I'm looking for my best engine to drop into my 86 Z. I will plan on building it myself. I am just looking for some opinions on why one engine is better than another. I must also state that i do not have an endless budget, so it must be a cost-conscience choice.

I would say a 400, but since money is a problem, a 350 is the best way to go.

depends on how fast you wanna go. a 350 is good for 12's N/A. i would go with a 350 only because they have an amazing aftermarket and many possibilities such as boring over to a 355 etc....

aftermarket?? anything that fits a 350 will fit any SBC...

I gotta go with the 400, more cubes = more power.

More Cubes= more tourque..... and plus 400 is probly the worst goddamn block chevy made....... 350 is good but common...... my favorite motors are the 327 and chevy 302 they both have a 4" bore like the 350 which is neccessary...id still do it .030 over tho........... they are more "rev happy" and squeeze out jsut as much power......... they are good b/c of their high rpm capability.... id do up one of them with a solid roller cam and have my power band shoot all the way to 7000..... and id be out.... that's the way to go baby

377....if you are looking for some serious horsepower
why is it better than a? 350..more cubes,larger bore
383..more hp capability,better rod ratio
400..that long stroke isnt as rpm capable

That is one HELL of a false statement.
I've seen several 400 blocks, running strong.

A 327 or 302 will NEVER make the same HP as a 350 or 400 SBC. Just because it can rev high doesn't mean it will make the same numbers. Just like everyone always says about ditch the 305 and get a 350, the same principle applies here.

I would have said the same, but 400s are a bit harder to find, and may cost more, he's on a budget.

I did'nt say 400's werent strong I just said that they were not as rpm capable...the fastest car I've ever rode in was a S10 with a 406 it was scary fast. But if you ask any engine builder what they would to prefer to build as a HP motor (377 or 400) most would say 377. 400's are badass motors but the rod angle and stroke doesn't compare to the 377 in the upper rpm range. But if you are not looking to rev it that high... sur its a great motor

well that is tottally innaccurate , remember something... he is on a budget.... and with the hps hes looking to make.... which i suspect is no more than 400...... he can easily do it on the 327 or 302..... plus they would hold up better than a larger cube engine with a large stroke...... he dont wanna **** with it after it's done..... he wants it done and done with all at once..... id say go with the smaller stroke and bigger bore...... more reliable.... higher reving.... just as much power..... and not the same goddamn thing everyone and their mother has

A 327 is a high revving motor, not exactly ideal for a street machine.


Get a 350 or 400 if you can afford it. 400 hands down, no replacement for displacement.

A 400 should have no problem revving to 6k rpms, which I don't consider to be exactly low revving.

heh if u wanna talk displacement go with a 468.... kick *** motor

but saying that you have a destroked 400 would be so much cooler

the 350 is the budget build but, the 400 is the best sb and no they are not weak just operator error thats all. as a note the original 383s were 400 crank rods in a .030 350 so any one who thinks a 383 is stronger should think again.

1st choice = 350
2nd choice = 400
3rd choice = Don't like any other sbc

The only reason a 350 would be my first choice is because of the easy and cheap parts. A 400 will need some high flowing expensive heads.

My vote is the 383, only because of cost to build. If I had a 400 block, or knew where I could get one. I'd have voted for the long rod 400. Aftermarket parts for the 383s are every where, and almost as cheap as 350 parts. After going to our local track a few times this year, and seeing whats running good. Either large cu, in. sbs or bbs. Just bought a 383 crank last night. If it's a street car, a built 350 is all a fellow needs. Even then traction IS a problem.

383 will either require extra machining of the rods or a small base circle cam, I speak from experience.... if U R going to build the motor yourself I would go with the smaller base circle cam over the rod machining.... last think U wanna do is slice yer cam in half the first time U go to crank it over.

amen brotha!!!!!! i'm witness to everything you said!!!!

the only way you could get away without a small base circle cam is expensive stroker rods...... like eagles.......

and you can make a 485hp 327, if ya gots the money!!!!

damn i wished i'd stayed 350!!!!

Good point!

I would go with what you can afford. But a 400 stroked wither way would be a kickin motor. The 350 and 327 are both bad *** as well. 302's rae nice, but I would rather stay with the 327.

1. 400
2. 383
3. 350
4. if you could find one, 327
But that is just me, I only have a 305 right now!!!

The best engine is and all aluminum ZL1, GM is actually making these fuel injected MPFI big blocks again, i saw it in Hot Rod. Probably a little out of your price range though.

