E351 Motorsport block (ie 9.2 vs 9.5" deck)???

[Mike Braddock]

I may have found a good deal on another cleveland engine, but it's built on a 'new' Motorsport E351 siamese bore ' block that has a combination of cleveland and windsor features. This block is no longer available through Ford and I was told (by the owner) it was used by nascar teams and such in the '80's. (I thought they used the 9.5" deck blocks with the 2.75" mains so they could use longer rods ?)

Does anyone have any experience with one of these blocks? It's a windsor design (oiling, camshaft, distributor, etc.) with siamese bores (.030 over from Ford, can be bored up to .125) but has a cleveland deck height (9.2") and main bearing diameter (2.75"). It also has 4 bolt splayed main caps, supposedly good for upwards of 800 hp.

Here's a link to the block that has taken its place in the FRPP lineup, although this one is intended for dry sump use only:

http://www.fordracing.com/performanc...6010%2DR352%2A

Down the road I would like to build a fuel injected motor that can survive at 7000 rpm for an open track motor, but my first choice would have been a 9.5" deck block like the N351:

http://www.fordracing.com/performanc...010%2DN351%2A.

This way I could use a nice pair of aluminum windsor heads, plus the EFI would be much cheaper. The main reason I am even entertaining the thought of purchasing this engine is because we have a 351C in our cobra, so this would make a bulletproof bottom end should we even need to build another motor for it. Of course, this would be way overkill as a street motor in our cobra, since we don’t need more than 400 hp. But it would be nice to never again have to worry about having to sonic check a thin-walled C block or have to lose sleep over possible oiling problems that no one can seem to agree on . The down side is this E351 block weighs about 30 pounds more than an old iron C block and it costs big $$$ to get into a set of aluminum heads for it.

So my final question is this: if you were me would you wait and buy a 9.5” deck block and go with aluminum aftermarket heads, so you have a ‘modern’ windsor (now there’s an oxymoron ), or buy this E351 motor as a backup for our roadster and possibly for use down the road in our open track car?

I would really like to hear from someone who has some experience with this block. Thanks for any input guys!

Mike