarily the physical block size, witness the Pontiac V8s, from 326 to 455ci they are virtually identical on the outside, but the 400+ci engines are usually called "big blocks".

It's really a bit of a misnomer, started by Chevy fans when the 396ci engine was introduced in 1965.



JC

 

[BreakApart]

Big block / small block difference?

Has to do with the potential sizes the designed blocks are capable of supporting. Small block design, big block design.

That's why they overlap on sizes... Small blocks bored and stroked to it's max sometimes equals a big block series motor that has small piston bores and/or a short stroke. Small block simply means that the block design has a total displacement falling into the smaller category.

 

[JC]

And as for those Ford 351s, the 351W (Windsor) is based on the 221-260-289-302 engine family. The 351M (Midland, or Modified) goes with the 400M (lo-po, smog engines). The 351C (Cleveland) stands alone, with the aforementioned large-port heads and high-performance possibilities.

JC