heres what I have planned for my 400 so far. I want an all forged botom end. Any substituitions or suggestions on other parts are appreciated. This will be a street motor(around 10:1 compression) and possibly the occasional use of nitrous.

crank- callies forged

rods- eagle h-beams (better brands that are affordable/comparable?)

pistons- srp-139625 pistons (9.8 compression w/64 cc heads)

heads- 215cc Dart Iron Eagle Heads 64cc

cam- 284/296 (duration) 240/246 (@.50) .541/.544 (lift) (specs right for a 400? should i go solid/hydraulic/roller?)

headers- hedman elite

intake- edelbrock rpm, weiand stealth

carb- holley street avenger 770 cfm


anything you would add or change? am i on the right track?

 

I think that cam may be a bit too big, but I don't know carbs at all, so maybe someone else would know a bit better than I.

 

yeah...at first i thought the cam might be too large as well but i keep hearing the "big in a 350 is going to be mild in a 400 arguement" thats why i mad this post though for so expert advice.

 

I know someone on here used a cam that everyone said was insanely small for a 406ci, and he ended up dynoing even better than he had hoped for..

 

Well If your goin to spend alot of bucks on some of those parts, I'd go with the Aluminum version of those heads, a Comp Cams Xstream Hydraulic Roller cam ( Less maintenance), go with at least a set of Hooker long tubes (1-3/4) , And opt for a Victor Jr.
and a BG 750 Demon carb. With 400 cubes the manifold will work just fine. Also beware the Smog ****'s

 

bah..no smog ****'s here..already have the headers so ima have to make due with those..at least for a while. Id like to spends the big bucks in the bottom end and try to do the best bang for the buck up town. I know ...the heads is where you make the power...but i like the price on these iron eagles and ive heard good things.

Bg carb is a lil more pricey and probably could do just as well with the street avenger.

Thanks for the opinions guys..keep it coming.

 

I have to say i pretty much agree. A cam like that should work pretty good. I also think the intake is a little lacking, but i still wouldn't step upto a single plane. I'd get the RPM airgap, its the best of both worlds and will make just as much power as a Victor Jr. to 6-6500 rpm.

Go with a comp XR282HR or XR288HR hydraulic roller cams and airgap, you will have one sweet 400.

 

I was thinking airgap. but wasnt sure how tall it is. will it fit under the stock hood?

 

Why the SA, or any VS-type carb?

 

Street car, daily driven, auto tranny? why not, have a better reccomendation?

 

Because you'll be so much happier with a double pumper. Especially if you ever take the car to the track.

 

What some of my options for DP in the same price range?


... there for a minute i thought you were going to tell me to just rebuild the Q-jet(i know how ya love them). LOL

 

"Love" is probably a little strong. But, I'd do the q-jet before I'd spend any money on any demand-based secondary operation carb, which is the message I'm typically trying to convey.

A HLY-0-4779C 4150 model 750 DP from Summit is around $400. Add a HLY-45-224 electric choke for $42 for ease of street operation. That's about $45 total more than the SA you're talking about. The DP benefits are worth well over that.

 

Awesome. I appreciate the help, anything else in the setup that hasnt been addressed?

 

Ignition. When going from CC LG4 to non-feedback Holley, you need a vacuum/mechanical advance distributor.

What are you doing for the tranny?

I've been a Weiand fan for years, but I'm leaning more and more toward the Air Gap style dual planes Edelbrock offers should I go for an upgrade.

(As for the q-jet, I posted a "what if" thread on the carb board about the CC system handling the 396 I now have in the '57 - to be considered after the Camaro no longer needs periodic emissions inspections. The consensus was it would work fine. However, you can see from the sig what's in the works now.)

 

Well ignition im going to be adding the 6al box and blaster 2 coil to the 305 until the build is completed then swapping that over. Not sure what distributor to go along with this. Something reliable but not too costly. ideas?

Tranny im planning on a probuilt th400, unless i can get someone locally to build me a 700r4 with the probuilt road race kit.

 

Crane has that new fully electronic dist. w/36 preset ignition curves. might be something worth looking into. no parts to wear out, no vacume canister, just set it to the curve you want and forget about it. I see them in jegs and summit

 

As said above, I'd get the aluminum Dart heads if you plan to run 10:1 compression.

You're pushing the limits if you try that with the Iron Eagles on a 400. At least that's what both a local machine shop and builder told me when I built mine. 400's are just a tad more likely to detonate if you push over 9.5:1 on premium pump gas....

I concur with 5-7 on the DP carb. I love mine. Of course, I eat more gas cause I can't keep my foot out of it!

 

dont think i can run 10:1 on 93-94 octane? I can do 9.5 or 9.8. Like i said just getting opinions and options before i start handing out the money.

 

You can if you run a big cam, like your planning. Bigger cams bleed more cylinder pressure and lower the dynamic compression ratio. Also most aftermarket heads now day have fastburn chambers. Which means they are less prone to detonation and require much less timing advance.

 

That's fine for WOT operation, but not much for street duty.

I'd stick with vacuum/mechanical advance. See them in Jegs & Summit for <$160 all the time.

 

215 cc runner? Yea, that cam will be fine. I'd probably look to a jr. manifold though. :shrug:

 

I run a very similar combo in my s10. I think the cam is fine, I'd go with the 288 hydro roller. I have the vic jr and love it, definately go for that. I also have vacuum secondary carb and it works great, but I would buy a Speed Demon if I were to buy another carb.

I ran the time in my sig thru 2.25 crush bent exhaust and air cleaner on 28x9 slicks. 3.42 gears, too.

I have never heard mine detonate, but if I were to do it again, I would have bought the alloy heads. They just look so much cooler.

 

something wrong with that?

 

thanks man. As for the looking cooler..everything under my hood is going to be gray or black...not going to be any kool too it...all stealth. Am i the only one who hates chrome/silver/ or any kinda flash?

 

Its just kinda big for the street, a 200 cc might actually be better.

Like these: http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~osie4078/proheads.htm

 

When it comes time to lay the money down i'll let ya know if im interested. I cant believe nobody has took those off your hands yet. thanks again

 

Bigger than typical for the street, but I was putting the cam into perspective as well.

I'd still go with another intake though. :shrug:

 

well as you see i havent edited the initial post for the reason that if anyone who hasnt looked at it yet starts to read, they'll think"well damn thats good enough he doesnt need my opinion" I dont want that id like everyones views.

So rest your mind maybe their'll be a jr intake under the hood....

 

How much did you spend on the rotating assembly? I would never put a 2000.00 bottom end in a 200 block and never put a 200 rotating assembly in a 2000.00 block. I am all for good parts especially cranks/rods/pistons. But a stock 400 crank should be good for 500 horse easy, espically in a street car.

 

Well the combo that I currently use in a 355 is alittle to wild for
street but a cam change would make it more streetable. I still would have plenty of tork to get around nicely. specs are in sig.

 

Just as a point of reference and nothing more, back in the early 70's Car Craft, Hot Rod or somebody did a 400sbc in a 68 camaro. The car had a turbo 400 and a 12 bolt with (as I recall ) a 4.11 in it. The car had 10-1 compression, a hydraulic cam (350/350) a dual plane intake, headers and some kind of Holley (I'm thinking 780 #3310 they were popular back then). The car ran in the low 12's. The engine was pretty stock internally, and had the stock heads, which was the point of the article.
FYI from the wayback machine.

Also, a combination that seems to work well at the local stock car track (1/4 mile full bodied stock frame cars) is a 400 sbc with a 350/350 cam and 305 heads, they run this with a Q-jet and an L88 flywheel. Now, please keep in mind that according to the rules these engines have to have GM part numbers on everything, except the pistons. (they even have to run the old ram's horn exhaust) so they are limited more than you would be, but for a relatively cheap engine these things run pretty well.
In any case this should give you a baseline to work with.

 

I think your combo sounds pretty good, its very similar to my 383 setup. I would go with a RPM Airgap intake, your engine will fit perfect into its RPM range. I don't think you will need to rev above 6K to take advantage of a single plane like the Vic Jr.
I would also go with aluminum heads, 10:1 compression with iron heads might lead to detonation issues. I would also recommend a 750DP carb for your combo.
Your cam choice should be matched the rest of your combo, gears, stall, weight, strip vs. street use ect. You may need a vacuum canister if you plan on keeping power brakes. I agree with ME Leigh, a XR282HR or XR288HR hydraulic roller cam would be a good choice for you. Go solid roller if you don't mind the extra maintenance and if you aren't going to drive much on the street.

 

Well i'm running a SBC in My 84 Camaro with a Lunati solid cam 280/284 247/251@.050 110/106.
My engine made over 500tq and 480 hp on a dyno without any major tunning (jetting,) and a 3310 Holley. I have since bought a Speed Demon 750DP and hopefully will put it on this weekend. You can save a lot more money going with a solid cam ($200 Custom Grind) than the retrofit roller kit ($800 plus). However if money is not a problem then by all means go with the roller, but dont believe the hype that you always have to adjust the valves on a solid cam. I installed my solid cam in July and have yet to adjust the valves, I just look at adjusting the valves on a solid cam as a part of maintenance that I perform on my car.
Many will not agree with this, but i'm speaking on my experience. BTW: The she idles at 950 rpm and pull like a rape ape when you get in the pedal. I also like to be cruising at 50mph and stump the gas to burn the tires....just having fun. I'm also one who like the chrome and shiny stuff.
Take a look at the photo and dyno results:
Dyno Results of my 400

 

Sounds great. But with that cam, do you have trouble with emissions?

A friend of mine in El Paso runs a hot 406 SBC in his 68 Corvette and he runs 12.1 et at 4400 ft ASL through a Muncie and 3.70 gears. When he sprays, it drops to 11.2 seconds. I rode in it once. Really unbelievable power for a small block.

But you have to cam things down so mildly for smog motors, which kills some of the fun. That's why I go more for torque in my Camaro. I can't put enough cam in it to enjoy the higher rpms and still be allowed to drive it on the street.

 

Ok now that we've ironed most of the combo out...Might try to knock it down to 9.5:1 compression to keep'r streetable and for ease of mind.

crank- Cola forged (lil cheaper than the callies)

rods- eagle h-beams ( with arp L19 upgrade )

pistons- srp-139625 pistons (9.8 compression w/64 cc heads)

heads- 215cc Dart Iron Eagle Heads 64cc or some 200cc's depending on price

cam- 284/296 (duration) 240/246 (@.50) .541/.544 (lift)
or xe288hr

intake- edelbrock rpm Air gap

carb- holley 750DP w/electric choke

 

Any updates?