400-THE OTHER SBC (WITH DOUBLE BOOST)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.ค. 2024
- FULL RESULTS, 400 SBC, LOTS OF BOOST 8-71 & VORTECH BLOWERS. Why is the big 400 The Other Small Block? It never got any performance, because GM never gave it the goods! What about rod ratio-is it important? What did the Hi-Performance 302, 327 and 350s have that the 400 did not? Check these 400 builds as we add boost first from an 8-71 then from a Vortech YS-I supercharger. 1000-hp never sounded so good!
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![Pushing Vortech's New Blower Kit to the Max with Our Built 427 Small Block [Fixing Old Problems]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qsgZj719IV0/mqdefault.jpg)
Bought a bunch of these in the early 80's (about $50 each) and saved them as my retirement projects. All I can say is that on a dollar to horsepower calculus, it is very hard to beat for a good street engine!
sounds like a great idea! Best wishes
Torque!!!
I've built 13 engines for my monte carlo and the 400 was always the best bang for my buck. Holy shit those engines have so much torque they can break a neck.
I built a few different 350s for my 80 Malibu in those days and they all ran very well, but the 1st time I used a 406 with 12.5-1 compression it broke the 7.5" 10 bolt immediately.
Same here! Lol
LMAO! Gobs of torque!
Torque!!
You broke a ten bolt? no way lol
ran 9.5s years ago in an isuzu pickup. 406 world heads 150 shot. welded factory diff in the truck with 10" slicks..
Yep the read axle has chevy stamped all over it. the 4.10 gears inside... FACTORY GM. now we never broke that pos axle.....
back halved the truck 9" ford with a spool
4.56 gears and a 14" wide tire... broke 3 axles go figure... wth
I heard that stuff about the 400 rod length forever, thanks for a definitive answer. SBCs Forever!
The only small block I ever used for my drag car. They are excellent. My first hotrod got a 400. Back in the 80's smoked every small block car I ever went up against and several big blocks. Most of them that I used were built with the stock connecting rods. I got into the 11's na with one completely stock bottom end, a set of camel hump 2.02" heads that I home ported and a smallish solid flat tappet cam. This was in a 3300 pound car. There was plenty more in it but the car was stolen before I got the chance to really get it optimised. Its one of my favorite engines of all time.
what was your stall and rear end ratio
Great content Richard.
I build engines and I wish I could convince my customers of the point that you just proved.
One engine, unlimited possibilities.
Mild to wild.
Thanks again, Ed M.
We learned of the 400 small blocks down south from the dirt trackers and Sportsmen drag racers in the early late 70s early 80s. Ran a 64 Nova station wagon with a mile 406 and 373 gears on the street in the early 80s, most fun I've ever had with a car! 400 small block best bang-for-the-buck.
how mild was 406 ?
Here we go! THIS is the test I have been wanting to see. Gonna go ahead and give it a thumbs up and make some dinner then watch it lol.
How was dinner?
@@fuddrucker74 Burnt???
So happy I built a 406 for my vette!
406ci SBC
Scat 9000
10.5:1 Probe Pistons
Eagle Rods
Protopline 235cc Heads
.545in/557ex. 244/248 @ .050" 106lsa
RPM Airgap
Holley 750
3000 Stall
Turbo 350 basic rebuild/shift kit
Building a 406 with the protopline 235cc heads as well . Nice heads
Nice!
Mine was built back in 2000
40 over 400 block #817 eagle 5.7 rods
Eagle 4340 crank Srp pistons
World sportsman II heads ported
Was built for spray 200 shot
Sprayed it twice with a 150 shot
Had children car sat .
Well I just threw a 80 mil turbo on it
Comp turbo cam
Compression 10.5 and man she rips!!
I really love the fact that turbos like 3.08 3.23 gears and wider center lobe cams!
Now I have brakes and it pulls like a freight train ! Haha!
Protopline heads ? I never heard of them
Definitely gonna look them up !
At some point I’m gonna need a new block so maybe the next build 👍🏻
Daniel Mcquoid nice build!! I’m building a 5.7 Hemi into a 6.4( 394 )forged stroker for my 13’ Ram 1500 right now, with a Comp cam 210/222 .600 lift 114LSA, Hellcat swap, 6.4 dual plain manifold, 5.7 heads (cleaned up with bowl work and high lift springs), 3000k stall, and 11:0:1 compression. I’m hoping for a torque monster in N/A form till I add boost.
