400/406 Builds

[64chevmn]

I took my 406 to the dyno yesterday to get everything tuned in. The 406 small block was in my truck I bought last fall so I did not know a lot about it other than what the previous owner told me. After pulling the oil pan and making sure everything looked visibly "ok", here is what I found. 2 bolt main 400 block, after market balanced crank, stock balanced rods, I believe flat top pistons, high flow oil pump, 292 comp cam, roller rockers, Edelbrock aluminum heads 170cc intake ports and 70cc combustion chambers with 2.02/1.60 valves, Edelbrock RPM air gap intake, Holley 750 carb with hooker headers. The engine made 430 horse power with 475 pounds of torque. It liked 35 degrees of timing and a 1-inch spacer under the carb. Ran and performed well for a small block street engine.

[63chevyll]

i love the 400, 406, 408 combos

over the years ive done a few and everyone was a good solid runner.

a 64 CC Camel Hump headed 406 was prob one of my favorits.

As far as the edelbrock 400 cam, i wasnt too im pressed at 6000 feet, but it did well for a street truck

77 Chevy 2wd, TH350, ?? converter, 3.07 gear, open diff,

406
Stock replacment 400 .030 over pistons
Edelbrock cam and Lifter kit
milled 64 cc Accessory hole heads
Old, bigger runner Edelbrock performer intake
1406 Carb

ran 15:20s in AZ with balt tires,

I put togethger a TBI 406, vortec headed engine for a 91 blazer about 10 years ago. We were lacking the correct ECU/PROM tune so it never ran at full potential.

We did a Votrec headed 406 in a 76 chevy K10 that got close to 17 MPGs

Currently, im daily driving (about 4 days a week) a non steem holls, cheap ass 882 headed, angle milled, cheap summit 1106 cam, knock off no name ebay high rise intake i had to grind and file and mill to seal, flat tops, 11.5:1 SCR on 91 octane, 34 total timing and runs damn good and cool with an OE radiator in my 68 C10 4 speed truck.

Also ive put steam hole heads on and off many 327s/350s/400swith no issues, I drilled steam holes in other heads just to try it, no leaks.

Next up is a 4.00 stroke, 400 Main, 2.000 rod crank for a splayed .040 509 block for my 63 Chevy ll 2 door

needless to say i love the 400, great power and performance....like the rest of the SB chevy family. maybe they all dont overheat after all.

[fastbagged68]

I built a 406 for a friend a few years ago.... Dart SHP Block, forge internals, 9.8-1 compression, Brodix IC210 CNC. Crane hydraulic roller cam Part #119841MSD dist, 6al, Performer RPM AirGap, Pro System 750DP. 1-3/4"headers, 3" exhaust. 496HP@5800RPM, 500lbs. I think it would have made more power if we used a Victor Jr intake. This was also just break in, no real tuning to it.

Transmission is an Art Carr - California Performance Trans. 200r4 with 3.73, 275-35-20

[Captainfab]

Thanks for the posts with great information guys. This is what I was hoping for when I started this thread.

[Marv D]

Should we start another for 434's and 454 SBC's (stroked 400's) ??? or keep this clean with only 400-406?

[Captainfab]

I have no problem with you posting build info in this thread for bigger small blocks.

Originally Posted by Marv D

Should we start another for 434's and 454 SBC's (stroked 400's) ??? or keep this clean with only 400-406?

[68post]

421 and 396..?
sbc

[Marv D]

Dang,, had a post all ready and lost it.. Will start with a couple of my personal 434's
Adding all these links instead of pictures is a PITA but some of the pictures are pretty large,, sorry

Oh well. this one may be a bit over the top for some, but it does get street driven occasionally. Requires 100 octane on the street and reducing timing to 30° if your not beating on it..., and 108+ at the track and back to 35°.

The Devils motor....

Dart Little M block, zero decked 4.165 bore
Eagle 4" stroke forged crank (had to be turned 10/10 to get the journals sized right, re-nitride hardened and straightened)
Originally Lunati ProMod rods, but after an issue and the Lunati discontinuing the LAD-1 rods, now Olivers 6" rods
Pistons are a shelf stock JE 8cc dome (=13.5:1)
neutral balance ATI SuperDamper / ATI Flexplate and assembly internally balanced.
Oiling system is a bare bones Moroso pump, Milidon scraper tray and 8 qt pan.
cam is Crower E42834 264°/276° @ 0.050, .679/.677 lift
box stock AFR Race Ready 220 heads flat milled to 70cc, Crower shaft rocker system for the AFR heads
Holley ProRam Tunnelram with a pair of ProForm 750 carbs and Enderele linkage (took some major work getting them squared away and pulling 12.8 on the dyno. Out of the box there pig fat and air bleeds are all screwed up) We fought to get the sideways mounted carbs to even out AF from side to side but it would just get crazy if we tried to lean the backs out. (in hindsight,, should have just bit the bullet and had Patrick build me a pair and been done with it)
Custom 1-7/8" headers to fit the 66 chassis are a long tube roadster style header. I run them with short 2 chamber 3" mufflers. Just quiet enough on the street to not get too much jandairn attention if you keep your foot out of it.
A locked out MSD ProBillit slip collar distributor and digital 6 ignition