I miss my 79 camaro with my 1970 350 . Not the same without neck pain. Should have never sold my little freak.Took up so much room had to remove most of the fire wall. [hot but miss it]

My opinion for a budget buildup... 383... why? Typically a brand New Cast rotating assembly for a 350 is just as much as a brand new 383 rotating assembly. With the right rods and a little die-grinding you dont need a small base circle cam. summit sells a kit for real cheap, some kits even come with the cam. and a 383 Sbc with decent heads (even iron 194's) maybe a little porting can flow enough to get that low-end people enjoy on the street. you dont have to spin to 6K you know, a moderate powerband (1500-5500) with a decent stall (2000-2400) and a decent rear gear (3.42-3.73) will give you all the fun you can handle on the street, and on a budget with fuel economy to boot.
'nuff said.

Right-on King.

I would Vote 383 over 400 because, In My opinion the ability to use Roller Cam profiles is worth more than 17 Cubic Inches.

Sure, You could conver the 400 over to a roller Valvetrain and Cam, But thats alot of added expense, and you said you were on a budget.

Forget the 302 and 327. Novel ideas and good for nostalgia or limited displacement racing ( wich the 302 was designed for ) but No particular advantages overthe 350+ crowd.

you guys need to look at the classifieds more often, I have a 400 short block with everything except the cam for sale on there right now. I am not asking any more for it than if you were to do the machine work and buy everything seperatly. check it out if you really want cubes.

IMO the 327 was one of the best engines ever built. You can get the same power as a 350 and they tend to get better gas millage as well.
But if you can find a 78 trans am with the 400 in it and the car is all junked out you can probably buy it for 500-750. There is one in town with a running 400 but the car is junk for 650. I am going to try and get it asap.
Brian

My sentiments exactly.........A 377 makes some serious HP, and after all, HP is mearly torque at a high RPM.

Probably a 400 PONTIAC, lots bigger than a sbc. Where you going to find a set of headers for it? And at 180 or 200 hp, if it's stock. Pontiac heads are a lot harder to find too. Thought about taking the ram air lll out of my 77 T/A, for the GTA when I put it together, couldn't find any headers for it.

Please change your avatar, that is grossing me out.:lala:

I just have it on there to try and slow down all the of the post whores
It is amazing how many people do not enjoy my new avatar

talk about gettin riped a new @sshole lmao.....

im surprised noone has mentiond that the 400 block has no cooling passages between the 2 center cylinders on both sides.....yea on a daily driver this probly wouldnt matter, but ona race motor where heat and wear & tear will basically melt the center pistons....my vote goes goes for a 400 on a daily driver...but for a race motor id be looking for the cooling aspect

it's funny how many of you guys talk about the 302 and 327 being such great engines, better preformance, higher spinning, better milage and you aren't old enough to remember them, drove them, or worked on them. at best you've saw a few and have hands on knowledge of less than that.

Hands down a 383. They're the best of both worlds.

You get great stroke, common size bore, and can use any aftermarket heads for a 350.

Because of all that, THEY'RE CHEAP!!!!! IMO, it doesn't matter what your budget is, cheap power is GOOD POWER!!!!!!

AJ

Before my grandpa died he had 3 327's and that is all that we really messed with besides his 390 in his 63 ford pickup. So I have a little more experience with them even though I am only 24.

Brian

I piss on all your engines. :lala:

I'm stuck here, i would like something that would go together with out any machine work, but would do so if necessary. Thats about the only thing leading me away from a 383. How hard is it to build a 383? This is the first engine i am going to build, but i will have guidence from a very experianced mechanic. What do you have to machine to make a 383? I like the idea of a 302 or 327 and being able to turn good power from a smaller bore, but isnt that going to come at a cost? Are 302's and 327's that hard to find?

Obviously none of you guys have seen a built 377 because it would put all those other motors to shame if built correctly, and its REALLy cheap to build, since all you need are custom pistons, and everything is stock parts. A destroked 400 would make an *** load of torque and gobs of high winding horsepower, who could ask for a better combo? Thats what going into my firebird once the next student loan check comes in

I think a 350, 377, 383, or 400 are all good choices. Just go with the one you can get the block/and or pistons for the cheapest.

That's the best statement I've heard. I mean, all those motors are proven powerhouses.

i thought the 377 was the same thing as a 383 with the standard bore of a 350...