Bet she scoots good
Used to street race a couple 406's back in the day....loved them engines!!
A friend of mine built a 400 for His 70 Nova. After He drove it one time, He said He would never build another 350.
World of difference...
Need atleast 3.75 stroke
I love the extra torque
Until he blows a head gasket and joins "the informed".
@Jim Watson definatley. I have a 406 an copper 041 head gaskets. No issues at 650 hp plus a 400 big shot
I remember my cousin's nova with a 400 sbc 40 years ago. Stock motor but it had enough power to break the rear tires loose without side stepping the clutch!
I have been running the 400 SBC since the late 80's, the short rods were never an issue until you started making real power and they started to become a problem, either way a fine engine that has served me well for a long time.
Great video Richard! 400 is my favorite SBC. My uncle and I built two of them. One for his 69 Camaro (replaced the stock 307). And the other for our farm/street stock pulling truck, a 1967 K20 with SM420 and Eaton axle w/4.56 gears. Both motors got double hump heads and ran great!
Can a 400 be made out of an old school SBC !!!
Arguably the best small block I ever built was a 400 .030 over with a forged 350 bottom end. If I remember that produced 377 cubic inches. It was for a dirt track stock car. Rules said it had to have flat top pistons and a 2 bbl carb. Holley 500 cfm 2 bbl was legal. And a stock cast iron intake of any gender. So of course I had a 4 bbl intake. I put "double hump" heads on it with 2.02 intake valves. And some porting was utilized but mostly just gasket matching the intake with the heads. But the secret to what I did that no one ever knew about at the track was I angle milled the heads from zero on the intake side to .120 on the exhaust side. If I remember correctly this raised the compression up to around 10.5 from 9. It was back in the mid 80's so my memory is not for sure but I do remember how good that thing ran for sure!!!!!
Personally dealt with a 400 with the "junk" short rods. With some max effort ported 461s with 1.6 rockers, flat tops, and a comp 294s it was a running son of a gun. It motivated the short bed 4x4 it was in very well.
I just recently bought a stock 400 SB. It has all factory pistons, 5.565 rods, and crank. I'm going to put twin 76mm turbos on it and an Elgin 224/224 @.050, .466/.466 lift, 114 LSA cam, and ported 882 heads.
you can use a better cam and its better to use another head or at least port those 882 as wide as possible ... ofcourse it needs some math
I've been building 400s for over 30 years. People dogged me at first, telling me all the horror stories, and why it wouldn't work. That soon changed, and people started showing respect for the small block that was giving many big blocks more than they wanted. My experience has been the 400 likes big heads and more cam timing. Rod ratio makes no difference. I believe Joe Sherman said once that the "rods connect the piston to the crank, period". Great engine for a street machine in my opinion. Power of a big block, with the weight of a small block.
Michael Tucker : I flat out love the SBC 400. But its not a patch on the same 402 Big Block. Its the weight loss for a similar power level and thats a postive trade off in 1/8 or 1/4 mile time with the 400 Chev. The bigger bore spacing 396/402 makes more power with less revs if done right. There is a lovely old 1990 ish Hot Rod article that discussed this with a Mouse Vs Rat Comparison. I like the 400 more...just needs heads that flow like the best Big Block canted valves. You can ser how worried Chevrolet were that maybee a Rochester or 1976 Cadillac style Speed Density EFi in 1973 like the Cosworth Vega system...it might have killed off the Big Block!
Thanks! Was going through withdrawals from not having my daily dose of a Richard Holdener video.
More to come!
Thanks Richard thats what a was asking to see and u delivered i 400sbs my first camaro had one in it and my fast car had one in it lol by far my most favorite sbc
Glad I could help
I originally was looking for a 400 sb to build up with a stroker kit but couldn’t find a good core that wasn’t cracked. That was around 2002, I’d go aftermarket nowadays but went stroked BBC
. Great video!
My off shore race motors from 1970 are 427 tall blocks stroked. Love that long stroke.
