hey is $350 a good price for a used 400 with heads and the only thing it need is a manifold which i already got. he said it consumed a little oil, i asked him if it had bad vbalve seals or if it needs a re ring. its out of a 70 something truck gmc.

 

If you looking for something you can just throw in your car, I'd say forget it. Your taking too much of a risk. Buying any motor and taking the word of the seller is foolish. The price is decent if you are looking for a rebuildable engine, provided you can get take the motor apart and check it out. 400's have area's that are crack prone. If it were me, I'd have the block magnafluxed and have an agreement with the seller that if it's cracked, you get your money back. I've done that with two 400 blocks and wouldn't have bought them if the seller didn't agree.

 

You are basically buying a core. $350 does seem a little high, although they aren't as common as your typical $50 350 cores. It really depends what you want to do with it.

 

hey if i could find a 350 core that cheap around here then i would just get one of those and forget the 400

 

Look around at junkyards and auto traders. Some machine shops keep used shortblocks around too.

 

done that already... cheapest i have found around here was like 150 bucks or more...

 

Regardless of whether you're taking a risk or not on the condition of the engine, a stock 400 with stock heads will be an absolute dog performance-wise.