"Blown" Ford 351

Thanks for the helpful rep[lies. I'll do some investigation into a swap with the seller. It's been a while but ya never know. So far I have it built up to the intake manifold. Some day...........

      I've made it this far. I'm waiting on the new new starter to arrive before I put the starboard riser on. I had to tear the exhaust hose to pieces to remove it. Anyone have a part number for that? I made notes and took pictures of all the wiring harness connections but lost the pictures. I've also forgotten how the plate that holds the starter solenoid is bolted to the engine. That was in my pictures as well . Anyone with a shot of the rear of my particular engine? 1978 351W

     I'm ready to start the motor but I;m not sure about the new starter wiring. It's different from the old one. I also bought a new battery cable. Does the loose red wire from the cable need to be attached to the free blade there on the starter? I put a battery in and just tried to bump it and all I got was a click. Like a low battery click, which may be the case. Thanks

Nicely done, happy to hear it's on the water and running well! I know you lost your old pics, but how about some on-the-water pictures of the boat running.

No Grand Poobah Keno, I'm a hairdresser by trade. This was a long walk in a dark forrest dotted with a bunch of bright spots. Not sure if the above link works but that was today running at 4000RPM. I did it right in the end. It's just as amazing as I thought it could be. The sound is great. The boat is my dreamboat. Always lusted after full inboards. Most of the time I'll be puttin around slowly pretending I'm Katheryn Hepburn on Golden Pond.

good lord that's a birthday greeting. Sorry about that. I'll try again. Jeez.

Is that Joe Maddon?

Re think the chair height bro. This aint some POS Four Winns. This is a high performance tournament ski boat and one sits IN it while driving. Two hard burns down the lake and youll be convinced. Besides, you look cooler slouching down in the seat.

Sounds like a broken crank snout. Very sorry.
Make sure the harmonic balancer did not come apart and you do actually have the full harmonic balancer removed.   You might still be OK and maybe the bolts just came out of your pulleys?

If the snout (or some call it the nose) is broken, then it's time for a new crank.

Could I use a 302 block? Wick lines went away in 1980? What did I do to cause that snout to break?

https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2009/07/five-ways-to-break-the-nose-of-a-crankshaft/

I found this interesting somehow

After getting over the horror of having to pull the engine out again,, I got things into perspective and have begun all over again. I thought there are probably hundreds of people in San Quentin who would love to have this "problem" and that set me straight. HA! But probably true. This time is already easier. I took the entire engine harness off in one piece keeping the coil and alternator and distributor connected so I won'tbe fumbling around with the wires later. I'm not removing the heads either. Gonna take the whole thing out in one piece sans the transmission. Not building the scaffolding either, which was a drag to build and use. Buying a 1000 lb hoist pulley from Harbor Freight and using the old oak tree in the front yard, redneck style. No HOA's in Clearlake! HA! I'm eager to get the pan dropped and see what the F%$# happened. I hope I can "read" the situation there. Question, could I have re bolted the flywheel in the wrong way, as in, the flywheel is orientated to it's bolt pattern in relation to the dampener in order to balance the flywheel? Also, would the extra weight of the .30 over pistons be able to generate enough force to bend the original crank which had normal size pistons originally? Budget dictates I try and fix this boat and not purchase a new short block at this time. Also thought of unloading the boat and buying something else but I've invested so much time. I build the seats and replaced the wood the fuel tank sits on, replaced all the muffler hoses, and a lot of other small things and I love the boat so.......I'll try again, signed, The Black Knight

The crankshafts are cast iron, my guess would be you installed a cracked crankshaft and it broke.
If a crankshaft falls over and hits the ground hard it can crack it.
If the previous life in an automotive application happened to have a bad balancer it may have cracked for that reason. You always test a crank before sending it out to be ground or installed in an engine.
Simple test before using a crankshaft. Set it standing up on a hard surface.
Tap it with a ball pen hammer. Not on any of the polished bearing surfaces but pretty much anywhere else. A good crankshaft will ring like a bell when tapped with the hammer.
A bad or cracked crankshaft will just make a thud when you hit it.
Sorry for your trouble with this engine but you have learned a lot along the path.