Thanks to a Switched on friends advice, who was still an apprentice mechanic, (who believed you should not look at the HP an engine makes but the foot pound of torque, going no higher than 5500-6000 rpm for the street). So in 1989 I was one of the first if not the first to run a 400 Small Block in Adelaide possibly even Australia. It had Forged Flat Top TRW Pistons, Stock heads an LT-350-HP cam and an Edelbrock Dual Quad manifold with 2 Carters on it. It cost me $4500 and produced 210k/w @ 4500 RPM at the rear wheels. we couldn't push any further as my 55 Chevy was losing traction. To the disbelief of the mechanics who literally said 'What the F*ck is in this". Why? The day before they did my mild little 400 they had a $7500, - 350 built by one of Adelaide leading engine builders who told me not to go for a 400 and run a 350, and his 350 produced 210k/w at 7000-RPM. (but i guarantee you i had more foot pound of torque than his engine did). Needless to say my cheap mild little 400 destroyed everything on the streets of Adelaide for over 4 years. and believe me when i tell you this, they were all $7000-15,000 engines. Big Blocks and Small Blocks. i would push my 400 to 5500 rpm, slam the powerglide into 2nd and she would slingshot my 55 into another dimension. The 400 S/B revolution didn't come till 4-5 years after i had mine on the road. As for the short rods, no they don't make any less power, from what i am told they simply limit you to a comfortable rev range of around 5500 RPM, if you are building a 400 it's best to use the 5.7" rod (which they have had for a while now, as they produce less piston friction on the bore). as for the factory used 4 bolt 400, I was told a while ago that they do have a tendency to crack around the bolt holes under pressure, and that the 2 bolt 400 was actually stronger. so if you are looking to supercharge the engine an aftermarket block is best. "anybody who chooses a gen 1 small block smaller than a 383 or 400, is living in the dark ages, HP means nothing as there is no substitute for foot pound of torque.
I've run 400 sbc for the last 10 years, current setup is 400 30 over 5.7 rods h beam eagle crank and rods , heads are ebay 200cc runners 64cc chambers 11:1 pump gas flat Tappet 535 lift howards cam. Runs 11:50s in the quarter in my s10.
Great analysis RH! Thoroughly enjoyed.
Engine Master's Jon Kaase; "run rods 2" longer than stroke". In the 80's I took a 400 added Brodix Heads 2.08 int., cam, etc. installed into a 69 XKE Jag. raised the gear ratio to 2.88/1 with a 4 sp., used only 2 gears ever, start in 2nd, immediately shift to 4th. Never had it on a dragstrip , but with the independent rear it was pretty much unbeatable on the street at 2300 lbs. Of course never tangled with a like style street rod. Should have never sold it, wish I could find it. Red, IROC chrome, no holes in hood (bonnet).
The 400 is king of the small blocks. Great video Richard.
Ive gotta say...what a well researched article. Thanks for telling everyone who querried the 3.75 inch stroke. Bang on regards the rod ratio on a good breathing 400 Chev small block. Finally some justice in the SBC world!
Love my 414. Offset ground 400 crank with 6" 350 rods. More cubic inches.
nice! Any idea of hp numbers?
I'm glad I watched this video (I watch all your videos). I have a new Bowtie block I found on Craigslist a few years ago. It's the one with the 3.97" bore and I was planning on using it when I rebuild my '68 L69 327. Since I would have to get the Bowtie block bored for my new .030" over 327 pistons I decided after watching this video to "go big" with the Bowtie block and have it bored .125", get a good forged 400" crank/rod assembly, a good set of heads (probably AFR) and solid roller cam. I'll rebuild the L79 with the original block so if decide to sell my EC in the future I'll put the rebuilt 327 in it and keep the 400" motor.
Boost and a good flowing head.. best of both worlds!
Love your uploads 🇦🇺🤜🏼🤛🏼😎🍀
thanks for this video Richard! I am planning on a Dart block with 350 size mains.
I don't know why everyone is drooling over 383 strokers, when they can just build a 400, especially on a low buget build
Im not a builder of motors. but I have been just day dreaming about 383 stroker crate motors to replace the 400 sb's I have two chevy's.
@Peter google: steam hole modification small block Chevy heads, or cooling modification 400 sbc.
400 blocks getting hard to come by. And the ones you do find (atleast where I'm from) are cracked
The 400 with trw flat top pistons, good cam and decent heads is a street beast. Had one in a 68 Camaro would run 6.90's all day long on motor then drive it anywhere.
