So, is there anyone here that can convince me to stick with the LT1 or just go with the 400 idea?

 

just think about how much money you've spent on the LT1 and how much more you will spend on a 400.....

 

I already sold the LT4 stuff, so I am not out any real money.

 

Sounds like you've made up your mind to me. You going with a carbed 400?

 

Nope, probably a TPI setup with an LT1 intake on it.

 

You have got to be one of the most undecided people around.

 

Well, I know what I want, and it aint' gonna happen anytime soon, so I'll just play around a bit and change some things.

My setup that I want is:
LT5
IRS
6 speed
GS 17x11 & 17x9.5 wheels
Targa Top
Notchback hatch
Twin Turbo
6 or 8 point cage
Ram Air hood
Custom tail lights
non-pop-up head lights
98+ front lower bumper section
Digital Guage cluster
and that should be it.

 

If you just got a vette you'd have a good start. j/k

Ben

 

Hmmmmm ... well what's wrong with it????

The way I see it is that if you sell it, you'll loose money on it anyway and spend so much more on Building a 400 sbc.

If you where to put all that extra cash towards the LT1 it would be a whole lot faster...gotta pay to play

Why not build a 383 LT1 or even a 396 ?

what's the deal about a 400 sbc anyway ???

 

the 400 will give you a **** load of torque

 

Well, a 400 is bigger than a 350 and 383.
It has a nice sound to it, example:
Random Person: "So, what you got in there, a 350?"
Me: "Nope. It's a 400"
RP: "Wow. A 400. That's gotta be fast since it's so big."
Me: "Ya, I can hold my own. Wanna run for a G?"
RP: "Naw, I got an LT1 and it's only a 350."

At this point in time, I have no idea what I am going to do.
All I know is next week I'll have a 6 speed tranny conversion kit sitting in my garage and an LT1 with no heads and intake.

 

I agree, if you bought a Vette, you would be years closer than you are now. But, you have to take what you can get. Personally, I would get a 400, and make some derivitive of that. If I ever got my hands on a 400, I would have a 377, 4.11, LT-1 intake, 6spd. Anything to make a high winding screamer. I don't drive ehat I have now very much. Like 1200 miles in the last 2 years. So, the engine longevity would seem a lot longer.

 

Hope you get a 400 in there for nats, i'll run you, I got an LT1 " its only a 350"

 

If I am there, you are on.
You are going to give me the jump, right?

 

Joshua Johnston,
If you are so into RPMS, Perhaps you can destroke your 350 to a 302 and make a real screamer out of it, (just kidding)! But it seems kind of crazy though huh.
I am sorry but in all seriousness, I will just never see the point of taking a 400 and taking away cubes, but I would stroke my 400 further to add some more!

 

I would stick with the LT1 setup or stroke it to a 383. You will have more tunability with the SFI system than TPI. Otherwise you can always come to the dark side and go LS1

 

if you really want to make a stroker motor, why go with a 383 when you can stroke a 400 to be around 427ci? the 400 will have so much more torque. theres no replacement for displacement

 

I am still pretty much undecided at this moment.
I just want to drive my car, don't really care what motor is in it, as long as I can drive it.

 

hah 400 block...im leaning towards that myself.

 

85TPI400,
I understand what you are saying. I would not want to have a 302 over a 350. A 377 can make about as much power as a 383 with similar parts. Car Craft, or Hot Rod did this a while ago. The 383 is by nature, a torque engine. The dynamics of it make it that way. The 377 is considered a high RPM horsepower engine, although, it can still make moderate torque at low speed. I know you could build a 400, and a 377 to run at the same RPM, and make the same power. But I guess I would just rather have a 377.

 

if you're starting from scratch, i don't think there's any better choice for a daily-driven street car than a 400.

you can pick up a fully balanced and blueprinted 400 short block from a quality engine rebuilder for less than 900 bucks with 4 bolt mains, arp rod bolts, hypereutectic pistons and a guarantee.

even if you already have a 350 in the car, the cost of rebuilding vs. swapping to a 400 has to at least make you stop and think.

add a set of vortec heads (scroggins dickey has them with the upgraded springs and modified seats for cams over .500 lift for less than 700.00 a set)

finish with a good hydraulic cam and you have a long block capable of WELL over 400 hp and 400 ft. lb. of torque for significantly less than it would take to get comparable hp/torque numbers out of a 350 or 383.

additionally, it'll make that power at under 6,000 rpm, giving you an engine good for many, many daily-driven miles.

get dish pistons and shave the heads a touch and make all that power while using 87 octane gas (dish/shave vs. flat top/not shave gives better flame propogation).

the challenge with a 400 is actually to CUT off-idle grunt. there's so much torque below 3,000 rpm that hooking up is a problem. you'll have to run big tube headers, a cam with more duration than you'd use with a 350 and a single plane intake.

i have a 305 tbi in my firebird. i'm going to play around and see what i can get out of the 305 with tuning and bolt ons, but i hope to swap to a 400 at some point. the question is whether i can get enough air and fuel through the tbi to support the cubic inches and horsepower. i'm beginning to suspect i can.

 

why don't you want to complete your LT1 project? too many headaches? and why did you sell all of the LT4 components?

 

Well, I am probably going to keep the LT1 since I have it.
I sold/traded the LT4 parts for two reasons. One being that I needed to get some cash to fix my brothers car, the other reason was that I needed to get a tranny.
The guy I traded with is giving me everything to swap a 6 speed car to a manual and the 4L60E he has only has 42K miles on it with a shift kit and torque converter. Oh, he is also giving me $800 in cash.
When my brothers car comes out of the shop, I am taking the T56 setup out of his car and putting in the Auto. Then I am going to put the T56 setup into my car.

Are you confused yet?

 

I think I understand, I had to read your reply a couple of times to figure it out, lol. Projects always take longer than you think, and always cost more money than you think they will. Just stick with your plan, it should be worth it when it is all finished. I am sitting on an LT1 installation for over 2 months now--I don't have a garage and am waiting for the snow to disappear so I can get something done.

 

if youd make a damn plan and stick to it...instead of buying all kinds of stupid wheels and body mods and trying to pick a billion different hoods and spoilers, and rattle can paint jobs...you'd be alot closer to your dream ideas wouldnt you? quit wasting your money on stupid crap,set a goal,and go for it.

if all you want is a damn running engine..and you dont care like you claim...just go to the junkyard...and find a running 305 or a 307 or something. stick it in there...drive it..save money..and buy all the parts you need for the dream idea..its not hard,just takes some dedication man.

 

I was actually considering getting a running 305TPI motor and just dropping it in.
I've got the 4L60E in the garage and now I have to try and convince my brother to yank out the T56 when the car comes back from the shop and put the 4L60E into his 96 T/A so I can get the 6 speed.

 

Come on man .. straight up head to head .. since its only a LT1

 

Hey man, I plan on helping my cousin put a LT1 in his thirgen camaro this summer. I was curious how fast you run with your setup. Do you have the specs on that cam? How streetable is it? Also can you run pump gas with that compression with alum heads or not? We have not totally decided on the cam yet, but he seems to be leaning toward the lt4 hotcam. He has a 93 t56 and 373s so I think he could handle some cam and that is why I was wondering what the specs on that were exactly.

Thanks

Ben

 

Nice job restoring that Z28!

BILL

 

No times yet.
Was suppose to take the car to the track this Friday, but with 21 inches of snow and now rain for the end of the week, thats not going to happen.


cam specs
230 / 244, .514 / .544 112 LSA, with 1.52 rockers

The cc306 is very streetable with some PCM tunning and a vacum canister for the brakes

The car runs fine on pump gas, yet its still cold out, not sure about summer heat yet. But must remember the stock LT1 CR is 10.4 (reverse cooling helps alot)

The LT4 hot cam is a good deal if you buy it in kit form.

 

Where can I find a deal like that? Is there someplace online that offers them for that cheap? I've looked, but can't find anyplace online that sells a cheap 400 short block.

 

Man oh man, Zeph I am going to kick your butt when I see you tomorrow!

 

Eh, I'm keeping the LT1. This is an old thread.

 

what about the lt4 stuff?

 

I had to sell those to get some cash to pay the deductable on my brothers car after I crashed it. I was able to get a tranny, LT1 heads and intake though, so I am good to go for a bit.
LT4 would have been nice, but that will come again in the future.

 

So does anybody know where to get a deal on a 400 short block?

 

where can you buy a 400 short block that is fully assembled and will fit into a 1985 chaevy camaro z28 IROC Z

 

Here is a few that I found on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33613

Another one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33613

One more:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33615

Dart 400 Block:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33613

well here you have it, All it takes now is a little bit of money to make it happen.

BTW: I bought my 400 virgin block for $50.00 locally, pressure tested and sonic check good: Bored .040

 

i didnt read most of the thread, but let me know who makes a flywheel for a lt1 t56 that mates up with a externally balenced 2 piece rear main seal 400 crank