Just wondering if anyone had a 400 sb chev in there Camaro or Firebird. There was a cheap core in town that i was thinking about buying and putting into a cheap v6 fbody? Just wondering what you think of them or if there's any head-up advice on this block??

 

Get it.

 

400 SBC is the only SBC engine IMO i would put a dime into, they are a WICKED engine and make insane power and tons of torque.

 

What hp/torque did 400's have from the factory. If it is out of a 76 Biscaynne/Impalla?

 

no bone stock engine made after 72' to about 85 will really have any power out of the factory (outside of the SD-455, and 6.6 400 firebird engines) 76' was one of the not so hot years, i would say around 200 or so but just head, cam swap and there is a night and day diffrence.

 

I had a 355 in my bird before the 408. The 355 ran 8.66 in the 1/8th. This was after 2 years of tweaking on it at the drag strip.
The 408 ran 8.61 the first time at the strip, Without so much as adjusting the timing, after break in. The best it ran was 8.21.

If you build one use 350 5.7 rods. My 355 reved a lot quicker then the 408, the 408 used stock 5.56 rods. This is a mistake i WILL correct in my next 400 build up.

Later
John

 

It doesn't matter what it came in. It doesn't matter what the factory specs are. You aren't going to use it like it comes (I hope). It is a total POS in stock trim. It's a 2-barrel; the heads suck; the cam sucks; the pistons suck. Get it anyway. All you care about is the block. Throw all that other stuff in the trash, put a set of Al heads at about 58cc on it with some D-cup pistons, and a cam that is about 2 steps too big for a 350, and go humiliate some Mustangs. Oh - and please don't put a TPI on it, it will make the same 230 HP that both the 305 and the 350 did, it will just occur at an even lower RPM. It needs an induction system that actually flows.

I had a set of 186 "douible-hump" heads on mine, a Comp XR282HR roller cam, and some other goodies. It was alot of fun. I intend to put it back in the car someday real soon.

 

Well i went and bought it. I had them start it to make sure no fluids came spewing out. everything seemed ok no funky smells in the exhaust like coolant or anything. I checked the #s on the block and went into GM and it checked out. I hate getting screwed. Everything looked good now i have to figure out how im going to get it back to my house.??? Situations like this i wish i still had my lil S10. I paid 475 for it and i get everything except the carb and distributor. I grabbed to flywheel in the deal too cause i believe they are different from other sbc flywheels. Is there anything else i should grab or try to swindle?? I only gave a retainer sort of thing until i actually pick the motor up. And no i won't be running as is obviously. I needs more compresion. It has to have atleast 9-9.5 comp.ratio. I was thinking just some nice fel-pro hypernsomethinerather pistons. I can't really think of what else to do with it at the momement, If you can it would be a help as i have other stuff to do with it before i think performance.

 

RB, didn't I read that you had a five speed with that combo?

 

Ok here's what im looking for. I want about 9.5:1+compression. I don't think i'd supercharge or subject it to NOS so im just going to use hypereutectic pistons(Fed-mogul). Going to try and get some 5.7connecting rods(nothing fancy maybe Lunati).All ARP bolts of course. I was wondering though if i could use my L98 head on the block or not. If not i think id use the pre-assembled Sportsman IIs 67cc with a port and polish. As for the cam and valve train i'm clued out. I really don't know what type of cam this block uses. I highly doubt it's a hydraulic-roller. So until i figure that out im lost in the dark. As for induction i would like to use a Mini-Ram setup. It's my understanding the stocker tpi setup would choke it to death. I've also heard things about the LT1 manifold which is kinda intriguing. Oh well if some can fill in some of the blanks here it would be a help or maybe just some friendly critsism. l8r

 

It's only January, so you still have time to think out your options and what you want to accomplish. I see you have two choices depending on how many $$$ you want to spend. Either a high rpm, high horsepower engine you will race, or a lower rpm, high torque engine for street fun. Just decide where you want to draw the line on $$$. The high RPM engine will require a better intake, more cam, better heads while the big torque type can use closer to a stock intake, less cam, and cheaper heads. Do put the 5.7 rods in for sure and headers help even the lower rpm engine. I thought about my engine specs for almost 6 months and used a Desktop Dyno to run many, many options. The differences between cams, 1.6 rockers, and header sizes are surprisingly small. I just weighed the cost against the power and threw in the driveability factor. I chose the low rpm, high torque engine. I went to my engine builder, and we were very close on specs. The only question was on the cam and we were only 6 degrees of duration apart on our thoughts. I am very satifisied with the result for the $$$ I spent. I also tried to leave room for upgrades, mainly a better intake, in the future to increase performance with doing a teardown.

 

DUDE !!!!!!! A 383 !!!! BEST of both worlds !!!!!!!!

 

My best suggestion is to let me take it off your hands since i live so close to you.

 

i have one i bought from my friends dad and it was already punched out 30 to make it a 406 then i put in a comp cam 280H and a performer RPM intake eld 750 and headers and its a blast iam ordering the heads when taxes get back (sportsman 2) and when i go to put the heads on i will change my rods to the 5.7 also i cant wait it is a bit slow reving but the tq is unbeliveable i hope you like to buy tires







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