Ford 351 Cleveland Oiling, The Truth, and More 

I used to race these motors back in the day and I drilled through the main oil galleries on mains 2, 3, 4, and 5 up into the valley which were then taped with pipe dies. I took the plug out of the side of the block near the oil filter and ran a 1/2" oil line from that up through a hole I made in the top of the block in the back and plumbed that with copper pipe into all the holes I had drilled through the block into the valley under the intake. I then put restrictor plugs into the lifter galleries in main 1 above the 585 plug and 5 to reduce the oil going to them, and I plugged off the lifter gallery in mains 2, 3 and 4. With this modified oiling system. I turned my homemade Boss 351 at 8200 rpm's all day with no oiling related failures. If you have any questions just ask.

Best explanation of the Cleveland oiling system ever. Thank you!

Nice work mate Yes Aussie here lol Have owned 6 clevelands over the years and rebuilt 2 and first thing was (By recommendation from drag racers,Mechanics etc that knew the engine) drill the valley in specific location (Lifter) radius and chamfer holes then slippery paint Next was high volume pump with oil restriction via spring pressure in the pump then pull threaded plug from front left side of block and pipe oil to rear so mains got the oil first (So they said) Never understood Ford logic here as Crank spins twice the speed of camshaft but all good, Now this was told and shown to me as a youngish bloke in 1982/83 and 2 bolt block correct crank prep and matching of parts and 5-550HP with iron heads 2V but 4V intake valves and was also told never over exhaust these old gals No more than 75% on the exhaust (Tri Y headers not tuned unless 4v big port heads and high comp - 3 inch mandrel exhaust max or twin 2.5inch and we got 520hp no issues revved to 7000 and only issue was that bloody thermoquad lol - Great video and yes Im subscribed Cheers and G'day from Queensland Australia

Hey Tim,. We met at national trail back in 2006 on Labor Day weekend nmra. All ford weekend. We pitted beside each other. I have a ,1980 foxbody cobra. Had a great weekend. I runnered up on Sunday. Glad you still have the cougar

I call you the Cleveland Proffesor! I want to turn my 357 at least to 9 when needed badly only but loving this video. Great great work!!! Can tell u did major research! U are the man

Have been watching, Great job today, Thanks for taking the time with pics!

Thanks tim for the shout out.!! keep doing what your doing..!!

Thank you for a great and informative video. I finally bought a -71 mach1 a year ago. Stock 4v 351. Car totally dissassembled since 1982 by previus owner, but engine was complete. I only checked that the main and rod-bearings was good. Then new oil and primed it and compression test, all looked good so I test started it couple of times. So I have put the engine in the car and now it need all wiring and fuel feed to be installed. I´m just a regular guy and new to projekt like this and just love it. In the future I will put in some performance stuff to it, so your videos is great help to me. Keep up the great work! Greetings from Sweden.

Great info tim well done I've been doing ristrictors and line from front to rear for a long time without any problems

Perhaps the best video on the subject. Thank you.

Excellent content. Always look forward to seeing your Cleveland info. Great in-depth knowledge you share. Not very many of the Cleveland die hards left.👍

I was gonna build those headers for Dave and several other guys but couldn’t find the time. I watch your videos all the time. It’s been a big help

Tim great video for this shade tree mech. I have 73 Gran Torino with the original 351 Cleveland and lost my uncle and his shop last year which was my machine shop to rebuild it and now i am learning to do it myself

Love your Channel Tim , Great Info , Clevelands Forever!

Bloody awesome ive literally just received my heads and intake from CHI here in Australia! I will be doing these mods before i assemble my engine 😎😎

Man, I love this channel! My brother gave me his old cleveland motor. I'm going to rebuild it to smoke the tires a long way. He put a jet engine in his Mustang last spring, and the chicks really dig him.

I'm old. I remember when Cale Yarborough was running Fords, and Waddell Wilson was his engine man. Wilson had a series of articles in Hot Rod magazine, where he explained how he fixed the Cleveland's oil system to make it live for 500 miles plus at 8000 RPM. He also had a series on how he pinned the OEM heads to keep them from distorting too. It's worth looking those up, they have some great details.

Another great video! Thanks for the huge shout-out.. I want to see your channel grow because you have great content that needs to be told!

Very informative video alot of stuff makes more sense to me about the oiling system I've always been a bow tie kinda guy but I'm hoping to do a 351c/408 on my foxbody mustang Thanks for the info I'll be tuning in for more on your channel.

Hi Buddy, glad you're making video's and getting some interest in Cleveland's around the ridges. Its a great engine in its own right. Lots of good things about the Cleveland and thankfully they outweigh the negative aspects of the Cleveland design. Now a little info about oiling systems in general. They are a basically a controlled internal oil leak. Oil does not run through the galleries like air through ports in cyl heads or even water through a garden hose. Spending time chamfering, radiusing corners or sharp edges is somewhat of a redundant activity. Yes it would be nice to have those edges nice and smooth but honestly it doesn't help, it just makes you feel better when you look at it. The restricting and or enlarging oil passages do make a big difference and so a focus on that is more useful. I have been working on Clevelands now for over 30 years and i know a bit and still have a bit to learn, so I'm glad people like you get some discussion going.

I just picked up a new project car and now I found your channel with great information. It's an all Original unopened BOSS 351 swapped into 1986 Hatchback Foxbody. I'm very interested in learning pushrods again after running Modulars for so long. Liked/Subbed.

Excellent show keep up the good work

Great vid Tim. Great to see you tapping into Tricky for the skinny on Clevo myth busting. He built many a serious street / track mill back in the day. That reminded me of Benny Gatt and his 7s / 6 almost Blown Xa coupe. Rarely gives out interviews, who even thou must be getting on, is another wealth of info on this subject. Be worth seeing if you could interview him for sure. Keep up the great work. I'm a barra convert now but still love my clevos.

Hey Tim Great educational vid,i was thinking it great to have Tim Meyer on your show sometime with his cleveland products,because he is one that is keeping the Cleveland alive,i second it mate clevelands make power

Thank you so much for sharing this content. There's a lot of people like myself that were born after Clevelands had already disappearing. I had no Idea how extensive the 335s really were. Recently I acquired a early 71 M code Mach1(9/70) from my father inlaw. The engine has 2 flat cam lobes on #3. Bummer since it has less than a 100 miles on it. I don't plan on racing, but really look forward to experiencing Cleveland power for the first time. The information you share is greatly appreciated and enjoyed. I can say this, the 335s have a completely different sound that I love!

Wow. As a Health Care worker from 2005 to 2016, I see you got the Oilo Pulminary system and its hardened artery junctions totally explained. Rock on that 585, 500, 313 and 250 thou sh!÷. G

The 351c is the strongset engine we ever had in Australia,,

Great video on the oiling system thanks

I'm a little late but I just sent some prayers to the Glidden family and my father said it is never too late just as long as you try and give it your best shot as long as you know that you can safely do it without hurting someone else doing it. God bless you all and hope it goes well for everyone and hope the Glidden family pulls through.

Really digging this info...!

Welp I will say this, you/this channel has gave me interest in a Ford engine for the first time in my life.

Love the Cleveland info!!!! Refreshing my 4 bolt block & heads also buildimg a 357/30 over with SRAP Pistons Eagle rods & comp cams valvetrain for sn 95 body Gt

My uncle was a ford motor builder for a stock racing team. He likes the windsor block with Cleveland head. He told me that's what they used in Nascar

Mr dragboss, I had oiling problems with my 351C with 4V heads. It started after I decided to go wild and have my engine really perform. I never had any problems when it was stock and only putting out 300hp. I had cleaned the inside of the block and debured sanded and used armature paint to coat oil return passages back from the head all the way down to the oil pan. I had oil restrictors to the cam bearings too! My 351C with 4V heads was ported and polish with a wild Crane billet roller cam. Gross lift almost 0.750" 312 duration. 1150cfm dominator, modified Super Competition Hooker Headers. Pretty much straight headers but with the collectors. After many years later I figured the the reason I had oiling problems was due to acceleration. This 1970 Mustang fastback was a light stripped down version without any frills. It put me in the seat so hard that reaching for the shifter required lifting on the gas pedal. That was what the cause, acceleration put me pinned in the seat and the oil in the oil pan pinned to the rear of the oil pan. The answer would have been creating a oil pickup for the rear of the engine which would have solve the oil starvation problem. Please comment back if the find this post.

Love the content Dragboss 🤘

Love these education videos hope you keep making them. I got the 400m boat yard motor. But having knowledge from the guy's who have been there. 500 passes on a motor means you've learned a lot. Oiling a stock motor an cooling it was rough issue from it's stock form so restricted. Make's sense faster you can get the motor on the top front n back the faster you can reduce friction. Mechanical oil pump on my 400m running Lucas Motor oil at only 80,000 mile's failed. Truck has sit 16 year's now. After replacing it with another Mechanical pump I felt stupid knowing oiling an cooling was a issue. Putting a patch back to the problem wasn't my intention.

Tim I have drilled out some of the oil passages and then run a small ball hone throught them and used a hi volume oil pump with the normal restrictor kit that worked for me love the content cheers from downunder

Great vid Tim.

great content Tim

Good tutorial in any engine, oiling and filtration are the keys for longevity, you discuss about the 351C engine, your application seems to be for high RPM use ( That I qualify of overspeeding ) but it have its utility too in more conservative applications as marine where the engines are operated for long periods near the maximum RPM. For any engine, the study of the oiling diagram and the actual oiling network offers opportunities for improving at about zero cost the time ( mileage ) between overhauls ( TBO)

Hey there! I'd like to add to this as my family had built a Cleveland back around '02-'04, and other than the 385-series and other popular ford motors, and other surprising engines created by other manufacturers (story for another day)... Cleveland is by far my absolute favorite. So back then, our factory 2-bolt block had the following done .030 overbore PME (Price Motorsport Engineering Inc) Main Oil Restrictors (installed in only mains 2, 3 and 4) External Oil Line (originally ordered from MPG Heads) Standard Oil pump with Ford Racing High Pressure spring Unfortunately we never raced it or dyno'd, and then take it apart to see the results... If i remember correctly, never went above 80 psi cold; but with a melling HV pump it shot past 110 psi. Never had any loss substantial loss in normal oil pressure when running hot either. This thing pegged 7k off the rev limiter pretty quickly as you'll see in an old video of mine around '05 (1972 Mustang 393): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jmjaSIz4lPE.html Combination: 4V Heads with bowls touched up, 3-angle valve job - can't remember what type of valves or length, standard dia. about 11.5:1 Comp - ran on either 110 or 112 Oct. Edelbrock torquer untouched 750 holley DP with 780 main body (forgot the kit name from Jegs at the time) - should've done 950 like we were told lol 1.73 Harland Sharp Rockers Custom Crower Cam: 232/248 @ .50, .584/.614 Valve lift - 112 Lobe sep Scat forged crank 3.85" - Probe 4.030" pistons - cant remember size of the rods but I'm sure you'll know, but they're scat H-beams 2" Hooker headers - 3" Exhaust with X-pipe and Flowmaster 50's dumped C4 Tranny with 9" Rear and 4.10's - 28" - 275/60's out back Pretty nice for a street/strip application. Like said, never dyno'd but it had to be pushing somewhere close to, or above 500's at the crank.. We once installed the weiand tunnel ram with dual 440 center squirters with modded brackets and restricted at the meters with paper clips to dump less fuel.. Although we couldn't close the hood (lol), and our eyes were burning.. we could easily tell that the motor WOKE UP straight from Idle... Hence, makes sense why we were recommended to use a bigger carb. Also, even though the throttle response was pretty spectacular from the initial combination itself, it most definitely sounded like it was improved with the tunnel ram. Just goes to show you what these heads are capable of.. I'm sure raising the exhaust would assist, but if you could tune other parts of the motor, like cam timing.. I'm sure this portion could be overlooked if it's not for racing only Keep up the great work! I may still be considered a 35-year old kid, but I love the history and hearing about all the folks from back when this motor was in its hay day!

Another great video, from my experience and research, aeration of the oil is a big factor , which in my case running hydraulic lifters , had a hard time stopping valve float , even as low as 5000 rpm’s , installed solid lift cam rev to the moon , put did it just mask the aeration? The line from the front to back from what I understand minimizes the aeration. My new Cleveland I installed Tim Myers cam bearings, plugged the half inch hole on number 1 journal , full groove bearings, and Denny Wydendorf diy lifter bore bushings (super easy to do at home) standard pump , and never looked back , also it basically turned my block into a priority main .

