The BOSS 351 was a '71 model year only engine I believe. Not sure if they also sold them through Ford's parts counter. I'm sure there were at least some service replacement engines and parts built, but it was a fairly rare engine in a body style that still is not terribly popular. Some view these things as a performance bargain. Not sure I agree given the cost of modern parts vs. their performance potential. 30-40 years ago things were different.
A buddy of mine built one of these as a stroker for a guy 20 years ago. He said it made great power. I think it went out to 393 cubes. He put a roller cam and rockers in it too.
To identify it: block casting number would be D0E-L (same as a 351 C, BUT is machined for 4 bolt mains, and these do not have screw in core plugs like a BOSS302)). Head casting number is D1AE-GA Factory intake casting number is D1ZX-DA. These engines had unique rods, crank, pistons (domed), and balancer (2" thick vs. 1" for regular 351C).
As far as what its worth, well, its worth the most to a guy with a BOSS351 that needs an engine, particularly the guy that has the car it came out of (if that still even exists). To a regular performance guy its probably worth a little more than a typical 351C because you can say its a BOSS, but maybe not. At its core its a 4V 351C with some unique parts. They were solid lifter engines stock, but a modern hydraulic roller cam would run circles around that outdated setup. The value in these things seems to be mostly in the unique parts (intake distributor, carb, etc.). If that stuff isn't included or was replaced with generic performance parts I'd say its worth at most a couple grand. The thing a lot of folks don't understand is that rare and valuable are not synonymous. Its definitely rare, but the 351C market on its own is small (at least in the States, I hear the Ausies love the Clevelands). To me its about as interesting a shop conversation piece as the 390 I've had under a workbench since college, and you see how far I got on building that and dropping it in my '67.
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6sally6 wrote: