Hi Shawn, you’ve been given some good information so far, and I’d like to throw in my 2 cents.

First off I would strongly suggest you not get wrapped up around a Horsepower number like so many people do especially on a street engine. Horsepower is merely a number derived from the amount of torque an engine makes at a given rpm number and taken out of context is pretty much worthless and good for nothing more than bragging rights (hell most people guess ....optimistically...or lie about it anyway).

Personally I would concentrate on making the most torque in a useable RPM range and let the HP numbers worry about themselves. A good place to start is by looking at various engine builds that have actual dyno charts and comparing the changes that are made by different component combinations.

You also really need to consider HOW the engine is going to be used the majority of the time. Is this going to be a toy or are you looking at depending on it for daily transportation, or occasional long trips. If it’s going to be driven a lot, you probably want to take a long look at what compression ratio you want based on fuel that you have available and if you want (or can afford) an engine that has to be run on premium, mid grade or regular gas (just a hint, you can get by with a bit more compression using aluminum heads).

That being said, for a 351W with mostly stock internals you’re not really going to want to spin it much higher than about 6000 RPM max. After that point you are looking at a lot of upgrades ($$) to make it have a long life. It kind of goes back to looking at the Dyno chart thing an engine that makes 450 horse power at 7000 RPM doesn’t do you much good if it blows apart at 6500 RPM on the third run. For street/highway driving the RPM range you’re probably realistically wanting to operate at will be between 2200-3000 RPM.

Also something to keep in mind is how much work the engine is going to have to do and that is going to be dependent in large part on what vehicle you are going to be putting it in. I know at this point you haven’t really made that decision, but it should be kept in the back of your mind while your selecting parts. You mention 60’s-70s Fords, so here are some generalities that may help. The full size Fords of that era (Galaxies) are heavy usually very close to 4000 pounds and it takes a lot of torque to get them moving. The midsize cars (Fairlanes, Granadas etc) are a bit lighter usually in the 3200-3600 pound range. Mustangs can be all over the board depending on what year you’re looking at, Maverics and certain Mustangs you’re looking at 3000-3300 pounds. The sub-compacts like Mustang IIs, and Pintos can be put on a diet and gotten down to 2800-3000 pounds. Basically a 351 I would build for a Pinto would be a lot different than one I would build for a Galaxie.

I know that I’m saying seems to be all over the place, but they are all factors that need to be looked at in unison when picking out a combination for your motor. They can be all boiled down to a few questions however to narrow the parameters of the build.

Size (weight) of the vehicle it’s going in.

Is it a toy or daily transportation.

How important is fuel mileage and cost?

How it will be driven (street/highway/strip) if highway what is the max speed....if strip use how quick are you wanting to go.

Transmission type (manual or automatic, overdrive or not).

How much are you looking at spending.....an actual $ amount.

Tire size and gearing will also factor in at a certain point (as will convertor stall if an automatic) but that usually is looked at after useage, engine parameters and vehicle type are set.