351W, is this a good deal?

[ShAkE N BaKe!!]

just seen an ad of a guy selling a complete 351w that came out of a 1985 bronco. Hes asking $400obo. im going to call him tomorrow because its a little late to call him right now. but, do you guys know if this year was fuel injected or carb. and do you guys have any tips on checking it out and what type of questions i should ask?
-thanks!

 

[D.Hearne]

Probably a carbed 351W. Might be the HO version with a Holley 4 bbl. Look at the oil on the dipstick. Check for oil in the radiator tank. Get him to start it up if that's possible. Look for replaced gaskets (head gaskets, waterpump and timing cover) Look at the engine bolt heads and see if they've been disturbed. If it's out of the vehicle, take a 1/2" drive breaker bar, short extension and a 15/16" socket and see if you can rotate the crank by the balancer bolt. If it won't budge, remove the spark plugs then try again. If it still won't move, walk away or offer him $20 for the whole thing.

 

[brianj5600]

It sounds a little expensive to me. The block crank and ros are about all that is usable for a performance build. The heads are the same heads as the 302 and not something I would start with.

 

[chromedog]

my 351 is an 85 police pkg, 2 bbl vv carb. true, the heads arent anything special, but it was a strong motor before it was opened up, swapped a 2 bbl autolite onto it. i had it in an 87 ranger ext cab... big fun!