As with any engine program or racing program you pretty much come down to cubic dollars. The NHRA Pro Stock engines pretty much all look alike and use the same parts. The Dodge is using the Hemi style head with modern technology. All of the blocks are 5.00 bore center to offer larger valves in the heads and unshroud the intake valves. They all use pretty much the same bore and stroke which is about 4.600 and 3.625 stroke. The blocks heights are like a small block with most of them in the 9.200 range. The Chevy and Ford Pro Stock heads look very much alike. The Mopar guys about 5 or 6 years ago wee running Chevy heads and block parts with Mopar part numbers. Ford has not been behind any drag racing program for years and when the top teams have a million dollar budget plus all the factory help and R&D that goes on you can see why the Ford has a problem competing.
Ford has taken a difference stabd on NASCAR and has given money and factory help but that seems to be falling of as late. A lot of Ford teams left for the Dodge stuff because of money and Dodge got to look at the Chevy stuff and Ford stuff then develope a new engine from scratch so they had the best stuff. NASCAR has allowed Ford a new head this year but they are still working on getting it lined out. Ford had to run the same head design for the last 8 years while Chevy and Dodge got new stuff. Now all of these engines look like each other. All three have symetrical intake ports and Chevy and Dodge did not original have these. Chevy developed the SB-2 just for NASCAR. New block, heads, intake, valvetrain, a whole new engine design. Now Toyota and who knows comes along and the Toyota engine I saw looked like a Dodge Cup V8 to me. I did not know these companys even had a V8. I think mit is called being money hungry on NADCAR's part just like NHRA started a class for them. about the bucks.
None of the engines designed back in the 60's could not take what we do with them these days with out all of the after market parts. Most of the engines we build anymore do not have one used part in them, pretty amazing compared to the junk we had to use just 15 to 20 years ago.
To answer the gentlemans question on the 351C engine work. Yes we have worked on these engines as well and they have some good things about them and bad things as they all do. The Cleveland was one of the best engines of its time but was just out 4 years and was what Glidden won all of his Pro Stock titles with till they all went 500C.I big blocks. The Chevy guys and Mopar guys were running big blocks when Glidden was running the Cleveland. Back then you had a cubic inch to weight break. Glidden would run 337 or so cubic inch Clevelands against the Big Block Chevy and Mopars that were about 360 to 370C.I. NHRA kelp adding weight to the Cleveland till they had it at a disadvantage. They finally went to they 500C.I rule.
The 351C engines had thin cylinders and a bad oiling system same as the 385 series engines. Ford for some reason made the main
oil galley also the passenger lifter galley. So you had lifters choppping up and down in your main
oil galley that feed the rods and mains. This was no big deal in regular street use but start racing these engines and you would loose
oil pressure up high and have bearing problems. It is even worse when you install solid roller liftser. The way to help this is to install lifter bore busching in the passenger side oil galley. I have had guys break a push rod and chunk a lifter out of the passenger side and loose oil pressure. You can make some real good power with these engines because of the heads but they have their quirks that need fixed as well. I think we are coving most all of the engines on the thread. Good luck. Keith
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