Yes, that's exactly what I expected - 4bbl manifold and carb, and 2V heads. Sounds strange, but if you were to compare 335 Series 2V heads with Windsor heads you'd see that the Windsor's ports were much smaller. So the 351C and 351M had plenty of high RPM potential as well as low-end grunt. But in the case of the M the cam was retarded and the compression was low. Apparently that wasn't the case for your 351C.
As for the tranny, the T5 would be a nice addition. I don't know what options you had for transmissions, but since the Cleveland engines had the small-block bolt pattern they had a wide range of options here. However, the bench seat does present some problems, and that is a neat solution.
Gary, AKA "Gary fellow":
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Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI