Good info here on these 400's so far...
How accurate do those drill holes need to be?....+/- 1/32" or tighter?....good for a machine shop or this possible with standard 'home shop' tools?
Part of the project element for me would be perhaps a 1 year time frame?...basically a simple evening project with some renewal or light duty rebuild to get the engine ready as a temp replacement in my truck.
...maybe check the bearings, etc.....hone it and re-ring it?.....not sure yet.
Maybe a cam upgrade would be nice....perhaps topped with a performer manifold and a quadrajet.
I appreciate an engine with power....but to be quite honest, as a realist...the odds of me using excessive power around the neighbourhood on a daily basis are maybe 5%.
I think 300hp is a great number....but I'm more interested in bottom end torque because I do most of my driving from 1500-4000 rpm...and again, like most very rarely over that for the better part.
Now, that said I am fortunate to still have the original/factory 350 in my truck...which i think was rebuilt 20+ years ago by the previous original owner
Its been a very good motor, it runs very well...starts great, very reliable, very smooth but its getting down a little on compression and is starting to use a little oil.
So if I was to pull it to do a rebuild, I would want a good substitution while I took that on so I could still use the truck.....hence the 400 sbc.
One of the attractions of this 400 sbc motor for me is its identical size to the 350 sbc and other sbc engines which makes it a very easy swap out.
Then I got wondering....if I swapped it out, I might not want to put a 350 back in it afterwards...lol.
Coley
