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Just an FYI.....there is no real need to drill the " upper " steam hole in a set of non 400 heads. The stream holes are there to allow steam to escape right next to the cylinder to cylinder intersection . The lower side is the only place steam can get trapped . On the upper ( side closest to the intake) , there is no way for the steam to get trapped. The cylinders sit at a 45* angle , so any steam that forms simple moves up ( steam always rises ) and into the cooling system on the upper side. The lower side creates a trap for the steam because of the deck angle and needs an escape route to avoid hot spots . It's very easy to drill your own lower steam holes. The 400 is a great engine to make big sbc power w the larger, better breathing cylinders. Match that bore w a set of heads that can move some serious air and watch the HP/TQ climb !

I always thought it was a VAN motor, because when we were kids that is what it seemed to be seen in the most. Everyone said they were junk. But I also recall some guys hopping them up because that was all they could afford to do, and I decline to dog out those guys. Not everybody could afford to buy into and build up a 350.

Aside from adding vent holes to non-400 heads the most important consideration is the rods. 400 rods are shorter than 350 rods, use shorter rod bolts, and are weak in the area transitioning from the rod beam to the bore. The 400 pistons suffered from excessive sideloading due to the long stroke and short rods, which caused them to crack. I believe this is the main reason, aside from the fact that the 400 was discontinued in 1980, that so many 400s were replaced with 350s back in the day. There are pistons available to run 5.7" rods in the 400, which helps the situation, but I believe the rod/stroke ratio of the 400 is the main problem with these engines. So putting a 6" rod in one is even better and brings the rod/stroke ratio close to that of a 350, and as long as the piston isn't too short is the best solution.

Every one gets so caught up on 4 bolt mains. It’s worth mentioning that AMC actually never offered any production 4 bolt mains on the 304/360/390/401. And those were some tough little motors used in everything.

283 is better than 260. 305 better than 283 and 350 better than 305 and 400 ? Now here's the thing! Somewhere manufacturers learned that the closer you get the bore to the stroke the more stable the engine becomes. So bore size no longer became relevant as far as bigger was concerned. Short stroke big bore engines were unstable and created a ton of vibration when rev'd out. They can make good power but not for a long time before breaking. GM's attempt at stability was keeping the 350 but bringing the bore down closer to the stroke in which later launched the ls engine of today in the 4.8 and 5.3. The 305 was more stable and less vibration when rev"d out than the 350 or 400 and 327 which meant a ton of capabilities in performance and 80 percent of 350's high end parts were direct bolt on's. Not sure about the 350 vortec head with high compression piston to mathematically obtain a balanced compression ratio but why not or make up the bore volume with piston and rod combo or drop a 327 crank I dunno but there are a lot of crazy things you can do or try. Ls engines are built by this principle and have small bore as well so don't throw those 305's in the creek just yet or go dig'em back out.

I had a 74 impala with a 400. Put it in a truck later. Still running in that truck today. Probably 5 or 6 different owner's.

Gotta 305 ho outta. A mc ss that will smoke your a-.

My is a 3858180 327 small journal

A good friend of mine's Dad was into Drag racing back when i was in School back in the 1960's. They were racing a 1940 Willies the engine was a 283 Bores out to 302 way back in 1963! Dragracers used the 302 long before Chevy made the Z/28.

I built three 400 small blocks. Loved them! The best combination was flat top pistons with a solid lift camshaft. I put sportsman II heads with 67 cc chamber . I did have to run AV gas due to compression. 3500 stall with 373 gear. 11.60’s in the 1/4 mile all day long. Very strong engines.

I love the 305 v8 sound 6 cyl economy. I have a 83 lu5 crosssfire vertion a topic hardly dicussed 250 lbs tq 175 hp is all you need to get the party started

Is thear a differents in cams between a lg4 , vs lu5 crossfire

Hell yeah buddy! 454 with 781 heads right here!

The same people that say the 305 can't make any power because of the bore size will brag up a 5.3 ls. Which is only. 044 bigger bore than the 305. Put a good set of aluminum heads with 194 valve and a roller cam. And the 305 will make good power

The rod ratio in a 327 is considered the best of all engines thats the key.

I had a friend who was a junkman. He built a pickup to haul 10,000 lbs of scrap engine blocks to the scrapyard. He used a 305 because it was good on fuel. It got the job done. But it is not a good engine if you want more than 300 ft lbs of torque. I don't care what cam you pick. It wont do it.

Turn off the music. It's majorly annoying.

Your opinion is just one out of thousands doesn't make a difference everybody has their own opinion

Pulling LSes from the junkyard, and throwing on two turbos, launched the empire of some guy named Garret.