The small block 400 was always my favorite small block, I had a few of them and just a cam swap would wake those motors right up, beat up on any other similar small block I raced against, it was a lot faster than my 302 HO big roller cam motor with TFS heads and a victor junior intake, Holley 650 double pumper, that was a huge disappointment
302 HO Ford? That combo should've been around 420HP or so.
@@dennisrobinson8008 so they say, I wasn’t impressed, it was tuned perfect, MSD ignition, BBK headers and exhaust, the whole summit 5.0 page, tremec transmission, 3.73 gears 8.8 limited slip rear end
My brother has a 72 Caprice with a 400 SBC my parents bought new. Story was it was ordered for the police department as an interceptor but they backed out from lack of funds and the car was sold at a discount. It has a factory iron 4barrell manifold and I don't know what else but I know that car would flat haul. Geared to the moon it would go well over 100mph in 2nd gear. I don't know the top speed but the speedo will go past the 120mph limit mark like it does the 80mph mark. The suspension on that tank at 120+ makes it feel like you are just floating and hopeing the road is still under you. The guys that raced those things in the day 200mph were nuts! lol
Hi Richard, I built a 400 from a bunch of stock parts I had laying around about 15 years ago. It started life in a '76 Laguna S3, I used a set of Vortec heads (906), a 268H Comp Cam, a set of TRW forged pistons with the relocated pin hole and a set of PM 5.7" Vortec rods. Topped it with a 800 QJ on a Weiand manifold and the only machine work was a port match and decking the block and heads, only major parts bought besides the usual was the pistons. We stuffed it into a '69 nova that belonged to a friend, OMG. I had a 76 Camaro at the time with a 454 and Turbo 400 and he made it a point to embarrass me every chance he got and rub my nose in the fact I had built the motor. I had to step up my act with one of the first LS's I built at the time but no one would believe it was a 400 in that Nova. Was it the longer rods that helped that motor run so well, maybe the heads, just got lucky on the combination ? Who knows but I still have another cast crank 400 short block sitting and with the cost of SBC parts lately maybe a new build with a turbo would be interesting but I can attest to how much power those engines can make.
Always been a fan of the 400. Thanks.
It works for me. A mechanic friend that kept my big truck going well built a 400 and put it in a S 10 and went to drag racing. Well, he had to have it inspected all the time and the officials would ask him what he had done to it to make it so fast and he said he said he just ordered a kit and took his time and put it together and that was it. Well he had all the safety stuff but after his first season they told him before he started the next season he would have to have a parachute. Apparently it was very fast. As they say, whoever they are, "There's no replacement for displacement." Excellent video.👍
Would like see some high low end torque 400 vs 383 vs 350 be great to see how they come out
I had AFR 225'S on my sbc 400(.060 over) but they are off in anticipation of a new set of $10000 Billet heads on order now. She's a screamer already in my sleeper 1979 k20 AWD Silverado. I have destroyed the ego on many a big and small block. When real competition steps up, I tend to go to the track. Everyone else gets beat to the speed limit, as they finally speed past me going faster than posted speed limits. No tickets in my back pocket, lol! I really don't cate if I get beat. It's all in horsepower fun. Love my sleapers.
Had a 400 in my 67 Chevelle drag car. Ran Doug Herbert cam, dart heads, victor intake, dome pistons running 13.5:1, and ran alcohol. Ran 5.90s in the 1/8 in a all steel body car. S
Will Johnson that’s pretty much my set up in an s10. What was your vehicle weight
Great video! Nothing like good old 400 sbc!
I was waiting for a 400 sbc so id have a reference for mine
Was waiting for this test! Had a 400 Sb with fuelie heads and a mild cam. Tall gearing because it was a high car and that motor still pulled strong. Then spun a cam bearing and would loose oil pressure at idle. No over size cam bearings for 400 they said.
richard. YOU ARE MY HERO !!! Holy cow, you are a BEAST !
Love that 400sbc! When I was younger back in the 90's, we ran 1/2 ton 4wd 81-87 Chevy trucks. The first thing we would do is build a 400 and swap out the 305/350's. We abused the hell outta them and we never had any block problems. We did however blow a bunch of transmissions and rear-ends.
