Im planning to rebuild my newly acquired chevy 400 ci v8 (2.02 intake valves) (1971) and get it down in another third gen camaro . Now I know the flywheel is not the same one that those on 350's . My question is : Besides the flywheel , is there any engine parts that wont fit a 400 ?

Thanks

-Golden Warrior

 

starter just did this swap everything else is a direct bolt on

 

Harmonic damper has to be a weighted 400 piece.

 

Externally, all SBC engines are the same from the tiny 262 to the 400. The 400 has an externally balanced crankshaft so it needs a special flexplate/flywheel and balancer. Other than that, any other SBC parts will bolt right on.

Gen 1 SBC parts that is.

The 400 never came with 2.02 valves. It was never produced as a performance engine. They all had poor casting, smogger heads.

A basic 400 is just a base to build a performance engine. Change heads, intake, camshaft and it doesn't take much to start building some power.

 

Thanks man , I thought they were 2.02's ... maybe I should re-mesure them . Nice car by the way .

 

That still doesn't mean it doesn't have 2.02's. A previous owner could have easily had bigger valves installed or replaced the heads. The difference between 1.94 and 2.02 isn't very much.

What's the casting number on the heads. When installing a different set of heads on a 400 block, the steam holes should be drilled out in the head.

 

Fixed.

 

I dunno 'bout the heads but the block has a 509 casting ...

 

509 casting is the most popular 400 casting. It should be a 2 bolt block which is better. Get some main studs and it will be more than strong enough.

 

Why 2 bolts main would be better for a sbc 400 ?

 

The 400 blocks didn't have the main webbing cast as beefy as the 4.0" bore blocks (350, 327, 302) did, so being drilled for the outter bolts actually weakens the casting more than it helps anything else. Splayed 4-bolt caps wouldn't be a bad idea though, but not needed unless you are making a rediculous amount of power (600 or better).