george b
Well someone could write a book in order to answer your question. 351Cleveland or Windsor (refers to which factory it came from) Cleveland is thought of as the hotter version. 390 although available in some Mustangs was generally for dads station wagon. 460 same categorie as 390 usually found in Continentals. 428, especially 428CJ (Cobra Jet) somewhat potent big mill. 429 pretty rare made in very limited numbers for Boss429 racing program (I think). You can have alot of fun with a 289, it can be made to put out 300hp without too much work

doug b
360 390 427 428 are all fe blocks where the intake manifold makes up part of the top of the head for the valve cover to sit on.the bottom of the block also extends below the crankshaft centerline 351 modified was a destroked 400m 429 460 are same engine family (385 engine family) the 289 can have a lot of things done to it,we had one at 312 hp

Dumbass
The number refer to displacement in cubic inches, which you probably knew. The C,M,W, are Cleveland OH, Milwaukee WI, and Windsor Ontario factories respectively. I don't know if there was a deliberate performance difference between say, a 351c and 351w, but I believe the w's are preferred for that size. As far as the other sizes or FE someone else will have to weigh in.

Schnauzerface
A 351w is a small block on the same basic design as the 260, 289, 302 engines. The 351c is a small block of a different design and somewhat stronger built. With the right heads, this engine is damn fast. The 351m is a similar design to the 351c, except it has a taller deck height (allowing for the 400ci longer stroke) and uses the same bell housing pattern as the 429-460. The 390 and 428 started out as truck engines & share the same block design as the 352 and probably a few others. (probably the original ford big block) The 429-460 is an improved big block design & capable of some impressive horsepower. For performance, I would stay away from the 351-400m, and the 390.

edselmanll
FE stands for Ford Edsel. This engine was developed for the 1958 line-up, It came in 332 in Fords,352in T-birds, and 361 in Edsels in that year. Later in the 60's it became the 390, 410, 406, 427 and 428 Cobra Jet :) You can recognize them because of their narrow heads and extra large manifold the becomes part of the head It's a must if restoring a old Mustang! The 351M/400M were made at the Midland plant The 429 was made as a cobra jet 1971 and with special heads was the Boss 429 in the 69/70 Mustang All these engine except the Midlands were offered in the Mustang at some time I love these Edsel questions!

pygmybilly
First of all, it's good to hear a person acknowledge that Pontiac just had one size block. Don't it just piss you off to hear a "big block Pontiac"? Anyway most of the fellas that chimed in gave you decent info on the Ford engines. Ford had a unique way of designing different engines and giving them different designations depending on the design of the block. The edsel man is correct for the most part. The FE stuff he knows. And the easy way to spot that style engine as another pointed out is the fact that the intake manifold is part of the cylinder head. However, while the 351M/400 may have been made in Midland, that is not why the 351M has the M after the 351. The M in this case stands for Modified. The 400 cubic inch engine came out in either 1970 or 1971. The 351M was a truck engine that was used in either '76 or '77 thru '79 as the smaller engine replacing the 360. The 400 engine continued through '82 in the trucks. Anyway getting back to the modified part, Ford used the 400 block and used a different crankshaft and connecting rods to destroke the 400 to 351 cubes. Want to be even more thouroghly confused? The 351C, 351W, and 351M all had 4.00'' bore and 3.50'' stroke. The 352 (which is in the FE family) has a 4.00'' bore and a 3.50'' stroke. Yet none of the parts are interchangeable. But then again, the 350 Chevrolet, the 350 Oldsmobile, the 350 Buick and the 350 Pontiac all had different bores and strokes from each other. Same way with the 455'' motors from Buick, Olds, and Pontiac. Now let's get back to the Ford stuff. There were (of the modern day V8s) basically 4 "families" of engines (the term family is Ford speak). The small block which included the Windsor and Cleveland engines, the Lima engine (351M/400), the FE series (330 big truck engine, as well as the 352,360,390,406,410,427,and 428 cubes), and finally the "385" series which was the 429/460. As one person stated, forget the 351M/400. The 351M sucked. The 400 was a strong work horse. However, there are no speed parts available. So for the 3 remaining families, the Windsor and Cleveland share the same transmission bolt pattern. The FE is a seperate transmission bolt pattern and FE only. The 429/460 is yet a 3rd transmission bolt pattern. It does share the same bolt pattern as the 351M/400, but we have already eliminated that group. Here is what you have with a '67 Fairlane. The car was available with only the 289 and the 390 as a general rule. Some of the Ford guys will argue that bigger FE engines were available and that is true if you got into the options and paid BIG bucks for them. Since yours is set up with the 289, it also would have the C4 transmission. To use the transmission you have, your options are these: 260,289,302,5.0 litre,351W and 351C. The 5.0 litre is just the 302 engine stated in litres rather than cubic inches. The 260'' engine is the forunner to the 289. The 351C engines can be built for power, but are rare and hard to find nowadays. The 302 or the 5.0 liter (remember-same thing) was used from 1968 through 1993 so that is the most easily found of the small blocks. The 351W is a taller deck version of the 302, but is not as common. Some of the 302 and 351W parts will interchange, and some won't. Speed parts abound for the 302 (5.0 liter) and the 351W engines. Since you are new to Ford, get an engine book specifically designed for small block Fords. Magazines like Hot Rod, Car Craft, and Super Fords and Fast Mustangs are good sources for that kind of thing. Get a good, healthy small block with dual exhaust and you will love the sweet mellow tone of the exhaust note. Have fun with the old Fairlane!

kayef57
351C has a smaller block than 400, but has 400 heads on it. It is close to 400 but smaller. 351M is the same block, and heads as 400 but has different crankshaft and pistons for a shorter stroke. 351C ended in 1974, then in 1975 came the 351M. 460, 429 are the same except for the stroke. 429 ended in 74, in 1975 came strong emission standards.

69 Mach1
It would take a long time to answer this one properly.Let me just say a 351 Cleveland to Fords best all around preformance engine.It has big block torque with small block high rpms.