Assembling a Ford V-8 351C Engine: EVERYTHING you need to know
You've seen our Timelapse video, but now we're taking you in depth to show what it took to put this iconic motor together. Davin walks through the process step by step and offers some helpful tips along the way. We're getting closer and closer to seeing this 1972 Pantera back on the road.
#RedlineRebuild #BarnFindHunter #neverstopdriving #hagertydriversclub
Visit us at www.Hagerty.com
If you enjoy our content and would like to support its creation, join the Hagerty Drivers Club: bit.ly/Join-HDC-WillItRun ---- Already a member? THANK YOU!
Subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications! bit.ly/HagertyKZhead
Visit our website for daily automotive news, cars stories, reviews, and opinion: www.hagerty.com/media
Stay up to date by signing up for our email newsletters here: www.hagerty.com/media/newslet...
Follow us on social media:
Facebook | / hagerty
Instagram | / hagerty
Twitter | / hagerty
If you love cars, you belong with us. Hagerty Drivers Club is the world’s largest community for automotive enthusiasts. Members enjoy valuable automotive discounts, exclusive events and experiences, roadside service created specifically for collector vehicles, and a subscription to the bimonthly Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join Hagerty Drivers Club here: www.hagerty.com/drivers-club
Like what you see? Watch our other series including:
Redline Rebuilds | Time-lapse engine rebuilds from start to finish bit.ly/RedlineRebuild
Barn Find Hunter | Tom Cotter searches the country for abandoned cars bit.ly/BarnFIndHunter
Jason Cammisa on the Icons | The definitive car review
bit.ly/JasonCammisaICONS
Revelations | Untold Stories About Automotive Legends with Jason Cammisa
bit.ly/JasonCammisaRevelations
Contact us:
Suggestions and feedback - videoquestions@hagerty.com
Press inquiries - press@hagerty.com
Partnership requests - partnerships@hagerty.com
I will never build a motor and my wrenching days are long gone. Why do I find these videos so satisfying to watch? IDK But gosh, there's something about all those new and beautiful parts going together so nicely by an expert........just fantastic. Thank you guys!
your satisfied because you’re watching an expert doing expert work & you have an eye for when passion & pro create mechanical performance. that’s what I tell myself
Thiese guys (Hargerty) makes watching this grueling process (I build engines once in a while and I'm OCD so its always painfully slow) fun and interesting to watch for seasoned mechanics like me and the un-initiated. It's a great learning tool too!
Supervisors are always needed.
@@marksieber4626 and coffee..
Once a gearhead, always a gearhead! Lol Welcome to the club.
Thirty years ago I did this with my dad in the garage. It was a 1979 351 Windsor engine. What a great time with Dad! I really miss those days, and Dad.
Ya gotta start somewhere. I was 16 and had little to no money for my 1st car. My dad help me with about 80. bucks so I could get a 150. dollar car. 58 T bird 352 with a cruise-O- madic. Well, the heads were off due to a blown head gasket. The mechanic had a depute with the prior owner and broke all the gages with a ball pin hammer. The parts were in the trunk for the engine. I was not happy about not having a running car. My Dad said" If you want to drive, you have to know how to fix it" he told me what needed doing, and after giving me and my older brother directions on small things, then we got all the way to finial assembly. Timing was off and burn off all the hair off the nosey neighbor Kid when it backfired through the carb. My Dad had paid for all the parts, and the money I earn was spent at the junk yard getting the gages repair. Brakes were adjusted, a little more gas. then my first drive around the block. I thought my dad didn't like me, due to my bro getting a newer car that ran great. What a dumb kid I was. Like you I miss his wisdom.
This has got to be the best explanation of an engine rebuild/assembly I've seen. It is very thorough and easy to understand. But I'll need to rewatch the timing wheel segment again. Davin, you do really nice work, sir!
I'm so glad you showed this build in long form.
That was a solid ‘YEE HAHHHH!’
I was an automotive machinist back in the 1970’s and the shop I worked at did a lot of work for a local guy who restored Studebakers. Working on the Studebaker V-8 blocks was the first time I saw engines painted on the inside. I just learned now that the paint was Glyptal. Then I had to jump down the rabbit hole and get the history of it off Google. 😁👍🏼
I don't think I've ever seen a cam degree job go so perfect ever, its usually pretty damn close but that was perfect!
I love how he doesn't use impact tools to rush the work!!! I enjoy the time he takes with every single bolt and nut!! Keep up the great work!
No serious builder should use power tools to 'speed things up', as doing it by hand you can feel if there's an issue with a tight thread, or something else - should never happen if properly chased out, etc, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
When I worked at a Subaru dealership, I was told to use my air rachet when replacing spark plugs. I told the boss to pass off, I care about the customers car, and it will be serviced correctly, not with power tools.
