Has anyone ever built one of these.?
they sound like the S*** but i would imagine it would be hard to find the right 400 chevy block.
I was thinking of this combo when my 305 dies.
I hear it makes upper rpm power much easier than a 383 because of the shorter stroke.

justa casual question. - not going to rush out and buy parts or anything.

James

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88 T/A 305 TPI--
K&N,Air foil,hypertech chip, thermostat+fanswitch
no MAF screens, no cat, dynomax exh, urethane motor+trans mounts,
SSM frame con, Bilsteins
homemade ramair.

 

Smaller stroke helps it to rev higer and faster then a 383. (this idea was what made the 327 so potent) This at the loss of torque.

 

I thought it was just a 383 without the overbore

 

A 377 is a 400 block using a 350 crank with special bearing spacers since the 350 crank has smaller mains than a 400 crank. The big bore/short stroke builds high HP but is down on torque. Think of it as a large version of the old 302.

I know of a T-Altered with a 377 engine in it. He uses a 750 holley and runs 9's with it.

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Stephen's racing page

87 IROC-Z Pro ET Bracket Race Car
383 stroker (carbed) with double hump cast iron heads and pump gas
454 Big Block buildup now in progress for the 2001 racing season

Best results before the 383 blew up
Best ET on a time slip: 11.857 altitude corrected to 11.163
Best MPH on a time slip: 117.87 altitude corrected to 126.10
Best 60 foot: 1.662

Racing at 3500 feet elevation but most race days it's over 5000 feet density altitude!
Member of the Calgary Drag Racing Association

87 IROC bracket car
91 454SS daily driver
95 Homebuilt Harley

 

I've ran a 400 block/350 crank combination since the early '80's. Rather than compare it to a 383, I prefer to think of it as a 350 bored out a LOT! You don't lose any torque when you compare it to a 350. The benefits of a 377 over a 383 are numerous--you can get a steel 350 crank; wind them to a gazilliion rpms; use normal balancers and flywheels (instead of externally balanced); no clearance problems from rod bolts hitting cylinder walls or cam lobes; 5.7" rods are a bolt-in with stock pistons. Yes, I kinda like them and I think it's a better combo for traditional drag racing (carbs, gears, rpms etc).

 

the rpm factor was the main reason I asked and I also am relived to hear that there is no torque loss from a 350.

how hard is it to find a good 400 block for this buildup.?

with any luck my 305 will take a S*** and ill have to build one.

I also like this combo because there are so many ricers out there with v6's that can hit 7000 rpm and I always love to hear what they have to say when you tell them -- if your motor could safely do 7000 -- we'd all be running 11s with 350's.

any others with this setup please speak up Id love to hear benefits/downsides.

james

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88 T/A 305 TPI--
K&N,Air foil,hypertech chip, thermostat+fanswitch
no MAF screens, no cat, dynomax exh, urethane motor+trans mounts,
SSM frame con, Bilsteins
homemade ramair.

 

My next engine is probably going to be a 377 with my vortec heads. I figure if I were to go that far, I may as well build it with 6" rods to keep the rod/stroke ratio as high as possible. I'm sure with an LT4 cam or ZZ9 it would have a nice wide flat torque band.

The only downfall I see is that there were no 400 blocks set up for a 1 piece rear seal. No biggie but I prefer it to the older style. An aftermarket 1 piece pan gasket is made now to make that easier.