I'm finally getting around to seeing this video in its entirety. Great stuff. I agree with @ford-speed about trying to chamfer and clean the galleys. I never did it with a Cleveland, but in later years we experimented with Extrude Honing, especially for cooling. Just one idea; I know, this was a year ago, but something to consider. I will also send you an E-mail with some ideas we used back in the early 80's. We would tap into the right side lifter feed and plumb directly to the left side. I have been trying to find old notes, doodles and what ever information I still have. The other great trick was to start by re-aligning the lifter bores. I was taught that they were horribly aligned from the factory and for street applications, it legitimately increased vacuum and increased oil flow by relieving torsional stress. I think that the legendary Hansens Machine in Santa Fe Springs showed me that for almost all Ford Engines.

Thank you for the videos.

Me too! Glad to be here! 351 " Clevelands" rule, and are my favorite subject matter. That's that!

Tim that was an awesome video. the oiling system and the mods have always been a bit of a mystery, which I now understand. You are right about Jason M. I have been following his 393 build with interest as i put mine together. great stuff

Great info I am in Australia. I have a 408 Stroker in My Cleveland XB Falcon GT four door great engine and when it comes out again it will be getting a lot off these little tricks thank You. the Cleveland Engines has been raced a large amount in Australia we love them Thanks Mick.

Nice jacket. Best content around. Andy and Dave Silver. Right on the money guys.I see Clevelands make extra big High Po Horseppwer.

I really want to thank you for this video, I am in the process of rebuilding my 71 Mach1 engine backed with a C6 and stroking my 351C out to 408, just made arrangements to get it in for the hot tank but after listening to you I can see I need to fire up the Dotco first !!! This is my 3rd mach1,, I would be interested in knowing what tools and extensions and cutters you have in mind to do these operations !!! Thanks again for your efforts and may the Good Lord Bless you and yours !!!

Great video, Draggboss!

Mr dragboss, continued from 1st comment: I looked a the issues of creating a rear oil sump pan for my 1970 Mustang fastback. The steering center link passed below the oil pan in the rear and a support bar for the frame, both in the way. I did have a Mellings high volume oil pump and chrome moly oil pump rod. It would require a specially built oil pan that would allow the steering link and support to pass through the oil pan

Hey Tim , I had to change my handle from The Ghost of Tom Joad to my new one because of people trolling on me. I really enjoyed the Q&A with Brent Lykins the other day. Brent has come a long way. The Darin Morgan Q&A a while back. Most of all I enjoy what you are doing, the family and the community! Great stuff to share. Many people diss the FE for its oiling, but when you do a Chevy, it’s the same annular groove behind the cam bearings . SBC. Lol.

About time!

Hi. Jim I think your channel is great for 351 pro stock years. I have a pinto blown lenco, I also have one of the Gurney Weslake aluminum cleveland that Bob Glidden used and I got it from animal Jim Fuerier during nitrous pro stock wars.

Jason is the man alright.

Thanks mate info was good. a mate of mine had the cam restrictors morosso i think and ran a mellings hv oil pump

Hello again from Mt. Vernon home of Pacemakers Raceway Park. Great video as always Tim. I am behind you on the Cleveland is NOT a small block thing. I'm a long time authority on Fords myself. As a matter of fact, several of us longtime ford guys around here agree with ya, we simply call em Clevelands..... They do bolt up in place of most 65 1/2 and newer Windsor series engines but share little else. The 351/400 M engines are a Cleveland Family member too sharing many parts but bolt to a 385 series bellhousing and are rarely referred to as Small blocks and are definitely not considered a big block. My point here is simple: Anyone here who knows fords are well aware of the more complicated and different engine family's and simply embrace them based on development time periods in Fords life rather than the Chevrolet inspired labeling of small and big block in which many parts and dimensions are shared in each family. Me and my brother do Pontiacs too and from 326 to 455 cubes they share all outside dimensions for the most part. No 400 big block in that family....lol

Awesome job putting a lot of detail into what can be done at home to get the best out of the oiling system without breaking the bank; even with the DIY lifter bore bushing kit on the market some people just want do do what they can for a few bucks to maximize the oiling efficiency. I spent a lot of time researching all this stuff before doing essentially what your describing. Most DIY guys are gonna have all the tools needed to smooth out and radius these galleys and put in a restrictor kit; great job. Not sure if you mentioned but for the restrictors; if your running a hydraulic cam they say to leave out the rear lifter galley restrictor as they need more oil.