Ahh this is one of the engines I really wanted to see, great stuff
Awesome comparison, Richard. You bringing up the OEM vs. Aftermarket block question addresses my question. In the rust belt, the trucks rotted away by the nineties, mostly. Circle Track racers scarfed most of the production blocks years ago. I always heard contrasting things about plugging the steam holes in the block deck, vs drilling heads to accommodate them. It seemed like guys took the 400 crank to make 383 ci engines, then circle track guys would buy the cracked blocks, spray weld the decks, then put 350 cranks in them for 377 ci.
Great video....very informative...thanks rich✌
Glad I snagged one 15 years ago. Damn dirt track dudes!
As a Ford guy I owned a 72 c10 with a built 509 block 400 it kicked ass!It made 425hp and 500ft lbs of torque ran ICE cold and ran HARD!!
400 shootout,chevy,ford,dodge.Of coarse my favorite would be a AMC 401 but finding one is the trick.
Don’t forget Pontiac.
Just not many piston choices in some of those families especially the 400 Ford but at least it had access to sll the Cleveland head selection
Easy-peasy! 401s are just bored AMC 360s. When you build yours, PLEASE go "Dry-sump, oiling", as Penske DID, after running AMCs in the old Trans-AM series, after he had 23 mains FAILURES! AMC KNEW it had main-bearing "oiling problems" with raced 390s & 401s, but instead of FIXING the "oiling-to-the-mains problem", AMC just CAST. thousands of replacement 360 blocks which could be bored/built to 390 / 401s to satisfy warranty claims. My wife & I. had to have one of our 390s rebuilt after very-little racing, and $6K for 550Hp is WHY AMC V-8s are "un-loved" compared to other engines. Even "Hot-Rod" magazine had a DNF on a coast-coast race, running a crate-401 in a '74 Hornet Hatchback! Maybe Penske & AMC were "quiet" on what problems they had with the wet-sump oiling of AMC V-8 main bearings, but after having "eaten" some 396 Chevelles & fuelie-vettes, with a big-block 'Stang or Mopar, you might start it up the next morning faced with a spun-bearing @ idle, that'd garage your AMX for 4 months while it was getting gone-over from the pan-up...BUMMER!!!
@@jackdale9831 I ran a 360 Javelin for about 15 years or more,that car seen past the redline revs uncountable times and it never had a problem like that.Must have been a wednesday car eh.
Well you'd need to test at least two different Chevy 400's. The SBC and the BBC 400. It'd be nice to see a dyno comparison between a similarly modified 400 SBC and 400 BBC. I haven't seen one of those in years.
Rewatched this one because I had a SBC400 in a 72 Impala. To put it in perspective the 327-365 made about 355 hp on the dyno. That works out to 1.08 HP per CI. A combination capable of making that same 1.08 HP/CI would make 432 HP on a 400 SBC.
yes-but none of the factory 400s ever came close to that
Back in the early 80's we would pull the 400 4 bolt 4 barrel motor out of a Kingswood Estate wagon. I don't know why, maybe the life of slow pulls seasoned the block, but with a good cam, intake and valve job these things were awesome in a light Nova or Vega.
I also used a 400 block to build a .125 over 302. TRW made the pistons back then and the pin location was to use 302 rods and crank It had overheating issues too but it was a drag engine. It wasn't a idea build because of the extra machine work special main bearings and have it balanced
Great video bud, we have a 400 in my son's nova and it's a beast. 👍
Nice 👍
I'd sure like to see more 400 builds there getting alot harder to find and when u do they usually want alot for them in good shape.
I got a 400sbc I'm waiting to build I had to go outta town to get it
That’s what powers my ‘85 K5
Just get a aftermarket block easy to get.
I’m gonna order me dart block they aren’t cheap but well worth it walls are a lot thicker helps with heat and more ci
As long as you don’t put window in them they are gonna last past what factory can (.040) bore wise any more than that little too thin
I have done the newer “Dart & “Blueprint SB 400 & they are a Beast with the right Rotating Assembly, Cam & Heads
those are good
@@richardholdener1727 Would you be willing to test a stock 400? Internet always talks about how they all over heat. How the block is weak. Lets see a stock 400s limitations
@@richardholdener1727 could you plz send me the part number for that speedmaster block I've tried looking it up on speedmaster and can't seem to find it. You do a great job and keep the dyno vids spinning!!!
I put a 400 in a Chevy Monza for a friend of mine. It was just a stocker and it was plenty hairy. The torque was marvelous.
