Topic: 400 ci

[1976bober]

I maybe able to get a 400 4brl. #481988 1973, Would I be able to get some resonable hp from this one ?  It will more than likely need a rebuild but has been told it was recentlly done but one would not know unless it was disassembled to see!!!     Thanks

[sCI]

Definitely. That block is pre-'75 so it is of a better alloy.

As for if poncho 400's can lay down some serious performance and speed. You bet your butt(that you just left behind....)!!!

[73Formula]

I guess that depends on what you would call decent. I have a '73 400, the "T" version, which according to the literature I have read, is the one with the most power of that year  (I think 230hp, 310 tq)  To put in perspective, my '08 Subaru Legacy will dog it, but its turbocharged AWD with about 250 hp. THe bird is definetely faster than my first car, a '79 with the 403. Hope this helps.

[Mr. P-Body]

   For our "purposes" here, the orignal ratings of engines from the early '70s really have no significance.  Add a mild cam to that 400 and will run away and hide from the Subaru.  Those engines were MASSIVELY "detuned" for emmissions.

   I get a lot of calls asking if we're "willing" to build a 400. HUH? In the last three weeks, I've had no less than 8 calls regarding this. The callers didn't mention names, and I didn't ask, but they all complained that the shops they were talking to ALL said "Just throw a stroker kit in it". 

   A 400 is a GREAT basis for a very powerful and durable engine. Scott Roberts' '68 Firebird went 11.10s over 118 with a  fairly "mild" 406.  Pump-gas street engine.  In 1998... He put a "100 shot" to it and went 10.47 @ 121. The engine is still "alive" today. It has different heads and innards, as it now serves a different purpose, but the rods and pistons are still the same ones.

   We're getting a block from up North Monday, for a "long rod" 400, making near 500 HP and revving hard past 6,500.  Once he adds aluminum heads and a solid roller, a 7,000 RPM, 600 HP monster is "there" (future plans with modifications to the block "built in").

   Vinny Madeya in SoCal just went 6.99 @ 199  a couple weeks ago, with a "stock block" 400 and a CAST 400 crank. 8,500 RPM, 15% nitro... (:-

   GTO didn't get it's reputation from losing to SS396, and the vast majority were 389s and 400s.

Jim