I just watch a video where the guy made a pretty good case for the head design causing starvation issues. Apparently the drainback holes are designed to keep the valve springs flooded. Which causes problems when combined with high rpm and small sump volume.

Whoop whoop cant wait for more

Tim Back in the 90s I bought new filter adapter fittings that had large Allen head machined into the fitting so you could install and remove the fitting without tearing the thing up or searching for your double nuts . I have moved on to 385 series 20 years ago. Maybe some day back at it with 335 series. At one time the 351 -C could make more horsepower than any other engine on Gasoline I believe that was a statement by Hot Rod magazine.

I'm a cleveland guy. Mine is a 1970 boss casting, .030 over, 56cc closed chamber aussie heads, lunati bracket master cam(4 deg. adv.), dual plane intake with divider completely removed. Stock rotating assy. About to put 2 small turbo's on it, 8psi waste gate pressure. In a 73 mustang. There is a learning curve on these motors for sure.

Great Video! Plugs and Restrictors are great. Bushings in the lifter valley (MAJOR PRESSURE LEAK) are great. All these contribute to a better oiling system. Tim' s cam bearings are great. Has anyone played with the idea of altering the block to accepting 460 engine roller bearings and have a trickle oil hole EDM'd into the roller bearing shell (they need minor oiling in my opinion). Yes this means a custom billet camshaft. There used to be a kit on the web that you could buy that had a drilling jig, long length drill, and roll pin that forced pressurized oil onto the camshaft gear-distributor gear interface. It had the promise of preventing the chewing up of the distributor gear. Has anyone out there seen this?

I run the line from the 585 plug to the sending unit plug or the plug on the back of the block it’s the same thing. It definitely improves the oiling!

I run oil restricted kit . Stock steel pump. I built the motor 95 and still runs great with no rebuilds. I do run 7qt pan.... I only turn it 7/7500. Block is pour. Steel crank 6.200 rods with stock heads. I ran a 10.48/130 mph.....

This is your most informative, most useful vid yet... May I humbly post some additions ? Long time ago I wanted to determine just how much oil was leaking around the right side bank of the lifter bores and thus understand just when and if I should sleeve these lifter bores( yes...I had all the tooling). I used a pressurized oil tank to feed oil to a 351-C long block (thru the oil-pump feed hole) that had no oil pan or intake manifold fitted. Obviously I had a catch basin underneath to control the mess. Upon having first applied pressure, I was AMAZED by the oil POURING out of the #1 journal/housing bore. This led to my modifying not just 351-C's but all small-block fords that are of a similar configuration. My mod was similar in concept to what you have shown/explained here. I made a thread-in sleeve that was drilled to the same hole size as the feeds in mains 2-5, and then plugged that drilling going from #1 main to the #1 cam housing bore. If you take a moment to check out Dart sbf's, the best ones have resolved this same issue. Now that you've got all this oil make'n it to the right side lifter/main oil galley...you might want to consider some restrictor pushrods...less your right valve cover becomes the oil pan...;-) I think a single stage external pump feeding an AN-90deg hose end theaded into the back of the right lifter/main oil galley is the "hot lick"...and you get to mess easily with pressure settings... I also believe getting oil to the rod brg is the #1 issue...not to mention the rod journal diameters...rod brg width, clearance, eccentricity, crush...crank oil passages...heat treat...brg coatings...possible main brg mods...crank material...yaada...yaada...yaada... Ohhh...I have a question for Rusty...Was Bob mess'n with "Distance Between Bore Centerlines"...one of my favorite topics... Keep up the good work Tim !!!