You could build one......but you have to ask. Why would you? There is a lot of near ROMANCE for the Iconic little Racer that was the 302! That's a fact. Why? TRANS AM!!! The engine powered Mark Donahue to some high profile Championships in his '68 and '69 seasons before Chevrolet pulled out and Donahue left to run an AMC instead. So this alone certainly explains the popularity and ICON status that lives on to this day. In 1967 when Chevy had to build an engine to meet the rule requirements their 327 and new 350 engines already had the 4.0 inch bore and that old school 283 crank length gave them the dimensions required. Engineers threw every trick and part they knew to do at the time at the engine. Free floating wrist pins, all forged low end parts and the best factory heads of the day. Solid lifter cam and pieces like the dual carb cross ram were developed. All of this for use in a racing series that limited entrants to 305cu in or smaller. As a street car motor or drag race engine. This is an IMPOSSIBLE engine to want between the fenders of a Camaro. I can't think of single way to go that makes the 302 a "winner" vs easier and less expensive builds to get to any given ET you might be targeting. The 302 was never installed in any other car beyond the Z/28 for a good reason. It wasn't a good engine vs what could be built when you weren't facing that Trans Am rule book. Today it's really tough to build one. I'd only do it for a factory correct piece of Chevy History. A GOOD '67-'69 real Z/28 Camaro is the only car I'd ever build the engine for and I'd be doing with a clear understanding of how much power I'm giving up after spending the cash and effort vs what I could have built out of a SBC without a 302cu in limitation. Small wonder to me 383 sizes are far more common today when talking about a small block with a 4.0" bore. It takes a pretty serious racing build to coax 500 very peaky HP out a peanut sized 302. You might not care if it makes lousy power under 4,500RPM at a race track. Yet street going, mild mannered, 383 sized engines doing it with big fat torque curves means you can have your cake and eat it too. You can make the same top end power at lower RPM and retain a bunch of tire sheading torque down where you can really use it on the street. Even at the drag strip..... a 383 with a 2,500-3,000RPM stall or clutch dump off the line is going be a lot easier to make reliable than the 302 SCREAMER that winds out to super high RPM and needs a super VIOLENT 4,500 or higher converter or clutch dump to get out off the line. In this you find good arguments for why you so rarely see small displacement SBC. 350 is new "small displacement". I'm seeing a lot of 400 and even 427 Small blocks these days. Roller Cams and aluminum heads with so much more flow than was available back in the day is big part of why the trend to far bigger displacement is happening.

Legendary. Even when I was a kid in the 1960's. Dad had several 327's in various Chevies.

I got 850+hp with 454 pheads no problem. Not a big deal.

Start feeding into this, it’s an Econo engine and that’s all ever was.

Phew! I just KNEW absolutely everyone ever wer lying about the 327sbc. Im glad it was all down to YOU to releae the truth about it

Nice shirt: maximum approval!

torque-ee engine Grrr...

Can I hire you to rebuild my 327?

Decent video on Big Block hands down is more reliable takes way less to make a big block run there's not a sensor that will prevent it from running if you're in the middle of nowhere

The 67 Chevy C10 with a 327/3 speed transmission. The one I had was a 4 bolt main small journal steel crank with wide journals. And the heads were the hump heads and 1.94/1.5 valves with a Quadrajet.

My first car when I turned 16 in 1971 was a 67 RS Camaro with a 327 2bl carb and a 4 speed Saginaw trans. How I wish I had kept that car.

Is that a thumper cam in the 454 on the 2nd truck?

I PICKED UP A BARE BLOCK SBC 400 FOR $150.... CUZ THE GUY HAD HEARD THE RUMORS... LOL

I'll always advocate a roller because cam breakin on a flat tappet cam causes me anxiety, heh. :) But yes, they're not cheap, and of course they have their own issues.

Get an aftermarket block with all the modern improvements and will be good for 600 plus HP.

What did you say the bore on a 350 is haha 😂😆

Ya I got a lot of tickets with mine awh the my crazy days

It's really strange how everyone has their own opinion on the small block and they're all different

Imagine a C4 with a 327 set up. Would be a total sleeper. The higher RPM and combination of decent gear ratio setup would make it a force to be reckoned with.

Why Do people buy Comp.crap ?? Those ten to fail eating lifters

Builda gen 2 LT with the 5.7 and its little brother 4.3L as it has a 3” stroke .

I mostly use NOS cams and lifters if I cant find them, Elgin cam and lifter Prostock Brand work fine.

I was a teenager in the late 1980s. I remember the 400 getting SCRAPPED a LOT. People would bolt on heads without drilling steam holes & then the block would get damaged. Many never made it through the first rebuild.

No way that sort of deal would happen today.

"454 SS I race Porsches, white leather seats as fresh as Air Forces"

68-69 was the 010 block, i have a few

Fuel economy is why i have a 454 72 El Camino to shit and get and a 78 Mercedes benz 300D to daily drive. The Merc gets up to 500 miles on a tank of diesel and 27-32MPG but puts out 175hp and my big block is like 12mpg and 525hp.

Just swapped a MK IV 7.4L 454 into my 72 SS El Camino 😂😂 super fun and loud AF with straight long tube headers.

Better dont buy chinese crap and comp stuff Elgin is much more reliable and made in USA.

4 5. 4. Ls. 😂😂😂😂

There’s a reason why the 302 was the rival to the 350 and the 351 was the equivalent of a 383