i have a few questions about a 400.

from what i hear 400s are good blocks if are kept cool.

if i drill steam holes in the heads will it ruin the heads(i have 041 heads)?

i have the stock raiator and fan from an lg4. its keeping the 283 at 180(themostat temp) not moving on a hot day. with a 400 will it keep it cool enough?

the engine will be swapped out from a 283 making around 300hp and i will probably put in a bigger cam. it wont be raced or abused and probably not taken much over 5000 rpms. i'm not going to be driving it hard exept to occationaly pin some freinds to the seat and stuff like that. thx

 

there's allot of different opinions on the cooling topic but i'll tell you my experience.i originally had a v8 rad. and a single fan. it would creep up allot in the summer, wouldn't stay cool at all at a stoplight.i've got a griffin 19x31 radiator, dual fans, and a hivolume waterpump, it stays at 180* all the time.the other setup will get you by. there are allot of people here with different experiences tho

 

how long have you had the 400? how do you like it? i'm just trying to figure out if i realy want to get a 400. i hear from people who have or have had then that they are good blocks. i might have access to a 400 soon. a guy i know might buy a 67 nova with a 400sb and put an 1100hp crate hemi in it. i might be able to buy the whole engine from him for cheap.

what pistons do the 400 have in them stock. i want to get about 10.5:1 with 64cc heads milled .035

 

I have one too! from what I know they are great blocks but, people will go to no end to tell you that it is junk! every one that tells you this is full of it! they "new some one who...." , "heard" the list goes on and on every one that I know who has one swears by them and never have any problems you don't have with any sbc.

I know mine was 8.5:1 and so are many others if not all?? not too sure but, mine is a '72 511 block which is a 4 bolt but, is said to be the weaker one. it is recomended you use 5.7 rods

you can use 350 heads just need to drill the steam holes in them it is a lot easier if the head is off an eng. that was run so you can still see the rings for your combustion chamber gaskets! use the old head gasket lay it over the 350 head and line up all the holes real well, mark each hole with a marker remove the gasket. then look real carfully making sure you don't touch any of those ring marks when you drill the holes.

 

..
They just require a little more preparation. Get a block and good set of heads and go from there. 500hp blindfolded.

 

Anyone know where a standard bore 2-bolt block is?

 

huh? the standard bore 400 is 4.125.


not sure if they all are or not but, the 817 and and some 509 blocks

is this what you want to know?

 

how much hp could i easily get with 041 heads? they made about 350hp on the 69 z28s(underrated at 290) with a solid 224/234 duration and about .480 lift i think cam. i would put in what ever cam i would need for power from 2000-6000, a good carb and intake, and headers. i would get it at about 10-10.5:1 comp.

 

88 formula, I'm just looking for a block that has not been bored yet as I don't feel comfortable boring a 400 more than .030 over.

 

ok well, I see them on e-bay all the time, usually you can get them for 400.00 or less but, you need to pick them up. the ones that will ship for you usually ask way too much and shipping is a lot to spend on top of what they are asking

 

I have got a set of 041's. I am very happy with them. They are a good head. You can soend too much money on them if they have to be rebuilt though. I had hardened exhaust seats, screw in studs and guideplates installed along with new valveguides. It was very pricey. I could of got Vortecs cheaper. I am impressed w/ them but I havent tested them too much.