I have seen many discussions and theroys on 377ci vs 400ci vs 434ci small block lately, they all end up in agruments. So I thought I should ask everyone to post their mods and times on any sized motor based on a 400 sbc block.

I know you are all proud of your motors, and Im just getting ready to start my build up and want to see comparisons of street driven cars(3rd gens). Carbed or FI, I would like to hear from all of you on your experiences.

 

I stick with the tired and true.... 3.75"

Shorter stroke makes no sense- I'll take all the cubes I can lay my hands on.

Longer makes no sense since I can't afford it.

 

I'm with Damon on this one. I built a 406.

 

I've buitl them all except for the 3.25" stroke; but I have a set of old Arias pistons laying around somewhere for that combo. I think I even have a large-journal 327 crank, if I haven't sold it; but it's just some stockish POS, not really the right thing. Someday, if I happen across the rest of the right stuff, I might. But it won't be to make max power: it'll be if I ever have to run a 350 inch limit.

In the meantime, the 400 will win the HP/$$$$ battle; the 434 will make the most power, and be the most trouble and cost the most. I wouldn't build a 377 for a street motor out of a 400 block.

There's no one right answer.

 

My father built a 352 using a 3.25" crank and 6.125" rods, 12.5:1 Dart Iron eagles, JE pistons and Mechanical roller 255@.050 and .575 lift. Hes back in Michgan and has it running only on a stand for now untill hehas it installed(probably me) in his 86 Z28

If I hadent sold my AFRs I would have liked him to take them and put them on that motor..... Should have never sold em, hind sight is 20/20...

Hes replacing a 355 with 12.7:1 pink rod motor with ported sportsman II heads with a HUGE(imho) mechanical roller 264/272 @.050 and .624/.667 lift! He just puts around town in it.

He is almost 60 now and doesnt get out of the house more than 2 or 3 times a month because of some illnesses he has, hes driven his 355 maybe 3,000 miles and never to the track but still loves to chit chat about cars. He sometimes sits and talks to my wife about cams and what duration/lift he thinks would be best for random motors. My wife has no clue and just nods, LOL

Anyways...Im pretty sure I want to build a 400 with the 400 std bore 2 bolt main block he gave me for Christmas!!!! I have been reading till my eyes bleed all over the internet, and searching it seems like forever for maybe that one last tip that would make me 100% sure

 

it all depends on what your building... if your N/A i say go for cubes... if your NOT going to spin it high go for cubes... but if you want RPM's destroke it... also i have kinda come to the conclusion that a 350 doesn't rev much higher than a 400, and therefore i am leaning towards a shorter stroke motor for my plans.. the 377 is a great motor, but a 400/383 can rev to almost as high (safely anyways) also you have forgotten the 327 combo.... 400 block (4.165 bore) 3.00 stroke (302/283 crank) according to my calculations its 326.8 cubes... i am taking that combo into consideration aswell as the 352, but the 327 is hard to find the right parts and therefor expensive, but have you ever heard a chevy at 8000 - 9000 RPMs??? it sends chills down my spine

 

I'll stick with what I've got. When I'm done experimenting with this motor I will get another 400sb and bore it .060 over and go from there...

 

Have any timeslips?? Cam, compression, heads?

Everyone says going .060 over on a 400 is bad news, unless you get an aftermarket block.

 

I'm upto my elbows in a 3.25" stroke project that was driven by this article.

http://www.airflowresearch.com/artic...le03/A3-P1.htm

I'm looking for horsepower through efficiency. I have had several 406 build-ups and I certainly wouldn't hope to match race one of them against this one for pure power. Just hoping to attain different goals from the 3.25" stroke motor. The machine work, as well as advice is being given by a machine shop/speed shop that caters to circle trackers. This is a common combination for them.

Your right though, want to start an argument....you got a great topic to start with.

 

Here is a pic of his 352,(not prettied up) on the stand he built to break it in without being in the car.

 

I found a great site from one of the guys on here

http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c4/ski..._mods_page.htm

This looks simple, no super stroker, just 5.7 rods. the 2 big expences are the mechanical roller and the afr heads. I have had both before and have no trouble spending the money on a mechanical roller/AFR combo again, finding the money again is the harder part, lol

I borrowed one of his pics for an avatar, and it also makes a GREAT wallpaper for your comp!

 

Bet that cart really hauls, but where do you sit?

 

Soon to have a 406 - does that count?

 

you get dragged behind the cart

 

i just used a stock 400 short block... rebuilt, stock bore, found it on a stand in a bunch of stuff my dad bought...

it ran fine for 5 months, never really pushed it past 5500 rpm, didnt drive it too hard, but it developed a knock couple days ago...

out it comes BUT this summer it gets some nice internals and maybe some turbos or something...

 

Where do you get a 400 from?

 

Mines just a typical 406/4.155" bore X 3.75" stroke. But I'ld like to try a 400 with a 327 crank and some 6.00" rods in front of a super t-10 4-speed. Might be kind of cool.

 

standard stroke. now i'm depressed that mine doesn't run low elevens. AFR here i come. I love the 227's.

 

It's really better to bore it out .060 at the beginning instead of boring .030 over and then reboring another .030 thats all. The walls get too thin. No timeslips yet, I am still building the car and putting in a posi rear with 3.73 gears. Right now I'm still working on the motor. Switching from the modified tpi setup to holley stealth ram after Christmas. I have an Elgin cam. Should be able to get to the track around summer time. Its a daily driver which doesnt get driven much. Its insured for only 4k miles a year. The motor was built for 450hp.

