There's been a lot of talk lately about a brand-new Edelbrock cylinder head for the Ford 351 Cleveland engine. The rumors are true, and recently a preproduction prototype of this head was made available exclusively to Mustang & Fords at Edelbrock corporate headquarters in Torrance, California. Let us give you the first ever look at their new 351 Cleveland cylinder head (PN 61629). This is the first cylinder head that Edelbrock has made for the Ford 335-Series Cleveland V-8, which was produced from 1970 until 1974. The Cleveland shared no interchangeable parts with the Ford 351 Windsor V-8, which was introduced in 1969. The Cleveland found its way into many Mustangs, as well as other Ford vehicles during that four-year period. The Ford Cleveland V-8 featured a distinctive splayed or canted valve arrangement, which provided better engine breathing characteristics when compared to a conventional in-line valve configuration. Ford offered both 2V and 4V heads for the 351C; the smaller 2V heads worked well for street applications. The larger 4V Cleveland cylinder heads had cavernous intake ports that flowed big time at the upper rpm ranges, but left the engine stumbling around town. what has been needed is a single cylinder head that offers the best characteristics from both of the original Ford versions.
Edelbrock has decades of experience designing aluminum cylinder heads, and they offer perhaps the widest variety available in the aftermarket. Edelbrock Design Engineer Ulises Gonzales headed up research and development for the new Cleveland cylinder head project. As well as being head honcho for the Cleveland project, he was our host as we traveled straight into the heart of the Edelbrock design facility. The new Cleveland cylinder head is intended to offer the best of both worlds-excellent performance in both street and racing applications. All design parameters are carefully balanced in the new head, and the intake port size lies between the factory 2V and 4V heads. According to Ulises, the new 351C heads have a flow potential well beyond the Victor Jr. cylinder heads made for the 351W.
Let's look at some of the steps involved in the creation of a new cylinder head at Edelbrock. we'll see the CFM figures resulting from extensive flow bench testing and also examine some power production numbers made during cylinder head testing using a 377ci Cleveland test mule on a Super Flow engine dyno.
The goal to create a 450-plus-horsepower package for the Cleveland Ford has clearly succeeded, and this figure will no doubt be surpassed as larger power-making components are added to the equation. The Edelbrock aluminum cylinder head for the Ford 351 Cleveland engine should be available at a competitive retail price (to be announced) by the time you read this.