Im in the process of building a 400 for my chevelle. I still need to get all my machine work and parts for the thing but was wondering what all i should put in the thing as far as pistons and cam go. Right now im using a 350 with an 89 tpi on it ran by a c950 ecu. So tuning is realy flexable and easy.
I was wondering what people that have a 400 in their car are running as far as parts on their engines. I'm wanting a cam in the 1500-5500 range. Dont realy need to rev it too high with all the bottom end a 400 has i think. Would something like the Crane PowerMax 272-2 grind work well? Its a 272/284 adv. duration with .454int/.480exh lift. I dont realy know the rpm range, since difernt places rate it differntly. Some say its a 1500-5800 and others say its a 2000-5000.
As far as pistons go, id like something that can keep my compression in a range that i can still run pump gas with out running octane booster. Would gettin a piston with about 9:1 or 10:1 be good enough to keep me running about 89 or 91 octane. I wish i could run 87 still, but i want to keep the compression up a little more to unleash a lil more power.
I dont realy have a whole lot of money right now so, id like to get the 400 rebuilt and running and then get a stealth ram and some afr or sportman II heads. I need to get it done somewhat fast, and on a small budget, due to my 350 is heading for the hills. Its loosing oil preasure and starting to burn a lot of oil.

Right now i have:
400 virgin block
400 virgin crank/rods
882 heads from my 350 ported/polished
89 tpi w/ siamesed base and ported plenum
c950 fuel managment

So what do you all think i should do in terms of cam/pistons for the motor.

 

I have a 400. I'd go with some KB 147 pistons for 10.5:1 compression with 64cc heads, and a cam in the 220/230 range duration at .050 and over .500 lift. Make sure to get matching springs!! The commander 950 is an excellent choice, I just ordered one from Summit myself.

The stock crank will be fine. They're actually quite strong. I would go with some 5.7 rods though. The heads should be fine, but I would look into a StealthRam manifold for a little more topend.

I guess it all depends on what you want out of it. Crazy power, crazy torque, good driveability, good mileage... etc etc

 

Here is something I've read about

It may interest you.

If the RPM seems to high or the HP seems to high, just tone down the cam a bit.

400 with compression 10.1:1
Modified Olds Diesel rods (I'd probably just got with standard 5.7 chevy rods)
Comp Cams 12-502-5 -- 250/254 duration .530/.540 lift at .050 with a 104 LCA
1.6 rockers on intake, 1.5 on exhaust
Heads flowed 255cfm at .600 lift, I'd recommend you getting yours flowed and see how you compare. The heads were milled to 58cc. Edelbrock Victor Jr. Intake.

While the cam and intake seem as though the power range would be over 6000, especially since the cam is 3500-6000 RPM Range,

the engine actually put down 504tq at 4200 rpm and 496hp at 5700-5900 rpm. and put down around 450tq at around 3000 rpm.

Since you don't plan to run the victor jr, a HSR would be an excellent replacement, and cheap as well, seeing as you already have an excellent fuel injection system. Formulas predicited a car at 3400lbs, running 11.70s at 116mph on pumped gas.

Overall, I'd consider that an excellent build, with a very cheap budget. Afterall, the cam, rockers, and pistons are pretty much going to cost the same, despite the size you get.

And of course, if that seems too much, drop the cams duration a little, extend the LCA, and you'll drop your RPM Band.

 

As far as the block goes, if the bore checks out good you won't have to bore it. I would reccomend (for perf. applications) square decking the block, and possibly line honing to make sure the crank is parallel. The crank will be fine, like said above they're pretty strong. You might have to get it cut and micropolished though. Definitely go with 5.7" rods and get some dished pistons. An 18cc dish should yield right around 10:1 compression with 64cc chambers. For the cam, I would suggest a Comp Cams XE274 cam. Duration is 230/236 @ .050 and high .400's lift. It will make good lowend torque and good high end horsepower. You lose a little low end tq, but 400's have so much you'll be fine, you might as well trade it for high end hp since you don't need all the tq.

 

Any one else have any ideas? As of right now i think im going to run a keith black piston to yield about a 10:1 compression with my 76cc heads. Hopefully they will work good for now. Not realy sure about the cam right now, im still thinkin about the crane 272-2 or the comp xe274. Not realy sure what to do there. As far as the rods go, as of right now i think im gonna stick with the stockers. Cant offord it due to being a student and having to pay for everything on an extreemly small budget.
Thanks all
Chris

 

I might be kinda partial, but I would suggest my setup Believe it or not you can cruise around town just like a granny car too if you like. It will idle at 500 RPM too! Its pretty choppy there and shakes the car too much so I idle at about 850Rpm