[DeTomaso] New Engine

Tue Aug 14 15:56:51 EDT 2007

Short answer is a definate YES. 

  md 

  Mark McWhinney <msm at portata.com> wrote:
  Given Trevor's requirements, is a Cleveland block even in the running?

1) 430-500 HP
2) Durable
3) Streetable
4) Spirited driving with some drag runs 

-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com] On
Behalf Of JDeRyke at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 12:18 PM
To: trevor at fougere.com; detomaso at realbig.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] New Engine

In a message dated 8/14/07 1:06:51 AM, trevor at fougere.com writes:

<<....50% compression loss. Coolant in the oil. Coolant in the exhaust.
The 
same cylinder that necessitated a rebuild approx 3-5,000 miles and two
owners 
ago. Haven't taken the heads off yet, but I'm expecting more bad news.....
>>

Worst case- start looking for a new core-engine now; coolant in the oil very

likely means the cylinder wall is cracked, or (less likely) a head is
cracked. 
A 50% compression drop may mean a thin piece of cylinder wall has blown into

the water jacket; this happened to us with a silver-dollar sized chunk of
wall 
during a competition event, from a simple backfire on an engine bored 
0.030-over. Ford said that Clevelands should not be overbored AT ALL and
only offered 
0.003-over pistons for home-fitting. 

Once you find a block, have it cleaned and sonic-checked for thin cylinder 
walls. Wall thicknesses below 0.080" means the thing is only safe to use in
a 
truck or as a lawn ornament, not as a high-horsepower engine. Most
previously 
overbored blocks are in this category. Blocks with enough wall thickness
these 
days are few & far between- see the archives thread by Pat Orlando, Allan 
Foster and others who lost 351-Cs and had to spend much time finding a
suitable 
core to work with. Many cautious owners have stockpiled a couple of good 
core-engines for such future disasters. 
Also, changing to a 351W does not guarantee the thin-block syndrome will not

reoccur. Sonic-test all Fords! And find a builder who is familiar with the 
peculiarities of the early-'70s Ford V-8s. 
Good luck (or at least better luck than you've recently had!) -J DeRyke

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Mad Dawg Antenucci 
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