My brother had a built 400 in a 85 firebird its still the hardest pulling car ive ever rode in
Your comment just made me smile. No Joke, I did the same thing! Black 1985 Firebird. Formula hood and put "Formula 400" on door just like the formula 350 of the time. It pulled hard and without any issues. It would dominate any fox body , IROC, or Trans Am. lots of great memories. I think I may build another one just like it and use that aftermarket block.
Thanks so much Richard I love your channel.
Thanks for watching!
Here's the 406 SBC I built a few years back for my -67 Camaro grocery getter :
- 400 SBC block from 1976, 0.030" over
- Milodon splayed main caps (center three), ARP studs
- Eagle forged crank, Scat Pro Sport H-beam 6" rods, SRP Pro Series pistons. 10.2:1 CR
- AFR Eliminator 195cc heads, street port, ARP head studs
- Comp Cams Extreme Energy 282 hydraulic roller cam, Howards lifters, Comp 1.6 Pro Magnum rockers
- Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap intake, 750CFM Holley double pumper, 1" HVH spacer
- HEI distributor, Pertronix coil and module
WIth a TH700 tranny, 3.55 rear gears and 3650lbs weight, I ran a 11.34sec/120MPH quartermile.
Excellent video. Hey Richard, can you do a roots blower test where you use Premium pump gas/Race gas/E85/Methanol to show the power differences and potential of each fuel as well as the discharge temps? Maybe use a decent blower like a stripped Littlefield.
When i think sbc i think 400.
I built a 406 for a k5. Nothing fancy, reused the rods but polished them, had 10:1 compression with a set of mildly ported aluminum l98 heads, wieand stealth intake and a decent comp cam. It had instant torque and was very powerful. It pulled like a champ.
Those heads are fantastic for lower than 6k rpm.
One of my favorite street heads due to port velocity and small combustion chamber size.
Makes it really easy to put a hot street engine together on the cheap that will last damn near forever.
@@joeshumo9457 i think they're good for well past 6000 rpm. My 406 pulled to 6500-6800 just fine. The old tpi intakes didn't like higher rpm's.
Glad to see you do some 400 testing. I know the ls stuff is the easy way now but the 406 to 434 has always been my go to. Old school with nitrous 🤙
I agree!! My 355 with wieand 177 10.1/2 to 1 hydraulic cam with the 2.5 upper and a 7in lower and a hundred shot of nitrous made my truck run 970. Now I have a 406ci with the same wind 177 supercharger solidcam no aluminum heads yet that makes a shit ton of power. What idk yet but the 355 made over 600hp to the wheels
I love, Love, LOVE! A 400 small block!!
Buddy had a B&M Mega Blower on a 350, put the cam and heads on a 400 and shaved a full second off in the quarter. Both were stock blocks with factory pistons.
Great video and that output was all nonintercooled. Intercool for lower charge temperature and fuel injection for a Big Bang SBC 400
I've had a couple 400s. Love them! Am ready to tear my current one apart to handle lots of nitrous. I'd be curious what head gasket and studs you used (brand and part number) as well as the gap on your piston rings. Got specs and numbers to share? I would appreciate the advice.
Once again boost for the win, the 400 with an aftermarket block is a killer combination in many forms
I really enjoyed the fact that someone decided to cover the SBC 400. However, there seems to be almost no budget with this build which makes it hard for the average Joe to relate to.
Been waiting for this!
Smal block 406 chevy is brutal!
I built a short rod 383 one time ..550+hp and 520ish tq street motor.
What heads ?
@@Bacongrease00 Dart iron eagle.
I built a short rod 383 too, 20 years ago. Ran good with Track 1's and a decent size solid roller and a 125 shot but would wear the thrust side of the cylinder bores out in two summers worth of street digs and a few trips to the track. Replaced the block twice in 4 yrs. They were easy to come by back then so no big deal. I knew it was time when leakdown % started climbing or MPH began falling off. :)
@@BERPSU1 Right..only reason I done the 383 is at the time I couldn't find a 400 2 bolt block this was about 15 years ago. For cheap and what I had in the engine. Is was pretty stout .. kinda like yours ..it needed rebuilt more often than not.
Another awesome video thanks
Yay, a 400 video. Ive got a 400 w/twin 72's and a CSU 750 that runs pretty good. I'll prob switch to LS when I blow it up but it never blows up!
That damn 400. LOL!