She made good torque at 550+ from the hit all the way to the HP peak and peaking HP at 666 @ the typical SBC 6400

[burnin oil]

Originally Posted by 63chevyll

i love the 400, 406, 408 combos

over the years ive done a few and everyone was a good solid runner.

a 64 CC Camel Hump headed 406 was prob one of my favorits.

As far as the edelbrock 400 cam, i wasnt too im pressed at 6000 feet, but it did well for a street truck

77 Chevy 2wd, TH350, ?? converter, 3.07 gear, open diff,

406
Stock replacment 400 .030 over pistons
Edelbrock cam and Lifter kit
milled 64 cc Accessory hole heads
Old, bigger runner Edelbrock performer intake
1406 Carb

ran 15:20s in AZ with balt tires,

I put togethger a TBI 406, vortec headed engine for a 91 blazer about 10 years ago. We were lacking the correct ECU/PROM tune so it never ran at full potential.

We did a Votrec headed 406 in a 76 chevy K10 that got close to 17 MPGs

Currently, im daily driving (about 4 days a week) a non steem holls, cheap ass 882 headed, angle milled, cheap summit 1106 cam, knock off no name ebay high rise intake i had to grind and file and mill to seal, flat tops, 11.5:1 SCR on 91 octane, 34 total timing and runs damn good and cool with an OE radiator in my 68 C10 4 speed truck.

Also ive put steam hole heads on and off many 327s/350s/400swith no issues, I drilled steam holes in other heads just to try it, no leaks.

Next up is a 4.00 stroke, 400 Main, 2.000 rod crank for a splayed .040 509 block for my 63 Chevy ll 2 door

needless to say i love the 400, great power and performance....like the rest of the SB chevy family. maybe they all dont overheat after all.

My stock 3 core runs warm sometimes with the 270 duration cam. Not to bad but maybe 15-20* hotter than my Lunati 703 cam (modern version of a 350hp 327 grind). I do have the steam holes. Just curious but what rear are you running? GMs position is a constant 3500 RPM and above does not need steam holes. I got that from an old chevy power book I picked up at a dealer 20 years ago. My trucks runs a 4.10 gear. I need to swap the fan for a clutched unit that should pull a few more CFMs and free up a few ponies.

[shopking72]

Here is the motor we built for my truck. I just got it running in November and was only able to put maybe 100 miles on it. Ready for spring and to get it up to the dyno to see what it can do. Thanks.

406 4 Bolt SBC
Edebrock Aluminum Performer Heads 60759
Edebrock Air Gap Performer Intake
Morel Roller Lifters
Comp Cam XR282HR
Trick Flow Push Rods
Comp 1.6 Roller Rockers
JE Flat Top Pistons
Scat Forged Crankshaft
TH350 with 3500 stall
3:73 Gears with Eaton Posi Locker
Holley 650 Carb
Sanderson Headers

[Captainfab]

Thanks for sharing the build info on one of your engines Marv D.

Shopking, that 406 sounds like it should produce some good numbers. Does it run OK on 91-92 octane pump gas? I'm anxious to see what it does on the dyno. Let us know.

[Marv D]

Have a number of them to share, just have to find all the paperwork to be sure I put down the right info. I've learned the memory isn't the steel trap it used to be.

Of particular interest to this section of the board will be a 421 pump gas motor that went into a buddys D/D Camaro. Just trying to find all the info on what we used.

[shopking72]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Thanks for sharing the build info on one of your engines Marv D.

Shopking, that 406 sounds like it should produce some good numbers. Does it run OK on 91-92 octane pump gas? I'm anxious to see what it does on the dyno. Let us know.

Thanks! It seems to run ok so far on 91. I will let you know how it does once I start driving it again!

[Captainfab]

Please do.

I have noticed a few 400/406 builds with what seems like too much compression for pump gas.

Originally Posted by shopking72

Thanks! It seems to run ok so far on 91. I will let you know how it does once I start driving it again!

[glljr]

On my second round with a 406 with 5.7 rods scat crank kb pistons 18cc dish pistons lunati cam with a weiand 177 ontop.

[68post]

Originally Posted by shopking72

Here is the motor we built for my truck. I just got it running in November and was only able to put maybe 100 miles on it. Ready for spring and to get it up to the dyno to see what it can do. Thanks.

