I am knowledgable about Jeeps, not fords, so don't call me a "fawkin newbie"...
Anyway, is the 400 a decent motor? Specifically one in a 79 F350. It has 70k and I am not sure if it even runs yet. Are they expensive to buy parts for? I don't want a ton of performance, just decent power and torque for a lighter weight truck.

Thanks

Dan

They aren't known for being a horsepower motor but they do have the longest stroke of any of the other Ford V-8's. They work great in a truck. Some of their parts are interchangable with a 351C so camshaft selection is good. Of cource I say this after junking the 400 in my 78 Bronco and replacing it with a 460. The 400 had 200K miles on it.

I have one in my FJ40, had it built for HP but recently detuned it, still spins my 39.5's

I wanted a torque motor for crawling and the 400 works great for that

Not gonna win any drags w/it though LOL

I have a 351M, similar to the 400 but even wussier. It has awesome torque, but for racin buddies on the street it's not so good. One thing to be conscious of with these ol boys, The head design is poor, leading to poor water travel, thus potentially cracking the heads when hot. Mine has not done this and is a very reliable motor. Also the two barrel kicks ass for starting and climbing, never bogs down. Personally, unless you've got a great deal on this motor, I'd opt for a 460 or a 351W due to the head design problem with the Midland blocks. My.02c :smokin:

With a little work you can use the crank to stroke a 351W.

Get a 351W and pull those rods out from that 400. you can machine them to fit on a 351W crank. Then use 302 Pistons, still a 351 cu inch motor, but you have a rod thats 6.58 inches long. Which equals a Stroke to rod length ratio of 1.88:1 That should put out some nice torque for you. Plus the motor would be about as efficient as you can get.

Fawk that...Wayyy too much machinging, disassembling..The best thing about a 400, is a 460 will bolt right up in place of that 400..id say drive the 400 into the ground, then when the time comes go with the 460..IMO

machinging lol
Its fawking late..But that is good info monkey..You did this before or just heard of it being done..

For your application it may work decent. I have one in my 79 F-250, and well i've done just about everything to pull more power from it, and well it was a fruitless waste of money, it still couldn't pull a sick whore off a piss pot. I have a 429 and 460, one of which will go in the truck someday. The 400 is torquey, just kind of a poor design, long stroke with shitty compression. Good luck

Sorry about the other post. Just razzin ya!:D Especially after I see that MSU stuff in your sig. Couldnt help it being a UM grad. Anyway, sounds like you got a killer deal on some goodies. Ever want to get rid of them let me know. I am in G.R.
To answer your question more info is needed. What do you plan to do with the truck? The 400 is good but there are other much ebtter options depending on your application. If you decide you need mo power I have a 460 that would probably bolt right up to what you have. Good luck :beer: :beer:

Helen Keller designed the 400/any questions

The dude at this website did his research thuroughly on this motor may be worth reading for you!

http://www.bigbronco.com/Technical_Articles/Technical_index.htm

Matt

P.S. My dad's work truck has a 400m in it with 300k miles on it, with out a rebuild, same with the c6 and the semi floating D60. The truck is a camper special and is always hauling around 1500lbs of payload, the motor is just starting to show signs of wear. I would keep it unless you are looking for a HP machine to turn 44's!

And TRUST me that engine does not turn 44's..I had it in there for 2 years with 44's.. haha.. Sucky Sucky..Buy yea reliable pos..