Hi Richard, love your videos. Especially this one. I have a stock 400 block I would like to build and a vortech blower, what combination do you suggest for a mostly street engine in a 87 z28 pushing 700 on pump gas?
cheap turbos also work
Love the content but my local salvage yard is as likely to have a Faberge Egg or a bus full of cheerleaders break down in front of the main gate as they are to have a 400 small block. They were rare and hard to find 20 years ago.
Always loved the SBC400. Fasted car I had ever been in until maybe 5 years ago was a supercharged sbc-400 a buddy got his hands on back in the early 90's. Was impossible to keep running right but when it did was insane.
Richard, do you have any "classic"engine combination charts from the 80's and 90's? Be interesting to see what those old Edelbrock and Offenhauser type kits were really able to produce.
And it is sort of funny that the factory long rod engines of old never revved out enough to take advantage of the benefits.
We never had rod issues in the 400... We had axle issues and pinion gear issues and torque converter issues...😂 Still love this video
Hey Richard you should do a video on the small block 305 budget build.
I have some 305 vids up
@@richardholdener1727 cool thanks.
Factory block would not have mattered or influenced hp/torque readings. Aftermarket blocks offer a lot of advantages over stock blocks particularly under boost or higher compression ratios. I know preaching to the choir. Lol. Good test with results as expected. I so enjoy your videos. Always informative, always practical, well thought out engine combinations. Thank you.
As I remember the limits on the stock blocks were due to cooling with the thinner cylinder wall and hot spots between the cylinders. Was a good motor but very touchy for cooling temps.
In the early 90s we're running 406 377 for everything from Circle Track to drag racing
Sbc 406 my favorite,,,
Just got a small block 400 from my brother who went LS. Thinking of bore and stroking it into a 434.
You’re saying, the small block 400 doesn’t stop at 5200 because of the Rod length, It’s because 194 don’t flow enough for 400 in.³
Yea the 400s really perform best with a 200-220cc cylinder head. Stock 400 heads are garb, really no different from 350 except for the steam holes.
@@rustysausage69 is that why I never felt in love ( cylinder head differents is sizing to the bottom end ) with my 1980’s 350 sbc 700R4 vs my ( favourite out of the ones I’ve tried ) 60’s 327 manual 4-speed both were in trucks and most people think 💭 sbc is a 350 or 383 stroker then 327 then 305 ( junk didn’t like it in the 80’s trucks ) the 302 or 400 aren’t mentioned in my Group of car guys the bigger 400 main and rod bearings are though most people try to shrink it to a smaller size but not me I’d rather have the extra loading capacity and I’m the same way with longer rods as bearings are cheap cylinder boring isn’t
@@richardprice5978
Rod journals are the same size as the large journal 350.👍
@The Truth about Africa hurts
Nope. A common misconception is that there was a small journal 350 in 1967. But there wasn't. I just worded it that way to avoid an argument with someone who thinks there was. The rod journals on the 400 are the same as any other small block Chevrolet with the exception of the early 327, 283, 265 and 1967 302s. 1968/69 302s had medium journals. I guess they call them medium journals as compared to the big blocks. As far as I know that's right.
@The Truth about Africa hurts 1967 Camaro SS350 had a small journal engine, very rare. Every other 350 of all other models and years are large journal
That's awesome, I wish I was closer to you, I would let you use one of my 4 spare 400s that I have in my shop!
That would be cool!
@@richardholdener1727 I guess I could always ship it to you! I believe I also have a good 4.3 baby LT1
SBC Dart Little M 400 cid, Dart 215 Platinum Heads, Probe Pistons, Scat Rotating Assm. with 5.7 in. rods, Crane 118751 Mech Roller Cam, Chevy Bowtie 10051103 RR Intake, Holley Competition 830cfm Carb, Crane Cams Gold Rockers. Made 640 hp on an ez tune, the power band is sweet!
In the 80’s I ran a mildly built 400 in a Monza. It retired with 0 losses. I had good heads, exhaust, and cam. Struggled with engine temperature the entire time.
If I remember right, lots of people had heat problems with 400's. I think lots of the problems stemmed from the weep holes in the block being covered with the wrong head gasket. I remember several times going into one and finding that these holes were blocked....
