1st engine build

[john@thepier]

Tommarrow my motor block comes back from being baked and shot-peened.I decided to go with a 400sb. this will be the first engine I will build under the guidence of the shop owner.for a week now he has been asking me what I want to do with it.so I have been doing some heavy reserch on this motor and some deep sole-serching on what I will build.my brain keeps telling me- (stout and reliable)and the wild hair I have up my !ss.keeps telling me (RADICAL) the suspence on what I finally go with is making me crazy and poorer with every day dream I have!!!!

[GMC71k20]

go radical

[Tx Firefighter]

I've built a ton of engines and I'd offer you one piece of advice....

If you have a choice to make between two parts, choose the milder of the two. You'll be happier with a tamer engine than you will a radical one.

[Peregrine]

Maybe a little of both is in order?

[CHEVYE]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

I've built a ton of engines and I'd offer you one piece of advice....

If you have a choice to make between two parts, choose the milder of the two. You'll be happier with a tamer engine than you will a radical one.

what he said! big cams = big stall, harder on valve train/drivetrain. more compression = less life and more heat to get rid of, especially in a 400. i`ve never been a fan of those and have seemed to have a hard time keeping one cool unless it`s a mild build, but i`ve got buddies that swear by them??? the main thing is what are you using it for?

[john@thepier]

some of the things I already know I will do with it is a bore ,6"steel rods,steel crank,10 or 11 comp. pistons,dart aluminum heads 64cc,complete roller valve train,when its to gether it will be run on the dyno to be set up correctly.all I have to do is decide if I want to go up in comp. and cam.the wild hair keeps telling me you can afford the race gas.I'll just have to wait and see what commonsence decides to do.

[CHEVYE]

11 to 1 is about max i would go for weekend cruising. i ran 11.7:1 in my drag car with a 388ci. it constantly needed tinkered with but, oh yeah, it would go.
by the way, i would love to have your extra job, sounds like fun.

[glock35ipsc]

From that description, I take it that this will not be a daily driver, or even a seldom driver? Unless it will be at the strip every weekend, I would put that $$$ into the truck rather than the motor. That is a lot of exotic parts for a first time builder. 10:1 or 11:1 compression, combined with roller valve train and aluminum heads are just overkill for street use, although polished aluminum heads look awesome!

It doesn't take much to make a 400 SBC a stump puller, they have that going for them in stock clothing. But add mild head porting & polishing, a good hydraulic cam, good intake and carb, good ignition, and MATCH all the parts to work together, and you will have a kick-ass street motor! Just don't forget to use heads that have steam holes to match the ones in the 400's deck!!

It's funner to have something that you can hop into, start it up, and blow the tires off of it anytime you want rather than one you have to constantly adjust the valves, tweek the carb, check the .......... you get my point.

Do what ya want to, but after building engines from mild to wild for over 15 years, this is just my own opinion

[CHEVYE]

my neighbor had a sweet 406 and the machine shop messed his steam holes up and it cracked the block between the hole and the cylinder wall and he had to get it sleeved.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by CHEVYE

my neighbor had a sweet 406 and the machine shop messed his steam holes up and it cracked the block between the hole and the cylinder wall and he had to get it sleeved.

BUMMER!!! I would have made them get a new, or at least a replacement block! That sux!

[LONGHAIR]

You would have to be pretty stupid to "mess the steam holes up"............avoid them.......

[john@thepier]

keeping it on the milder side is prety much what the owner has said more than once.but has also said that if I go more power that we will build it rite .as for the truck ,it is a 70 chevy swb that I know I will not be driving all the time and I was going to use it as training-wheels into the sport of drag racing.last week I picked up a 67 that ,if I like racing I plan to convert to all out racing ,with a pro-built chasis and a mountain motor that I would build .

[Tx Firefighter]

Different strokes for different folks, but drag racing is more fun and less frustrating for a beginner in a light weight milder car.

Making a truck go fast isn't near as easy as a Nova or something similar.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

You would have to be pretty stupid to "mess the steam holes up"............avoid them.......

I've had stock GM heads that had steam holes that would not line up correctly within different groups of heads and blocks. Close, but no cigar. Years of manufacture varied, but one would still expect them to all be the same. But not the case.........

[CHEVYE]

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

BUMMER!!! I would have made them get a new, or at least a replacement block! That sux!

yeah i think they used the wrong gasket and f**ked it up, he was pretty upset, it has an 871 blower, dual carbs, brodix heads (the works) in a 67 camaro. they took care of him though.

[CHEVYE]

john i hope you like to spend money. i spent alot of it racing and the final straw was a fuel line that busted on me and it was around $45 for a foot long piece or so with ends and i just said piss on it and got out of it. it is so addicting though and they know you will pay to do it.

[john@thepier]

the shop I have been consulting with on a 67 drag truck say they are confident they can get the whole thing down to 2400#and get mid 8,s easy.can you say $$$$$$$$$$in the game the saying is how fast and how much are you willing to spend .I have never owned a car in 21 years of driving and I,m not going to start now.my trucks have got me to where ever I'm going ,and they will get me down the track to the finish line.I know it won't be easy or cheap but I welcome the challenge I grew up just a little ways away from great-lakes drag strip and have always wanted to play their.many years i have listened to those engines screaming down the track.now I live in Geneva,where we have a race track for prof.off road races like soda ,and late modle stock cars,as well as moto cross.etc.out fishing every day I here those engines ,because the track is just blocks from the lake,my time for motor sports has come because of my sucessful carear as a fishing guide.people can hardly believe it when I say I'd rather be restelling with my truck than sitting in a boat these days.

[GMC71k20]

mid-8's, thats scary fast.

[CHEVYE]

if you want to do race, by all means do so, and have fun doing it. i sure can`t say i didn`t have a good time. sounds like it`s a calling.

[67ChevyC10Stepside]

http://www.dragtruk.com/ENTRIES/durhamtom.html for a taste of what your getting into.

[john@thepier]

67chevyc10stepside- yeaw thats what I'm talkin about.only thing different is that I,ll tow my 67 chevy with my 69 GMC