350 block with the 400 crank.. but didnt get the over bore of a 383

Omg lets do this:
Ready? Im not but here goes:
262 = 3.671" x 3.10" (Gen. I, 5.7" rod)
265 = 3.750" x 3.00" ('55-'57 Gen.I, 5.7" rod)
265 = 3.750" x 3.00" ('94-'96 Gen.II, 4.3 liter V-8 "L99", 5.94" rod)
267 = 3.500" x 3.48" (Gen.I, 5.7" rod)
283 = 3.875" x 3.00" (Gen.I, 5.7" rod)
293 = 3.780" x 3.27" ('99-later, Gen.III, "LR4" 4.8 Liter Vortec, 6.278" rod)
302 = 4.000" x 3.00" (Gen.I, 5.7" rod)
305 = 3.740" x 3.48" (Gen.I, 5.7" rod)
307 = 3.875" x 3.25" (Gen.I, 5.7" rod)
325 = 3.780" x 3.62" ('99-later, Gen.III, "LM7" 5.3 Liter Vortec, 6.098" rod)
327 = 4.000" x 3.25" (Gen.I, 5.7" rod)
346 = 3.900" x 3.62" ('97-later, Gen.III, "LS1", 6.098" rod)
350 = 4.000" x 3.48" (Gen.I, 5.7" rod)
350 = 4.000" x 3.48" ('96-'01, Gen. I, Vortec, 5.7" rod)
350 = 3.900" x 3.66" ('89-'95, "LT5", in "ZR1" Corvette 32-valve DOHC, 5.74" rod)
364 = 4.000" x 3.62" ('99-later, Gen.III, "LQ4" 6.0 Liter Vortec, 6.098" rod)
383 = 4.000" x 3.80" ('00, "HT 383", Gen.I truck crate motor) (5.7" rod)
400 = 4.125" x 3.75" (Gen.I, 5.565" rod)

Two common, non-factory smallblock combinations:

377 = 4.155" x 3.48" (5.7" or 6.00" rod)
400 block and a 350 crank with "spacer" main bearings
383 = 4.030" x 3.76" (5.565" or 5.7" or 6.0" rod)
350 block and a 400 crank, main bearing crank journals
cut to 350 size


So As you can see, The 377 is a larger bore but smaller stroke than the 383. In Simple crude terms, bigger stroke = more torque earlier, but remember, bigger stroke = more moving mass = takes more effort at high rpms to keep it spinning. A 377 is a BIG bore with a Standard 3.48" 350 engine stroke, so all we are BASICALLY doing is taking a 350 and BORING it over to 377. This means we have the lighter 350 crank, with a huge bore to slam it at high rpms, giving up alot of low-rpm momentum for high rpm spinning power. Thats crude, but basically thats how it works.

If if this is the first motor that you have ever built I'd stick witha 350 or 327. There both really easy to build and do not require any trick machine work for clearance. The 383 usually requires stuff like special rod and block clearancing and the 377 will need special main bearing spacers so that the 350 crank will work. If you obtain a 4" bore block you can build several different combos like the 302, 327, and the 350, you will just need the right rotat. assembly. Besides 400 blocks are getting real hard to find. oh yea, I know that the 327 and 302 engines are GREAT engines even though I wasnt alive in 67, all you have to do is to read up on some SBC history

all you have to do is ride in a stroked rustang...

331 ford isn't no more than a .030 302 with a 3.25 stroke, same bore stroke as a .030 chevy 327

302 ford, chevy made em too..........



dude you just don't know what your getting into when stroking a motor....... theres so much grinding and clearence checking it isn't funny........... below i have included a pic of the places that has to be grinded for a 383......

also i wanted to tell everyone somthing that i found interesting..... when fooling around with dd2000 the 383 i'm putting together put out the same hp and tq as the 355 did.........
now i don't know how accurate dd2000 is, but it must be close for everyone to use it.......

Just an FYI.

There are two 377's. One is the one mentioned above. A 400 with a 350 crank.

The other is a 350 block with a 400 crank but the 350 is not bored .030" over.

So to save face, just make sure you clarify which one you're talking about if you say "377".

AJ

A friend of mine has a really bada$$ small block in his Malibu. It is a 400 block and crank, bored .030, and the crank has been offset ground to work with small journal rods (327 rods if I remember correctly). The outcome is a 417 small block. It makes a lot of low end torque but also pulls well on the top end. With out of the box non-CNC'd Brodix Track 1s, 10.5:1 CR, a 246*/258* .595"/.595" roller cam - stock base circle, a 750 Holley 4150 carb, Victor Jr, 1 3/4 long tubes, a POS stall that wouldn't flash past 2500rpm, and a 3.42 gear, his all steel and full interiored Malibu turned 11.90 @ 117mph with a 1.98 60' ......

I find the answer depends on your needs..
and the combo.. any engine can performe well..
but to answer.. the 350 (chevy)is the cheapest to
rebuild.. and delivers great power.

i voted for 350 because i have one..

many possibilites for them also..

what machine work would be required to make a 377 with a 350 crank and a 400 block?