I built a 351C in the 80’s with mostly stock parts, roller cam and roller rockers. The motor in a Mach 1 with FMX it made 500+hp at crank in 86. Trouble was trans for us but 500 or so in a street car making 380 at the wheels, chassis was crap and flexible! Loved that motor!

There is a really good video, I will try and find it where the guy shows how the oil drain back in the heads is the actual cause of the issue. The heads need to have almost 2 quarts each before they start drawing back. This cause the sump in the oil pan to run dry unless your running and extra large pan. I never thought about it this way but after he put the valve comers in and starts filling them up, you can’t deny it, the drain back holes almost run up hill and they designed the heads like this to keep oil in the heads to keep the springs cool.

Cool vid here in Australia its a given to clean up oiling system on the 8s even more so on the 6 cylinder Ford engine's.wacthing ya show takes me back to the 80s believe me there was some tuff 351 prowling the streets mainly Clev'o.peace

Flex Hone makes 1/2 inch hones in a couple different grits. If you take one and weld on an extension made out of a tube. You can reach any where in the block. I've also heard the Cleveland called a "medium" block.

Donate that TRE intake to me! lol Great vid, Tim - keep 'em coming.

Set oil pump to 100 psi. Use external pressure relief valve at oil pressure guage port. Relieve oil pressure there and vent into lifter valley area or into oil pan.

Groove those cam bearings at position oil hole at 2 o'clock.

Ford side oiler blocks vented oil pressure at rear of block after all mains where oiled. The oil system was pressurized and then relieved at the last opening.

Thanks!

I built a Cleveland with solid roller cam and used the Moroso main restrictor kit, and a HVLP oil pump. It would hold oil pressure at an idle, but by 1500 RPM, it pumped all the oil out of the pan and I lost oil pressure. That is a HUGE leak. I mostly, but not completely solved the problem with a really dumb low tech trick my dad told me about from the old days, pipe cleaners in the pushrods. At the time, I thought I was pumping all the oil up into the rocker arm/head area and it was not draining back fast enough, which may be partially true. But now, watching this info, I think I was also losing oil right out the bottom of the lifter as well. I was not aware at that time, that the lifter gallery was getting oiled first. Regardless, I was never able to fully fix the problem and moved on to other engines.

Please do a good video about 351m/400. All the problems and what fits. I am having a 10:1 351m built with Autotec flat top zero deck pistons. Heads 2v open chamber have been worked over. Also a 4 barrel intake. I want to turbo it blow through setup eventually. Love your videos

I have owned a few Clevelands and being a NASCAR fan I learned why Ford stop using the Cleveland blocks and switched the Windsors with Cleveland heads. Dale earnhardt won a few races in Bud Moore's Fords but too many oiling failures sent Dale back to Chevy with Childress. Had Ford solved the problem before Earnhardt left he might have had six championships in NASCAR driving a Ford. Bob Glidden was the best with Clevelands in Drag racing but drag cars don't have to run 600 miles @ 7=8000 RPMS Jack Roush ran Clevelands in drag racing but he has perfected the Cleveland headed Windsors along with Robert Yates Cleveland heads to make that engine the dominant engine in NASCAR until the canted valve Chevy and Toyota engines copied the Fords to even the playing field.

Dr Tim is in da house, at Cleveland University !!

Hey Tim, Just found your channel and love it! I just bought a 351 cleveland with 4v closed chamber heads. Im gonna have it rebuilt and dump into my 67 Fairlane 2 door hardtop. Any suggestions on parts for the Cleveland would be great

