I found a 400 small block and a 400 trany in the local paper for $500. I'd like to rebuild the botom end on a tight budget and probly use the stock internals it has now if they check out alright. The motor is from 72 not sure what it came out of , could be even from a van ?

what kinda of compression is posible with my 64ccc dart heads ? even if it was 8:1 stock
Can I get more compression from decking the block ? cheaper than new pistons , or would I be replacing valves ?

If I put my entire top end on what kinda HP/tq could I get and what would you change for more power.

I just wana go faster. !

Thnx alot guys---Lance

well...theres all kinds of possabilitys...going with the 64cc heads will give 9.2-1CR(-+) you can get flattop hypers cheap and have a CR of 11.5-1..or a dish of many different cc'c to get what ever CR you want...less than 200 bucks for the piston

I have acces to 100-110 octane in my area. If I put some nice Light-Weight Pistons on to get the required CR. How high could I rev it on the stock rods and crank ? How much HP can the crank and rods take ?

My 355 I'm runing now is pretty fast 8.8 1/8 @81mph ,well to me, and it's still not tuned well. How much farther ahead will this 400sb get me in the race for speed. I'd like to use nos but my currect combo only has cast piston. :(

I run 12.16:1 in my 400 with 64cc chambers and .100" dome pistons. I run 100 octane with a 302* cam.

Don't spin the stock crank and rods over 5500-6000. If you are going to run the 5.565 (which you really shouldn't, run stock 350 rods), keep it under 5500 to be safe. You'll make plenty of power under this RPM, so don't worry.

It's not HP that kills rods, it's RPMs. Keep it safe.

So runing 5.7 350 rods will alow a little more RPM's ?

I'm used to thnking more RPM = more power for my 350 Should I think the same with a 400sb ?
In what RPM range will my heads be working properly on the 400sb. My machinest tells me my dart iron eagles 200cc 64cc with 2.02 1.60 valves are large for the 350. Im thinking these heads might make a match for a 5,500-6,000 rpm 400sb ? If I can get away with that using whats in it for rods or use my 350 rods ? I just need to clearance the rod bolts which I read about in a few searches is simple. but it's arguable it makes no diferance.

Someone just say go for it. I got that gut fealing it'll be fun. graemlins/beers.gif

Stay away from the 100+ octane, you don't need it. Eganeer just built up a healthy 400 and it is a 92 octane baby. That motor kicks out serious hp & tq. Search out his posts and dyno results.

If you are rebuilding it, I would go with 5.7 rods and add good bolts. Should be good for 5500-6000 rpm. IMHO the head CC goes with displacement and RPM. So 200cc heads are probably not a great fit for a 5500rpm 350 but will work well on a 6500rpm 350. A 5500 rpm 400 should work well with the 200cc heads.