I have a 66 malibu hardtop that I am restoring. It will be a street car built to my preferences, not restored to original. I have been trying to decide on a good motor to purchase/build. I was bitten by the big inch small block bug, but I have realized that I can easily get the power I need from a big block. I will be running a th400 trans.

After ordering what I thought was a 415 stroker small block from Larry's Performance out of montebello, CA, I sent it back. What they told me was a Scat stroker crank, turned out to be a reconditioned stock 400 crank. it was a 400 bored .060 over(works out to 412 if you do the math). In other words I got screwed. I would advise anybody otherwise of thinking of a purchase with them. They have had my money to the tune of 1650 bucks since march. They have had their product returned to them for about a month now and I still don't have my money.

I have been looking for something like a 454 or 396 BB. I found a 454 roller motor that was built as a street engine. It is in a "67 firebird that the owner is restoring. He claims he bought it from one of his good friends, along with the original engine(which is in the corner of his shop). He says that he is not into the "power thing" and just wants the car back to original.

He says he knows for a fact it has a steel Lunati crank, because he saw it go in the motor when his buddy was building it. He's not sure but he thinks it was machined by a very good machine shop that is now closed (local). he had a vave cover off when I arrived to check it out. it does have very nice roller rockers (not sure what kind). high rise aluminum intake, mallory dist. and ignition control, headers, electric fuel pump and all. He cranked it up and it sounded like a dream. He let me run it up on my own a few times and I am convinced..

He said everything goes with it mentioned above, minus the carb. He has no use for any of it, and he knows its worth more, but he didn't want to go through the hassle of a long drawn out attempt to get it. So he says $2500 and I got him down to $2200. I told him that before I handed over the money I was pulling off the oil pan to look. He had no objections. The one thing I forgot to check was the oil pressure, and I would like to know what kind of heads it has too.

I put a $100 deposit down for him to hold it. I'm thinking its a pretty good deal. Please offer your hints on what I should look for before I make the deal.

Thanks, John

If it turns out to be a good runner and performer then you got a good deal. BBC cost twice that to build at least.

I have a 66 malibu hardtop that I am restoring. It will be a street car built to my preferences, not restored to original. I have been trying to decide on a good motor to purchase/build. I was bitten by the big inch small block bug, but I have realized that I can easily get the power I need from a big block. I will be running a th400 trans.

After ordering what I thought was a 415 stroker small block from Larry's Performance out of montebello, CA, I sent it back. What they told me was a Scat stroker crank, turned out to be a reconditioned stock 400 crank. it was a 400 bored .060 over(works out to 412 if you do the math). In other words I got screwed. I would advise anybody otherwise of thinking of a purchase with them. They have had my money to the tune of 1650 bucks since march. They have had their product returned to them for about a month now and I still don't have my money.

I have been looking for something like a 454 or 396 BB. I found a 454 roller motor that was built as a street engine. It is in a "67 firebird that the owner is restoring. He claims he bought it from one of his good friends, along with the original engine(which is in the corner of his shop). He says that he is not into the "power thing" and just wants the car back to original.

He says he knows for a fact it has a steel Lunati crank, because he saw it go in the motor when his buddy was building it. He's not sure but he thinks it was machined by a very good machine shop that is now closed (local). he had a vave cover off when I arrived to check it out. it does have very nice roller rockers (not sure what kind). high rise aluminum intake, mallory dist. and ignition control, headers, electric fuel pump and all. He cranked it up and it sounded like a dream. He let me run it up on my own a few times and I am convinced..

He said everything goes with it mentioned above, minus the carb. He has no use for any of it, and he knows its worth more, but he didn't want to go through the hassle of a long drawn out attempt to get it. So he says $2500 and I got him down to $2200. I told him that before I handed over the money I was pulling off the oil pan to look. He had no objections. The one thing I forgot to check was the oil pressure, and I would like to know what kind of heads it has too.

I put a $100 deposit down for him to hold it. I'm thinking its a pretty good deal. Please offer your hints on what I should look for before I make the deal.

Thanks, John
=
First on you stroker small block. If $1600 was for a complete engine or even a decent stroker short block a huge red flag should have gone up
The term you get what you pay for comes to mind ;)

Now the BB,, I agree with Chris,
On the surface it sounds like a hell of a deal
What heads would be a very good question.
Oil pressure is very subjective & means little unless it has none :D

Pull a couple of bearing caps (rods & mains) & if they look decent buy it.
You can always spend a little on good lifters if the cam is what you want.
Why does it have a Lunati crank? Possible stroker??
What rods if it has the Lunati crank?
If it is Lunati crank & rods or aftermarket rods /pistons etc you are not going to build a BB with those kind parts for less than three times that on a good day from a reputable shop.

Yeah the whole thing is, is that they seemed like a pretty reputable shop because they have one of the biggest adds every month in Chevy High Performance. If you get a chance and you have one laying around, take a look at the add. What I ordered was called a 415 Block and assembly kit. It is a fully machined block with cam bearings and freeze plugs installed. Srp pistons, rods, (they had pressed pins-not floating), lifters, king rod and main bearings, a speed pro cam, timing chain and gears. In other words a complete short block. The parts seemed ok, there were just some things that concerned me.
First of all, I sent them two letters asking everything imagineable about the motor and a couple emails and never got a response out of any of them. The claim they never got the letters (funny how they some how got my money though). There was very little info from the start, and I should have never taken the plunge. The block had a broken off ear where it looked like a starter may have been shimmed wrong or it had been improperly handled in the shop(of course it had been repaired). there was a low spot in one of the cylinders, of which I cannot explain except for it being about .005 low. you could not see it with the eye, but you could feel it. It prolly was a very good engine a couple of builds before mine...It was a 509 casting and an 010 block. If it would have been .030 over or standard I may have kept it. But 400's have cooling problems anyway, and I mean can you Imagine one .060 over in a street car??? and then on top of that all of the lies. The time he told me it was a scat crank and it was stock, we'll call you back and didn't-soooooo many times! Terrible customer service at the very least.

Good news is, I did get my money today FINALLY. Thanks for the replies so far. I don't know if the BB is a stroker-guess I won't know exactly what all it is untill I tear it down to check it out.

I'd grab that puppy and run! Sounds like a great deal!