Engine assembly is always fun to watch; regardless of the OEM. Good pointers always.
DAVIN did you know the DE Tomaso 351 4V clevelands 1970,71,72,73 were Australian High Nickle content blocks and Nodular iron cranks. The entire 351 engines were made in Australia and shipped to where De Tomaso was built. Legendary Ford racer BoB Glidden said the ultimate 351 is the Aussie made engine that Ford Australia put in the Ford Falcon XY GTHO phase 3 cars they built in Australia by ford. The same Aussie engine took De Tomaso to Le Mans and had GREAT success. We built good stuff here in Australia. Another one to check out is the valiant Charger E38 and E49 Aussie 6cyl Hemi car,, it ran 13.9 off the showroom floor with 205,70,14 tires,, most big block production cars would struggle to run 13,s off the showroom floor, Steve in Australia. Thread gauge is also a good clearance checker,.
I've read differently Up until the early 74 XB the 351 Cleveland 4V motors were from the USA, mid 74 Ford Australia started building their own 351 and 302, The 302 had red rocker covers and both engines were 2V heads, LATER est 79 ish for built think called nucklehead blocks fro USA racing, The first badtch was rejected by Ford USA becaus ethe didnt read the memo and was only 2 bolt mains, Ford Aust then built the 4 Bolt mains for USA racing,, please correct me IF I'm wrong.
De Tomaso never had success at Le Mans with the Pantera, never. Ford did with the GT40 but nothing to do with the Pantera engine
Davin I love seeing you put these together, poetry in motion Pal! I haven’t done work like this in many many moons, but at 73 the old body just doesn’t like to cooperate. Still I can live vicariously through you and these great videos, thanks! I did just install the Rousch Cold Air kit on my 5.0 Coyote 2017 F-150, so I’m not completely helpless yet. 😊
Well done. I have no need to know this information because I will never build an engine. But I surely enjoy watching you do it and love seeing the information. I love learning new things at my young age of 74.
Look up Shawn Willsey and Nick Zentner.
We are looking forward to seeing more of the restoration of the Pantera...suspenstion and all of it!
Davin that was so cool the method to calibrate the TDC lobe separation (110 degree), That was so cool and fascinating. Thank you for taking the time to show us. Way more into the requirements than i would have thought. Thanks, Cheers
Thank you Daven for sharing your 'know how' with comprehensible details, 👍
Thanks David. Your knowledge and teaching skills go a long way.❤
While watching Davin I was thing how cool it would have been to see a young guy or gal learning from a good mechanic how to build something with their head and hands. Well, I hope they're out there watching Davin. There's nothing finer that engine run on the stand, when you built that engine.
Damn, Davin, that engine is gonna sound wicked in that Pantera! Your attention to detail is incredible; then again, you have all the fancy tools! Thanks to Davin and the always excellent Crew!✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦
It's that special feeling you get when assembling & completing an engine👨🔧
I've been dreaming about this episode soo addicted😍😍😍 Thanks Hagerty, Special Thanks to Davin & Tom, you guy's are Awesome👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Will be starting reassembly of my 1972 351C 4V this week. So this video is incredibly well timed 👍
Incredible work as always from the Hagerty Team ! Thank you all for sharing your journey with us ! Can't wait to see that Pantera running ! Cheers !
I enjoyed this video. My first car (bought used in 1977) was a 1971 Grabber Blue Mustang Mach 1 and it had the 351C/FMX drivetrain. I wish I still had that car.
Looking forward to seeing it put back into the Pantera!
Awesome build, and great commitment to detail. One process I missed hearing about was bolt/fastener prep. Saw the often missed tapping of block bolt holes (really wished to see a tube extension on the blowout ), But noticed many times, a substance added to the bolts before assembly ( no explanation ). There was no mentioning of any thread locker on rod cap nuts and such, possibly not needed in this build or any , but no mention of its omition relevant to this build. Otherwise Very informative. Thanks again, for highlighting that checking and testing makes the build, trusting can be blind faith in building.
When filing the rings, do the second compression rings first. A slightly oversize gap(mistake) on the second compression is not usually a problem. The best way, in my opinion, is to practice with a few of the old rings.
These videos are a true public service for the DIY classic car crowd. These will become historical records that people will still be watching in 100 years to figure out how to rebuild their 150-year-old engines.
Good stuff & I did my 1st break in a few months back. Man that feeling is to die for ! I enjoyed seeing what into building mine here. Thanks for the knowledge "351c" 👌
Had a 351 Cleveland in my 1974 Mercury cougar xr7 and it was fully built and sounded amazing, I only got 7mpg but that was when gas was 88 cents a gallon
My 73' Mach One is @5 mpg and I run 93 octane ethanol free. I don't go far from home!
