I just stripped a 400 small block to put in this winter. I am trying to decide on some parts for it. I'm ditching the TBI and going with carb (thinking Holley). The stock crank is staying, as is the bore and stroke. I still need advice on a cam, pistons, intake, and heads. Anyone have any ideas or any proven combos please feel free to give your opinion. Thank you.

I'd go with some kind of Comp XE cam. Really depends on your budget.

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budget is not a problem and neither is emissions

If you would like a proven combo, my friend runs 13 flat on radials with this setup in a 3800 pound 1/4 ton 66 chevy truck:

Small Block 400
Trick Flow 23* Heads, go AFR 190cc Heads if you can afford them
Cam- Comp Cams XE294 (if running AFR190's, either run a Magnum 286H or a Magnum 292H. AFR heads flow a lot on the exhaust side so it helps to have a single pattern cam.)
10.5:1 compression
Run forged pistons, your stock crank is all you need as long as you keep the RPMs relatively low.

Anyways my friend is running the Trick Flows and the XE294. That truck is a blast to ride in. Too much torque if there is a such thing, but its definately a fun motor. Good luck.

If this is a daily driver, I'm sure the 294xe is way to big for the street, I could be wrong though , but you'd probably need like a vacuum reserve bottle.

yes indeed both cams i mentioned are at the verge of unstreetable and he would need a vacuum reserve bottle.

I would go with the Weiand Stealth Intake part number Holley part #PN300-70 idle to 7,400 rpm powerband and the holley carb well for the obvious there are plenty of parts for them and the bolt up nicely

All depends on what you're looking for in the end.

For a STRONG street / strip motor, I'd go the following route...


Heads - Pro Action iron 200cc runner / 64/72cc chambers

Intake-

The 400 has more than enough low end torque just from it's cubic inch advantage, so if it were me, I'd go with a single plane intake.

Cam -

If you're using the stock 400 5.565" "short" rods, you shouldn't have a problem going with a retrofit roller camshaft...if you're staying flat tappet, go w/ something like the XE28x series... while this is a wild cam in a street-driven 350, the extra cubes in the 400 will make this cam seem much tamer in the bigger cube engine.

Hard Parts :

There are several good online vendors for pistons, bearings etc, I'd go with a "master" rebuild kit, just because it's going to include everything you'll need...

Try www.enginekits.com ( Powerhouse, I've had very good luck with them )

PAW that advertises in the mags does pretty good as well. Also try Larry's Performance, Dirt Track Thunder, all are reputable vendors with good parts / tech and prices.

Parts list - Sue me if I missed a few things -----

- Rings ( moly rings are worth the extra $$$, IF you let the machine shop know you're running them so they can finish the cylinders accordingly

- Pistons - Forged are most everybody's choice, but unless I'm going to spray the heck out of it, or maybe another power-adder, I'd go hyperutectic. K&B, Keith Black, etc all carry these and make a good product.

BE CAREFUL - Get the specs on the pistons from the piston manufacturer....let them know what cc head you're using, and make sure you know what head gasket they are using for that compression ratio ( compressed thickness ), also ask what deck measurement they are using. And then you'll need to measure the deck of your 400 ( how far the pistons are "below" the top of the block ) ..."zero" deck is when the top of the block is milled until the piston is even with the deck..thus zero deck.

If using the stock rods, it's worth the time and $$$ to have ARP rod bolts added ( if using a roller cam, the 4.3 Chevy V-6 ARP bolts will gain you some clearance for the bigger cam ) also, have the rods checked at least to see if they need resized after the new rod bolts are installed.

Oil pump - I'm not a fan of high pressure etc...I normally just use a plain old Melling SBC pump with a bolt on pickup adapter.

- Rod and Main Bearings - Any good name brand, hell Federal Mogul makes most of 'em anyway from what I can gather.

- Brass freeze plugs-
-Cam bearings-
-Gasket set-- alot like Fel Pro, personally I like ROL or Detroit Gasket, but I wouldn't get another if a kit came w/ Fel Pro

- Pushrods -
- Rocker Arms -
- Cam and lifters - If running a roller cam, you're going to need retrofit roller lifters... they have a small metal bar that keep each pair of lifters together. This keeps the lifters from coming out of the bores in the block. Factory roller cam motors have a "spider" or a alum plate w/ "fingers" that keeps the factory roller lifters from lifting out.

Carburetor -

About 45 percent will scream HOLLEY or DEMON...another 45 percent will scream EDELBROCK ....( actually just a reboxed Carter AFB, but who's counting )..I'm one of the 10 percent...

IF you're not going to run EFI for whatever reason, then use a QuadraJet on it!!! The big cube 400's LOVE a nicely built Q-Jet.

Build it yourself, buy Doug Roe's Q-Jet book and have fun, or buy a good older core, and ship it off to the Carb Shop in Oklahoma )( another in CA too ) and they will build the carb from the ground up for YOUR engine ( you give them the specs ) and it will run you about $230 w/ shipping.

Side by side, the Q-Jet will have better throttle response and get better gas mileage than a comparable Holley or Edelbrock.

IF you don't want to mess with the carb much, then bolting on a 750cfm Edelbrock out of the box might be your best bet.

If you like getting gas everywhere, changing power valves, changing the jets everytime the temp changes 20 degrees, etc etc.... go with a Holley....


With these heads, a cam along the lines of the XE28x , a good intake, @ 9.0:1 compression ratio, good headers and exhaust, you've got a combo that's EASILY capable of 400-425 HP, if not more, but MORE importantly is the torque output...this will be a torque monster...an easy 440-470 ft/lbs...

Then it will be time for rear suspension mods so you can hook, then probably soon after, transmission rebuilding time


HTH