Hi everyone,
i am swapping a 400 sb into my Berlinetta I just had some questions regarding a good combination of parts that work well together to use in the rebuild.The car is just a fun street car, but I am trying to make some power. And money isn't really a problem.
I currently have flat top Ross racing pistons (.030 over) and the stock crankshaft
1). Should I reuse the stock damper?
2). What kind of camshaft/ timing chain/ pushrods and lifters should I use?
3). What kind of heads should I use?
4). What kind of carb and intake should I use?

-thanks in advance

 

1. If money is no problem, buy new SFI approved. Old one usually works depending on rpm. If balancing you need to decide before.
2. Retro roller.
3. Will depend on gears, trans (convertor?), rpm desired, carb, intake.
4. Will depend on gears, trans (convertor?), rpm desired, heads.

Need a lot more information for good advice. I went though four 400 blocks before finding a good one to machine.

 

I was just running a th350 stock and I'm trying to keep the rpms under 6500 so I can still use the stock crank

 

So you will be limited to stock convertor? Gears? If so, you will be keeping it way under 6500. Stock heads, Performer intake, Quadrajet carb and slightly larger than stock cam. That way you can keep torque in the 400 and do burnouts.

Most important step in putting an engine together is keeping all the parts working together. Too big cam, intake, carb for convertor and gears equal no power. By the time you start making horsepower, you have already lost.

 

I have the stock 350 can converter and I have to put a posi rear on the car. I was originally going to use a 350sb but traded up. I so if I need to change the tranny I can. I just need a parts list including gears tranny etc.

 

There are more qualified on forum than I to advise, but here is what I run in my Nova with 5.7 rod 400, flat top pistons.

Lunati Voodoo solid roller 60133 2800-7200 (I shift 65-66)
Super vic intake (Reg vic jr is better bolt on if you don't want to grind it)
Holley 750 double pump (I will upgrading to 800-850)
Iron Dart heads (1st generation) 202-160 (Alum AFR or Dart would be what I would look at)
Coan 20416 3400 stall convertor
456 gear (I would like to try 410)

I can spin 10" slicks 1/2 a block with 18lbs air. I drop pressure to 14 and heat them it hooks hard.

Now if I would just drive it more.

 

About how fast do you think you can get it going, also are your pistons .030 over

 

Low 12's maybe high 11 on good day. With different cam, manifold and convertor it ran 12.5 at a higher altitude. It is all matched better (which is the most important part) and I now have a track at lower altitude.

Yes my pistons are 30 over.

 

The condition you need to be REAL careful of with a flat-top zero (or near zero) deck 400, is compression.

.030" over 400 short block, .025" deck clearance (stock nominal), pistons w/ single valve reliefs (4cc):

64cc chambers, .039" gasket - 11.1:1
76cc chambers, .039" gasket - 9.8:1
76cc chambers, .051" gasket - 9.6:1

You can easily see where this is going.

Stock 400 cranks don't like RPMs. They break. Usually either right behind the 1st counterweight or at the front of the 1-2 rod pin.

If you put enough cam in it to swallow some of the compression, you're going to end up with a motor that REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to run WAY upstairs; like, it'll be dead flat below 3000 RPM or so, but will spin the tires in 3rd gear at 100 mph. In which case, the crank will last about ... iunno, maybe twice.

If you have the stock 5.565" rods you have another serious mismatch in effect. The crank will usually protect those for a little while but sooner or later they'll catch up with you too.

For a "fun street car" I'd be looking to sell those pistons and pick up some "D" cup ("reverse dome") ones instead, some longer rods, and a steel crank. Aim for 9.5:1 with 64cc heads and .039" gasket, which will take roughly a 20cc dish. Then, you can run a hyd roller somewhere in the low 230s of intake duration, exh probably 235 - 240° depending on the heads but won't need as much lift, I'd guess something in the .560 - 570" on the int and .540" on the exh. Performer RPM, 750 CFM Holley (NOT Edelbrock) carb, good quality "true roller" timing set. For heads, you want about 200cc intake runners. Get the best you can afford: AFR, Dart Iron Eagles, etc. Pay somebody that knows what they're doing to work them, a good strategy is to go to your local asphalt track if you've got one, or a dirt track that's half-mile or longer; hang out in the pits and get to know the racers THAT ARE WINNING; find out who does their head work; PAY THEM WHAT THEY ASK to work yours. Don't mess around with drag racers, it's WAY too hard to cut through the BS at a strip.

Getting 500 HP at the crank is as easy as falling off a log with a 400. Making power isn't what's hard; making it SURVIVE, at the same time as your bank account on down the road, is.

3.42 or 3.73 gears should be plenty on the street. With a 350, since it has no OD, you'll DEFINITELY be forced to make the tradeoff between raw acceleration and driveability. I can tell you from many years of experience, a non-OD trans and 3.73 gears on a modern 70 - 80 mph freeway, gets REAL old REAL quick. If you're going to be strictly putting around town and occasionally humiliating Mustangs, it's OK; but if you live anywhere that there's wide-open roads, consider an OD trans.

A stock converter won't cut it. Once you get the motor built, take the car to the chassis dyno, and see what the shape of your motor's torque curve is, and buy a converter to match that. My guess to match the cam specs I gave would be a SMALL diameter (10" max), about 2800 - 3000 stall. But let the guys that REALLY know that stuff be your guide. DO NOT buy an off-the-shelf street-stroke POS. A good converter is worth EVERY PENNY and then some.