I am looking to stroke a small block 400 to a 496 i believe is the biggest i can go, now what block would i want to do this with? I have some time to shop around for this so i figure its the perfect time to be picky and find the best block for my 83 trans am, I figure it would be a pontiac block but maybe not , does anyone out there know alot about the 400 and stroking it out?

400 ci stroked or bbc stroked ? what motor do you think is the ballsiest in the f-body?

 

An interesting question and I am of no help. So I tried to do some research because the largest I have ever seen for SBC is 454. I did find that you could take a dodge 383 and go to a 496. http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128855

LOL

 

I don't think you can stroke a 400 to a 496. The most common is a 434. A small block will be easier to install. As for "ballsy". It all depends how deep your pockets are.

 

I am looking to build a dart mostly for drag racing alongside my 83 Trans Am street car

 

biggest small block chevy i've heard of is 472 but it takes a different block, cant be done with factory 400 block. Shapiroff makes it and its a pretty good deal for the money i think

a pontiac 400 can be made into a 455 easily, but i'm not sure what else you can do with it. I wouldnt go pontiac motor anyway since a big block 496 can be made easily and much more parts are available

 

i had the 454 bbc confused there for a second its a 454 im looking into stroking for another car but would like to stroke a 400 to its max for my TA

 

u can make a 496 from an lsx block.....

 

if your going to build a 400 make it a 400 small block much easier transition and you can lie and tell everyone it a 305

 

yeah i want to stroke out a 400 and tell my buddy its a 305 with a cam lol.

 

The walls of the block bulge out on a 400 due to the bore. You can visually tell the difference between a 400 and any other small block.

You're best off dropping in a small block. It will be cheapest and easiest. If you can find a good 2 bolt 400 block go for it. If not, get a 350 and build a 383.

Or go LSx if you have the money. They are hands down a superior motor.

 

the really cool thing is building a lsx really isnt that much more then building a good small block other then the initial cost of the block but its comperable to buying any traditional aftermarket small block...

 

Common stroker for a 400 SBC is 434 and that's pushing it for a factory block. Using an aftermarket block, the 434 is easier to do and using a tall deck SBC aftermarket block 454+ can be achieved but it's a lot cheaper to build a 454 BBC. The factory deck height just isn't tall enough for a long stroke in a SBC.

 

But finding headers and getting all the parts to get it to work in a thirdgen costs a bit more than just dropping in a gen I small block

 

o yeah no doubt but it be cool for a 1st gen...

 

so what motor do you think would be better in a 3rd gen stroked 400 to its max or stroked 454 to its max?

 

"Better" - now there's a word that is wide open for interpretation. "Better" in what way? Max power? Least cost? Better handling? Better fuel economy? Better sleeper? Better endurance? Better 1/4 mile time? Better 1/4 mile consistency?

You've got two cars, right? One that will be street driven, one that will be drag raced, right? The street car is easy - keep it small block Chevy. Keep it simple. Keep it drivable and reasonably efficient (haven't seen gas prices going down lately). The only choice other than SBC you should even commit a single brain cell to is LSx.

The car for the track is a little different. Every dollar you spend on making power will require another dollar (at least) to handle the power. Build a 496 BBC, it's going to run you 10 grand. You'll need a very healthy transmission, a very healthy rear end, and you're going to need a cage. $20k is a pretty reasonable amount to expect to have to spend. If you aren't ready to spend that kind of cash and see this through to completion, don't even start.

On the other hand, you could build a very effective bracket car for about a fourth of that amount. A simple 350 SBC, simple trans build with a little higher stall than stock, simple rear end beefing, it'll run consistently race after race, year in and year out. A 13 second car can easily embarrass 10 sec full race cars (thinking of my own last time out to the track).