@@TheBandit7613 haha 😂, buy extra gas in winter when its cheaper and store for summer
Enjoyed every second of this video. Making something alive...perfection.
I've got two cleveland V8s in the shed, one 302 and the other is a 351. I cannot wait to start building them after watching this video. Great video with plenty of detail. Thanks!!
Wonder what kinda of power you could expect out of 4v open chamber heads?
Pantera Cleavland uses the Australian cast 4 bolt blocks. Those engine blocks are very desirable.
I was looking for this comment
Ford sent the tooling to Oz in 1972, they were made in late 73 on from memory.
I live in a different country with you and I am a PhD student in Cardiff. But I would like to say that I would love to leave everything and come to you, learn these things from a master like you and become your apprentice. I would like to work together until the night and turn on that v8 late at night and listen to its sound. Maybe I'll finish my doctorate and catch you before you quit your job. Maybe one day 😊
I got a lot of testing tools to get before I can get this 300 straight 6 purrin'. Thanks for bringin' us along.👍👍
The best engine ever made Just don’t go crazy on the fuel cfm 400-500 is good It will pull a house off the foundation
Holy smokes, that sounds good! Can't wait to see it back in the car. Keep up the good work, Daven.
Thank you for being a fan!
Hey guys I wish y'all a great weekend. I look forward to watching the video of the Pantera cosmetically restored and having an engine in the back. I suppose it will be breath-taking🩵💙❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
I love the attention to details. Close to perfection!
What an incredible video. Wonderfully done.
Taps are for cutting threads. Not cleaning them. You can make thread chasers by using a cutoff wheel to cut 4 vertical slots in the threads of "scrap" cap screws aka bolts.
Its a pleasure watching your videos, Im amazed at your knowledge, thank you...
Fascinating. I didn't have the faintest idea what you were doing half the time but still fascinating.
"No matter how fast the world moves, Patience is needed for it to move efficiently" -me-. Thank you for sharing w/ us the results of patience.
Thank you for the videos. Great assembly. And big bonus for nailing the timing first try.
Truly a master at work. Always satisfying to watch work.
Always nice to watch a pro in action 💪
I have been missing the Redline Rebuild videos. Thanks for providing my fix!
Excellent video, great breakdown and step by step guide. Thank you Davin and team!
Your videos are awesome and watching these motors come together with all of these new parts and hearing it run for the first time is great!! Thanks for another great video!!
I have to tell you that is an art. It takes an exteem skill to put something like this together.
Just a shear pleasure to watch. Brings me back to my automotive school days. Please don’t ever stop making content!
Great Video!!! Thank you soooo much for all the details you included in this build video. I really appreciate knowing all the spec stuff. I like the time lapse stuff but I like to learn a lot too. Good builds are always made in the details. Very pretty motor by the way. Sounds good too!
10/10 in the scale of fire balls!!
Another great video and teaching opportunity. Well done Davin and crew!
Thanks to you guys for these red-line rebuild series, great presentation and hats off to the editing crew to mix it with time laps. Definitely look forward to the next one 😊
Another high quality redline video, keep em coming!
nice job ,sounds awesome thanks for teaching us by doing it before our eyes.
Nice work. Large capacity oil pans are most often run on Panteras to assist with cooling. Not to prevent oil starvation. So fill 'er all the way up!
The timing process confesses me every time.
Fantastic build, can't wait to see the final product.
Really, really well done. Thanks so much for the education!
Going to machine school, can't believe the amount of time we spent on piston rings. By the way, my instructor was the legendary Bill McKnight and Bob Fall. no further resume required.
Thank you for sharing, always a pleasure watch your project and I learn a lot 👍👍👍👍
Good job buddy, thanks for showing the lifter bushes installation, i've read about this for years but never seen a vid on installing them, i nearly ordered these for my build, but the cost was too high with the oz $. another Cleveland lives !
Watching you with the speed wrench chasing threads just reminds me of my dad! Be prepared or prepare to fail. I tended to use a ratchet first then use the drill my dad hated it 😂 love watching your vids! It just reminds me of my dad very knowledgeable!
Was hoping for a longer version! Thanks for making it!
Nice to see a 'white paper' build, and a proper 'dummy build'. It doesn't apply here, but a reminder to the folks with engines that use TTY (Torque To Yield) fasteners - you can identify them as they have a angle tightening figure rather than a simple torque value - that even on a simple dummy build, they have been stretched and need to be replaced for safety. There's an intermediate step I would add - fit the front and rear shells in the block, add a couple of drops of oil on each for lubrication, then sit the crankshaft on the shells and gently rotate with a DTI on the middle journals to check it's straight and nothing's out of round.