406 4 Bolt SBC
Edebrock Aluminum Performer Heads 60759
Edebrock Air Gap Performer Intake
Morel Roller Lifters
Comp Cam XR282HR
Trick Flow Push Rods
Comp 1.6 Roller Rockers
JE Flat Top Pistons
Scat Forged Crankshaft
TH350 with 3500 stall
3:73 Gears with Eaton Posi Locker
Holley 650 Carb
Sanderson Headers

Compression is approximately 11.7-1 with 64cc heads ?? !!

[northern]

I built a 2 bolt main 421ci sbc, It has a 13.2:1 compression ratio. It has been running very nice for three years now. I built it just to run on the street and to run on pump fuel. It is has rubber fuel lines and a fuel cell from Summit. Can you guess what pump fuel I am using?

[68post]

Originally Posted by northern

I built a 2 bolt main 421ci sbc, It has a 13.2:1 compression ratio. It has been running very nice for three years now. I built it just to run on the street and to run on pump fuel. It is has rubber fuel lines and a fuel cell from Summit. Can you guess what pump fuel I am using?

Yes...E85.. ,(oh.. unless you have aluminum heads and a cam around 270 duration @ .050 ).

[northern]

Very good!

[tjsblazer]

Originally Posted by Marv D

Have a number of them to share, just have to find all the paperwork to be sure I put down the right info. I've learned the memory isn't the steel trap it used to be.

Of particular interest to this section of the board will be a 421 pump gas motor that went into a buddys D/D Camaro. Just trying to find all the info on what we used.

421 very interested.

[Marv D]

Well Jeff I can't find the folder, it's been some time and I remember what I ordered for him except the cam. I was a Crany hydulic roller and withthe old Crane gone it's is the one part that I will have to hit by memory

509 block left at a .020 deck, and bored to 4.155
Used a 3.875 stroke crank from Howards cranks
6" Scatt rods
Used a set of Wiesco pistons with a 30cc dish
Jeggs 215cc House brand heads when they were Canfield heads (64cc version)

The thing was just dead on 9:1
A Edelbrock Performer and a Quadrajet a buddy in Ohio built for us.

Cam (from memory) was a Crane hydraulic roller with 228 / 240ish @ 0.050 and has just over .575 lift as best I recall on a 112 centerline

It was a total STUMP PULLER in his second Gen camaro. It never made it to the dyno but shifting in the low 5000's he was clicking off 12.8's as best I recall on street tires with a stock stall and putting the TH400 in DRIVE.

If he had put sticky tires on it and stepped on it a bit I have no doubt it would have taken that heavy pig into the low 12's

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

408 CI

Dart block
RHS 220 heads stepped on
CP forged pistons
Carrillo rods crank
Hurricane intake ported
Comp ratio 11.3
Howards 296 hyr roller cam
Hooker super comp headers
850 carb on the engine dyno it went 591hp at 6500

Just a tad over 900 with the 325hp NOS kit That was with a total hit 925PSI on bottle

Have new AED 950 super comp modified carb on the way as a upgrade. Marv I had to pull motor for a issue with bell housing and thought what the hell lets see what its got. I was happy. It is a hard running mother . Hard enough to break the TKO 600 I rebuilt it and sold it and the new 4l80e is in it now.

This will run on pump gas and has in the AZ and TX heat.

[Captainfab]

Thanks for posting your build info Steve

Yours is another one with higher static compression than I would think would be pump gas friendly. Do you remember what the dynamic compression is?

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

I would have to run it through a calc program again. But as you know it based on the intake closing point and it was not over the top. I feel that too many worry about it. Will you need to be a btter tuner yes but look at the new cars with high static numbers EPA cams .. Those numbers are silly high.

In the harleys we run 200 CCP and 9.5 dynamic in 900+ baggers no issues and that is air cooled. Hot builds are 220 CCP and close to or at 9.8 dynamic

My engine is 9.9 dynamic CCP is 219 .. runs on texas 93 e10 pump gas. running total of 28 timing and will be stepping into that when its NA . Waiting on the new 950 AED comp carb to show up and then its on to retuning again.

[flips72]

here's mine, gm 400 4 bolt main block, arp studs, internally balanced scat 4340 crank, scat I beam forged rods 7/16 cap screws, keith black icon forged pistons, dart pro 1 heads 215 runners lunati springs ,arp head bolts, comp push rods ,comp ultra gold 1.5 rockers, lunati solid roller 626 lift, 288 intake and 296 exhaust duration, comp roller lifters, victor jr intake, demon 750 worked by stealth racing, idle air ease blocked, butterflies drilled, 4 corner idle screw seats machined for better seating and accurate adjustment, billet base, nitrous cheater plate system on a 150 shot as of now but hoping to open it up after I get my rear end issues addressed. not sure as to how much power its making hope to get it on a chassis dyno soon.