You people quit stalling and get to the point.   

YMMV is the right idea.  I can drive the 20 miles or so without a problem - on a 75 or 80 something day.  In summer here, the road surface will be 140~150 degrees with an air temp of high 90s.  It'll cross 180 on the trans in a short time.  180 is my personal cutoff.  On the dragster - for sure more power but less load - trans temp goes from 150 to 180 in 660'.  The fight this weekend - temps in the 90s - was trying to get the lawn dart's trans temp back to 150 before the next round.  High speed blower pointing right at the trans case took 20 minutes.

Decking the Block is one way

Only way I know.  Or a custom piston pin height.  Decking way cheaper even counting all the gaskets and such.  On my 351Cs I hold pistons at .000 or .005 below the deck and control the quench distance with the gasket.  The dragster motor is .005 with  .036 Cometic MLS. 

Converter is the big thing - my 302 Falcon only makes maybe 300 HP.  9.5:1, small hydro cam, now with a couple of 600s on a tunnel ram.  C4 with 4.56 gear.  Hooser drag radials, bald now LOL, 275-60x15.  The converter is a custom build, flashes about 4000.  Car goes 1.78 60', 8.1x @ 82 in decent weather.  That's mid 12s at over 100.  Weighs 3250 lbs.  With a 3000 street converter it might go 8.40s or so.  I drive it on the street, just have to watch the trans temp with that big converter.  Not really what you might be after, just an example.  Having a converter built for a specific purpose is not cheap but it blows the off-the-shelf units into the ditch. 

You should go with the head mfg's recommendation for torque values and lube, or use ARPs notes.  Not sure about an FE, but for sure the AFD heads on my 351C required thread seal on the intake rocker studs because the holes penetrated the intake port.

Seems to me that the FE has real issues with intake sealing - not that other Ford motors don't LOL.  But the FE head/intake seal area being under the valve cover makes it more critical.  It'd look at the plugs to see if it was just a couple of cylinders causing the trouble, that would point to either an intake port or possibly a problem with the intake valve seal on that cylinder.

When I used a curve, my idea was to run as much initial as the motor could stand - as much as 18 in some cases - then limit total to a reasonable figure.  Usually on my SBFs, 351Cs somewhere 34~38.  It takes work but it's worth it.  Or take the 21st century way out - lock the timing at full advance and use a programmable ignition to insert a start retard of 10~20 degrees.

Very nice car - thanks for sharing that.  Glad you were finally able to find what you needed. 

X2 - that C6 will fit a 351M, 400, 385 Series (429-460).  Not FE. 

Standard stuff.  Might be of interest to someone restoring a car with a 1970 351C in it.  There's a D0AE-L intake listed on eBay at $125, re-listed, no takers.  $125~150 would probably get you a good used Torker, Weiand single plane, Ed dual plane, etc.  All better than an iron stocker.