[RICK LAKE]

Trent Ballew Trent theres a couple of things you should do before making the 2nd biggest decisionfor the car. Lets start with,
1. ball park power? what are you looking for? You can get a 400/400 motor that will last for years and basic maintainance. You could get a 427 stroker street motor that will do the same thing or make 600/600 and last a couple of years.
2. need to know what gear ratios in the trans and the rearend. This has a major effect of the drivibilty of the car cruising, parades, or track racing.
3. COST Your get what you pay for. You can geta a remanufactured motor for 3,500.00 or go full crazy in the $15k range built to the tilt.
4. Fuel system, are you looking at a Carb, 8 stack setup, multi carb, WEBERS, single throttlebody?
5. Warranty on the motor, how long and in writing. Last year at R&G saw a top of the line crate motor eatup a distributor gear. Car had couple hundred miles. Problems looked like a soft camshaft and the wrong gear on the distributor. Don't know what the final out come was for replacement of the motor with all the metal flakes.
6. 1 guy in the motor build group missing was Gessford machine. They have been building Ford motors for 40+ years. They are the only ones on the list with a machine shop of the year award in the US. I know that Keithcraft, Barry R, Survival, Brent B. and Tom all stand behind their motor builds. I can't answer for some of the others listed without a fight. Biggest thing I have heard is ABUSE and maintainance for failures of motors of owners and this is not true.
7. Home work, start googling some buildup of the 351. There are 50-100 builds over the last 25 years. See what you like and what the cost are.
8. Accusump add this to your list of things to buy. reasons are many. Perluber is the most important, no dry starts. Some guys believe in them and some guys don't. I believe with saving my motor twice. $400.00 dollars against $15,000.00- $20,000.00 saving a motor, I think it's a no brainer.
Soory for the long thread, tryed to cover alot of info and reasons why or why not to do. Good luck with the build. Rick L.