 

60 over is 60 over. It doesn't matter if you bore it once or three times. It is still a measurement of the overall bore. You don't take .030 out, you take the bore out to 4.155. Besides that, I've never heard of a 400 block that would even go 60 over. The walls are thin as it is. I doubt any good machine shop would even bore it 60 over. If they will, make sure they sonic check the walls first.

What are you going to gain by going 60 over as opposed to 30? 6hp? Is that worth it? If you go 60 over, you will not be able to bore it again if it blows up. With 30, you can go another 10 safely if you need to at a later date.

 

id keep a close eye in junkyards, thats what im doing right now. Or you can overpay for one from a private seller.

junkyard cost (if the employees arent a-holes) $75-$200

private seller cost $400-$800

 

I doubt afr will sell you the 227's for a 406 without a HUGE cam and MAJOR compression. I've dealt with them on my 406 and they will more than likely recommend the 210's. The 227's are too big and will kill torque. I went with the 195's because if I ever mess up the 406 these heads will work on a 350 or 383 pretty well.

 

Correct.
I haven't got one from a yard yet (but i haven't really been looking for one there eather). I bought one of my 400 SBCs from a machine shop for $150 and the other from a stock car racer for $200, both complete. Some act like 400s are gold and price them accordingly, but they're pretty easy to find if you take the time to ask around. Most machine shops and stock car guys have a bunch of thease motors lying around so they're not looking to screw you over for one, and they know that the only parts that are of use are the block and crank. I've seen complete running (but very RUSTY) suburbans with 400s in them for between 400-600 too.

 

Never heard of a 400 even going .060 over?? What planet do you live on? A good machine can certainly bore a 400 .060 over. And it does matter if you bore it once or twice. Replying to stupid responses is a waste of my time. You do what you want with your 400. I know what I can do with mine. Capeesh?

 

those are some nice prices, ive always figured buying a cheap 400 suburban a good way to get one but never a machine shop. Do you just call and ask if they have any laying around?

 

It would be better if you went to the machine shop in person, the owners going to give you a real good deal if he truly thinks that your looking to get one built or machined by him. If you went to the the machine shop just looking to buy a used engine he most likely won't give you a deal on it because he'll want to make a little cash on it, but if you go to the shop and ask if he's got a 400 that he can sell you, clean up, mag. it, bore it +.030, and cut the crank down .010/.010 plus you buy some parts for it off him like rings and bearings. The engine price that he charges you will be the least of his worrys because he'll be makeing cash of you on the other things. Plus even if he dosen't have one in house he'll know someone that dose and he'll be sure to get it if he knows that your truly looking to spend cash on some machine work.
EDIT: If your looking for a running motor then yes, your best bet will be to buy a rusted out pick up, car, or otherwise with a 400 in it.

 

My SBC 409

Engine: 400 SBC ID# 330817/14y139664/ T0508CSU
(4.125 bore X 3.750 stroke) after .040 bore (4.165 bore x 3.75 stroke =408)
Deck Plate Bored, Mains Align Honed, Block Deck .000, Deck Plug Holes & Tap w/3/16 Holes, Starter Bolt Drilled, Front Three Gallery Plugs Tap for 1/4 Pipe Plugs.

Crank: Scat 9000 Crank 3.750 6.00, Internally Balance, Part# 400-3750-6000

Bearing: Clevite– MS1038P Mains and CB663P Rods

Piston: Wiseco Pistons, .040 over, 5.4cc; 430 grams, Part# PT020H4

Rods: Eagle ESP 4340 H-Rods 6.0, Part# CRS6000B3D

Block: Zero Deck: 0.000

Compression Ratio: Static-10:44 Dynamic-8:27

Cam: Grind: Solid Lunati/ (Recommended by Harold Brookshire)
280/284F10 .525/.530 Lift, 247/251@.050, 159/162 at .200, .560/.565 valve lift(1.6), Pro-Street power with an extra 5* at .200"
2500-7000 RPM, Advance Cam 4* Degrees as Per Harold, .026" Valve Lash Hot, Adjustment Range: .018" to .030" Hot.

Heads: AFR 195 Part# 1035 w/23º valve angle, 74cc, drilled steam holes
Springs for Solid Cam- 130-135 Seat and 325-330 Open 280/284F10

Head Gasket: Fel-Pro-1014 / .039 in. compressed thickness, 4.200 in. bore, 9.0 cc compressed volume

Intake: Edelbrock RPM #7101

Carb: Holley 750

Rear End Gear: 3:73

Transmission: Pro-Built Street/Strip 700R4

Stall Converter: A.C.T. 3000 Stall

Exhaust: Hooker Super Comp headers 1 5/8 Headers part # 2460-1 ceramic coated;
Hooker Super Competition high flow cat-back exhaust system, Intermediate pipe: 3 in.
* Tail pipe diameter: 2 1/2 in.
* Dual tail pipes out the rear under the bumper

 

Damn, someone has an attitude problem. I was just suggesting that 60 over on a 400 is too much. Maybe you can explain to me how boring a block twice takes more material out than boring to the same spec in one shot.

 

.060 over isn't always too much, but about 50% of the time, when you sonic check a 400, it shows too little cylinder wall thickness, but it's a hit or miss thing. You won't ever know how much core shift YOUR block had during production, so the only way to find out it to check. And no, it doesn't matter whether or not it is bored once, twice, or three times. S10 Man is correct on that.

 

Do you have any track times?

 

My car is a convertible so I cannot run it at the local track unless I have a roll cage, so no times yet.