Changing plugs a real joy in the Monza
Richard Holdener. Love the show lots of great stuff. My question is have you tested the double hump heads on anything? I have a set that have been Ported and polished, I wondering if theyre atleast as good as a modern set of off the shelf aftermarket heads
All of the original muscle car small blocks i tested had Fuelie (double hump) heads. I have not seen a ported set flow or make power like a set of modern AFR heads
I would love for you to tell us what ring gap you use on each combination. Just throw the info in the video like you do with cam specs.
Awesome work as usual. Thank you!
both had near .030
Love to see you do a 400 Ford. I bet that it would make really good HP & TQ numbers. I know that a 400 Ford won engine masters once and possibly more times then that. Throw some boost at it to if possible.
Thanks for keeping us ford guys entertained ! Lol
Great video
A little 400 love... I like it!
@richardholdener on the sb400 why did you go with 110 lobe separation and not 114 . Also you never give information on ring gap and how much.
Point well made !!!
There's a local guy that bought a restored short bed mid 80s c10 square body equipped with a moderate built up roller SBC 406, I was told he bought it with the intentions of doing an LS swap for that next level performance but after a week of driving it around he came to the conclusion that definitely would be not necessary because as people say " just an old smallblock" was way more than adequate... I love that stuff and as much as I respect LS based engines it would be cool to spank an LS swapped truck, just because I love an underdog and because the folks that rip on the SBC even tho they are one of the greatest engines of all time with run of over 40 years....it's not the best design obviously but still has very high power potential no other platform has or ever will do that again. Also the idea engine gurus are building hybrid engines of basically and LS with SBC short block architecture claiming it's definitely superior.... Huh.
I thought you were old enough to remember smokey yunick and joe sherman but I guess not.
First Smokey did extensive dyno testing back in the late 60's or 70's and he found he could make more power with the longer rods. Once he let that out the rest is history. Circle track magazine repeated the test and they got the same result. Here is what my take on what they were getting. These first off were motors that met certain stock car rules. Second point was that piston speed at tdc is slower with a longer rod and piston speed was slower for the short rod halfway down the stroke. Third point is the short rod creates more side load (due to angle of the rod) against the cylinder wall.
The motors that would make the extra power had restrictions on the top side and the slower piston speed would allow the cylinder to get more a/f into the cylinder and make more power. These restrictions that Circle Track had was a 2 bbl carb and smog heads. Now if you think there is a magic gobs of power here forget it. It would have been enough to make the difference of winning by 4 ft. In other words about 10 horsepower and torque.
Now the big problem with chevy 400 block is because of the Siamese cylinder walls didn't allow it to cool correctly in truck applications and they would have overheating issues if you didn't watch the temp gauge and once you over heated the block it was down hill sledding from there. Second problem was because of the side loading of the short rod and blocks running hot this motor was more difficult to get long life out of them.
Joe Sherman used to build these all day long with low 500 horsepower back in the day. Then everybody started doing the 351W to 400 strokers. Joe tried one of them and was shocked how easy it was to make the same power so he dropped the chevy did this for another year and I think retired.
For the record on a 3.5 stroke chevy ran a 5.7, ford ran 5.78 - 6.25 rod length, and chrysler ran around a 6 inch rod length.
With no restrictions all those motors make the same power if you build them so they all get the same a/f in the combustion chamber. Assuming machine work and spark are equal.
I'm familiar with both
One thing i would add... by using a longer rod you are using a shorter piston, not always BUT generally a shorter piston is lighter and a lighter piston reduces rotational mass which therefore uses less energy to speed up its rotation THAT is potentially where the extra power is and a test that would be great to see
Factory balance
Aftermarket balance to 1 gram
Heavyweight
Featherweight
On a no-holds-barred (aka zero budget or time limit), go nuts with R/S ratio. On anything else that isn't going to be put on a high-speed circle track, don't bother. Money can be spent in almost anything else to make more HP per $. Just don't EVER reduce displacement to chase R/S ratio.
Engine Master's latest test on R/S ratio showed the short rods actually made more peak HP but less low-end, but only by 10HP on an 800hp BBC (1%). More important was the steady-state torque (not accelerating) was identical at low & high RPM's.
Smokenchoken: your shorter piston is lighter, but your longer rod isn't. That 1/2" of steel rod is heavier than the aluminum it frees up. You can't reduce rod weight either because that claimed side-loading stress is now put into the rod, made worse by the fact any structural member will be weaker as it gets longer.