Right on

I rebuilt a 1970 351 Cleveland closed chamber 4v head motor in the 80s. I installed new bearings, rings and cam, it was call a Fireball hyd lifter from Crane. I cleaned up the 11.1 stock forged pistons and ring groves. I installed a Melling hi volume oil pump (Big mistake) with stock 5 quart pan. I installed a electronic ignition and wires. I installed a set of hooker headers, and new exhaust system all the way back. I keep the stock intake and ran a Holley 650 carb with open element air cleaner. I broke it in very easy, keep the rpms below 4,000 in my 1970 Mustang. It was hard to do because it was a 4 speed car with 3.90 rear gears. Now that the engine was well broken in, about 1000 miles, I was off to the track, Fremont Drags in California. Well I didn't quite make it, I got into a race with a newer Z28 Camaro 80s on the freeway. I brought the rpms for the first time above 6000 and man that engine pulled really hard. I was about to hit 4th and I hurt a ticking sound Rods. I drove it back home easy and pulled valve covers off and saw gold flakes in oil. Next I dropped the oil pan. What I saw was flake's of bearing all inside of oil pan as well. I grab the connecting rods and they were all loose. I even saw slight impression of piston contacting the heads.The story is true, they run the best before they go, but that Z28 Camaro couldn't get around me until I shut her down. Years later I learn the oiling system on the 351 Cleveland motor needs to be modified. That was my experience on the 1970 351 Cleveland 4v motor, that engine didn't have much low end, but get in it around 3000. And it just pulled harder as rpms went up. My question is, if Ford knew about this problem why didn't they fix the oiling system? I'm sure I wasn't the only one with a sad story

I had some assistance from Earl Wade, Dyno Don Nicholson's engine guy when I built a Cleveland for my new 1971 Mustang back in the day. Not too many people had started using These yet and not too many parts were available. Earl had us block the oil passages with set screws with specific diameter holes drilled in them. He also had us do the external oil line. The engine used the first and second set of pistons that Venolia made. Crane cam with Jomar girdle on roller rockers. It had a gear drive instead of timing chain. Marv Ripes at A1 did the transmission and torque converter. It was a fun car to drive on the street with essentially open exhaust. Moroso came out with an oil restrictor kit a few years after we did ours, so it was a commonly known trick in the day. I was told the engine was originally designed for truck use co it Would pump a lot of oil to the top end which you may not want on a race engine.

Tim, I am not sure if you know Lenn Bertran or not. But he runs or used to run a Cleveland in a Maverick and would leave the line at about 9Grand!!! I think the quote was you could hear the Cleveland "Shreaking at 9600 as he left"! LOL He also run a AOD behind it! He has Lentec transmissions, their web site is still up. If you go in the web site and look at customer photos, there is still a photo of the Maverick coming out of the hole on the rear bumper! I still have my Cleveland 4 bolt main, it came from my Grand Sport Cobra Jet Torino. I have ran open chamber and closed chamber heads in a couple of configurations. The body is rusted out now, but I am keeping the power train back, may build it again. I have a NOS tunnel ram. Didn't Hank the Crank run a bulkhead fitting through the block or intake, and under the intake and drill into 3th main gallery and plumb in there? I know they did on the 385 series. Not trying to confuse anyone, but I seem to remember a old Hot Rod article showing that, also had the other hose going to the rear pressure port on top that you were mentioning. Great video, thanks for sharing.

I am so interested in your channel! My first car was a 1970 ford Torino Gt with a 351 4v stock 300 hp. At the age of 16 that car was fast ! The first time I rebuilt the engine my father said I should go back stock with a RV cam ! I am pretty much sure you know who won that battle! From there the engine went into a 1965 mustang Lol That was short lived ! The mustang belonged to a friend and the engine was mine ! Then I rebuilt the engine again only changing the crank bearings and the pistons! If I remember correctly, they were TRW 11- to 1 compression aluminum pistons ! I had a friend called Holley Walley build a 2 barrel adapter plate for the engine because it was going into a 68 Ford Galaxie 4 door for a Stock car on a 1/4 ovel mud track at Tripple M speed way! And it was 2 Barrel only ! The car was a beast ! Steering was at least 6 turns lock to lock ! But the engine was fast and it didn't care about the weight ! All I had to do was drive it witch was not easy Lol! That engine in pretty much stock form and that heavy ass car won the the points race for I believe 4 years ! After that the engine went into a 71 Mercury cougar ! But before it did it had some work done to it! It went to North State auto in Chico CA ! There it was balanced and blue printed , heads were ported to match stock 4v intake manifold, and a TQ 30 Sig Erson cam! I don't know for sure but I think it was degreed. I added Roads lifters and the rest was stock! The intake, The carburetor, and the exhaust ! This 3550 lbs car was the fastest car in town ! Anyway sorry about the book ! It just took me back to the days ! Hope to see more of your channel.!