You are an Artist!
Another great video. Enjoyed it very much. Awesome job well done. Cheers!!
What a fantastically complicated motor. I'm so impressed. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Complicated? Sarcasm?
Not a clue what he did but absolutely fascinating to watch. Genius.
Thank You for this
I have been wanting to see how someone builds an engine. Amazing.
Very nice job. Thanks a lot for such videos!
Remflex gaskets took care of my turbo Buick for a long time with no issues. But new engine build I won’t need them. Looks great!
Very nice. All the detail and nice and slow thanks
I can't wait to hear this bad boy run.😊
This guy is the Bob Ross of cars.
Really beautiful work by an expert 👍🏻
very good video and waiting for the Time Laps they are so much fum to watch Thank You
You went over and above precision on this build. There's no way it had that from the factory. Checking ring gaps, and valve spring heights/pressures just wasn't done. It should stand the test of time now in comparison to how it was originally made. Great job as always to everyone involved in these videos.❤
Great video! This validates the engine builds that I’ve done. 2 items: I use 2 pieces of vacuum tubing on the connecting rod bolts during assembly to protect the crank, and 2 the oil clearance setting on the mains seemed to be exceeded with the amount of assembly lube. Keep the great content coming!
Enjoyed that build a lot Gavin. Sure will nice back in its cradle. Cheers 🇨🇦
Thanks so much for taking us down this road with you. Answers the question “how hard could it be?”
Great video thank you! Great sounds when you started it😮
I own a 351 Cleveland. Here in Australia they are the more common Ford V8. Most I have done myself is install a new set of hydraulic lifters on my flat tappet camshaft. I have the same style adjustable roller rockes. The factory worshop manual shows the adjustment of the clearances using only three positions of the crankshaft. My pulley bolt was difficult to access in the car so i used a remote starter to bump the engine over. I really hope i did it right.
Notice the GF embossed on the top of block ? ( Geelong Foundry)
Great timing, just happen to be assembling a 1970 351C 4V (now Boss plus) in my shop. Installing cam bearings today and cutting core/freeze plug holes for pipe plugs. 1 1/4 inch size. No leaks here. Recently installed a 302 cam that the cam card firing order was different than the cam was ground on. Stamped numbers matched the cam card. Cam Co. offered to replace the cam, but by the time I tried dozen restarts, cam flat. Using #1 to check cam timing will not tell you this!
Thanks for the info
Using your hands is half the fun😜 that ring machine I've never seen, I've always used a file!
As always... excellent !!
Uk guy here. This guy is ace . Its hard to take in some of the American phrases and ways. But after being a mechanic and fabricator for 30 plus years I love this . Keep it up guys and girls. I teach or try to tell the you ones but it's difficult in our throw away society.
You can't educate bacon 🇬🇧 Derbyshire 🙏
Perfection is achieved by paying attention to the slightest of details during the assembly process. This is a good example and you did an excellent job. There’s one thing that I might have missed during the bottom end assembly. Did you check the crankshaft end play ? The thrust clearance should always be verified. After you got the distributor phased correctly, the Cleveland fired right up and sounded good. Well done ! 🏁
Watching because I've built and broken a bunch of 351Cs - but you can always learn something. I'm about to put the upgraded race 351c engine back in the car for the 2024 racing season. Enjoy these videos - solid info, good presentation, educational. A#1. Thanks for sharing this. And yea, remind the guys in the shop that Ford #1 is front right. 🤦♂️
Thanks!
Nice build! Your attention to detail is incredible. No need to lap valves anymore? Fire in the hole! I hate it when it's 180 out. Thanks for doing what you do.
Thank you teach👍
It's not when the planets aligned anymore, It's when you degree your cam on the first shot! Great job!
I would have liked to see you talk about 351C specifics while doing this. Such as the thermostat. Most parts store and online parts places (yes, even rock auto) will sell you the wrong thermostat for a 351C. The cleveland ones need to have the little hat that mates to the copper ring in the block. If you just get the one rockauto or autozone's computer says you need, you will have overheating as the water continuously circulates in the engine and never makes it to the radiator. And it looked like you omitted the oil slinger under the timing cover. Maybe to make room for a double roller?
at 23 : 52 timestamp something is slid onto the crank ; oil slinger maybe ?
@@44special9 I believe you are correct. The oil slinger is there when the timing cover went on. You have to really be looking for it.
Davin, your forte is the fire ball!
Your videos have convinced me to take on my first engine build project. It would be awesome if you covered the full break in process / testing process.
Like watching you work.....good job ... would like to see the finished product installed in all your features