I just delivered oil too the drill bit company that they use to drill out on those parts...🤠🤙

With the Tim Myers restictor kit all I need is his cam bearings and plug the 1/2 mane hole and drill out the other to 5/16? Thanks

Many years ago on my old hot rod which I spun it up to 8k . It was just a street motor really but I used a 2 quart filter I think. I blocked the by pass and always made sure I let the motor warm up , Seems like I read back then that the filter would flow more than two ph8a on a remote block . That was a very long time ago . No one makes a block with priority main bearing oiling . As long as you have no problems with bearing I guess its all good . Although I never had one I always though a dry sump has a lot of advantages

What a Great Video and valuable information,,,Thanks

Im rebuilding my Y Block. Drilled out a small squirt hole into the front journal for timing gear, plugged up the over flow rocker shafts . . . antways a bit far from a performanse clevland but in regards to oiling i too wonderd about those 90° bends in the oil ways. I remember using a diamond rope saw for cutting holes in tile, and wonderd if a lengthy lead teather attach to a diamond rope and follower teather was fished into the journals around the corners would that be effective enough to accomplish the rounding off, obviously in a shoe shine reciprocation around corners?

Good information. Hey, you can start "Uncle Tim's Garage" now. :). Just about every second Ford down here in Oz has a Cleveland. Going to put a "385" in our '69 Cougar project, hopefully. Love a Kasse Boss head conversion. Yeah I know, a Cleveland would be easier and cheaper, especially down here. But the sound of a BB Ford is just too sweet.

Great channel im actually building a cleveland and I was concerned about the oiling system. You said it would be a pain to polish the oil galleries. I came up with a idea how about extrude hone. Company in Huntley Illinois does this. Im going to find out if they can do it.

Not exactly sure if I want to subscribe yet. Ford considered the Cleveland and the modified to be in the small block category. Although they're labeled as series 335 etc. Deck height four spacing stroke and bore is general small block sizing. Even though Ford considered the Fe series a big block. It's still had small cubic inch just like the gm366 etc. This may be confusing for GM and other make guys but Ford motor company considered them a small block. Just like the 302 boss just because it's big heads doesn't mean it isn't a small block. During the trans am series they run this engine against other small blocks and it had to be classified as a small block with limited cubic inch. I think you have some very good ideas and a lot of topics you have are very interesting. However I would like to continue seeing your research it doesn't mean that I will always agree with you so I may subscribe in the near future. Thanks for all your hard work and your dedication.

I wonder what Titus did to their Cleveland blocks oiling system compared to the original design.

I know this older, but instead of a line from. Or in addition to, add a jumper between the left and right banks . By removing the plugs and adding -4 HARD LINES TO BALANCE OIL TO UPPER END

Hey DragBoss , well done - great video! Just got a 1968 Cougar with 351C. Don't think I'll be doing the oil bypass mod anytime soon. What oil weight should I use for street/drag for the time being? Finding a lot of conflicting info out there on this I live in Malta EU - very humid all year round which temp-wise means 40degree winters and 102 degree summers. Thanks :D !

To eliminate side confusion. I just say drivers side or passenger side. Saves a lot of headaches.

400 and 351M had basically the same oiling system. Pickups with the 400 and 100,000 miles would lose oil pressure at idle. Farm boys would come in asking me to replace the oil pump, because the oil light was flashing at hot idle in gear. I would pull the oil pump out and inspect it for scoring and clearances. Always very good condition. Pull a main and rod cap or two and they would be copper all around. I would then look at the timing chain which with that meage was worn. I would call with an estimate. To compensate for journal wear, I would put 0.001" undersize main and rod bearings in. Then while the pan was still off I would install a double roller timing set. The first few farm boys would be upset I had not replaced the oil pump. My response was to drive it for a week and if they were not happy, if they paid for a new pump I would install it for free. I had noone come back for a pump. Now cam bearings were probably getting worn also, but the only way to service them is to remove the engine and complete tear down. Once the crank clearances were tightened up, oil pressure to the cam bearings would be up also. This would give them about another 100,000 miles use.

Hey Tim, any precautions with the lack of the non bypass 51268 filter for normal street use, some colder starts etc ?

Over three-quarters of a second just putting a roller cam in there I'm wond ering did you have to go with extended valve stems and deepest Springs stiffer Springs?