I gave my brother a 400sbc ,stock crank ,882 heads ,stock bore ,he want to built a 406 and intalled in a 1970 Nova ,his goal is mid 12's.
:eek:
This can be done with the stock crank and the 882 heads ?
We got a freind with a set of 492 heads THAT GOT AN EXCELLENT port jop ,he got them in Florida in a car show and never used them ,we can get them for $250

ummmmm in a nova i think it shouldnt be to hard but still......

put a good hot solid cam,about 12 to 1 comp, RPM airgap intake, and polish and surface the heads...... get them to about 64cc if they arent already......

about a 3000 stall and some 411s or so rear gear and some tread and I think that it would be possible that thing will have some massive torque too......

No problem with the crank - don't know about the heads.

My stock crank and rod 406 ran 10.50s @130 in my 74 nova,so you shouldnt have any trouble. The 492 heads would be way better than the 882`s

Sxty9shovel a solid cam will be ok but that much compression ?
Onavakind67, 882 heads or 492 ? the 882 are not the set to go mid 12's but the 492 will help more as Darracq said .

Darracq ,wow that's power ! with a stock rotating assembly ? can you give the complete combo ?

I found an old magazine with an interesting combo ,I know that not all the things that are written in this magazies are true but they sound cool .

stock 400 crank
5.7 rods stock with arp
.030 over 400 block
KB hypereutectic 10:1 pistons
Chet Herbert mechanical roller cam
242/250 @.050
.580/.600 lift
Bow-Tie heads
2.02/1.60
Victor JR
750 holley
1 3/4 headers 3" mufflers

E/T 11.72 /116 MPH in a 1970 chevelle

WE do not want to go that fast but this combo look like a simple one please
Any 406 combos that can get 400 hp with a solid cam

Originally posted by rcatala:
I found an old magazine with an interesting combo ,I know that not all the things that are written in this magazies are true but they sound cool .

stock 400 crank
5.7 rods stock with arp
.030 over 400 block
KB hypereutectic 10:1 pistons
Chet Herbert mechanical roller cam
242/250 @.050
.580/.600 lift
Bow-Tie heads
2.02/1.60
Victor JR
750 holley
1 3/4 headers 3" mufflers

E/T 11.72 /116 MPH in a 1970 chevelle
Let me guess....this was from an old Chevy Hi Performance magazine that came out about 2 or 3 years ago and the article was titled "Fast isn't always pretty"?

Not to pee on anyones BBQ but that very same set up inspired me to want to build a 406 for my '71 Chevelle.....that is until alot of people started telling me how unstreetable that would be and that magazines tend to lie and overexaggerate.

well see i said that much compression cause im not to familier with those heads but with that much comp itll be runnin friggin 12s like it was nuthing......im sure a 10.5 comp will get u there but......just think 12.5 comp would be fun.....lol just not if ur planing on drivein it on the street......keep it about 10 or 10.5 at least if u plan on running on any pump gas......

I have stock 400 crank and 492 casting heads in my 66 nova. See my sig for results smile.gif

have you seen flow #'S on the ported heads?
set of stock vortecs and a soild cam might be better

Dawgz that's the article .

Brat that 66 Nova looks awesome roasting the tires and that combo really seems to be very simple and steetable .you use 6inch rods ,the use of the 6inch rods will give more power than the 5.7 rods ?

Ponykiller no flow #'s but how good are this Vortecs ,better flow #s than the 492 ?

Well I have a 69 Malibu with a 406 that has the stock cast crank with the stock 5.565 (400 rods)with ARP bolts, 11.1 to 1 compression, Sportsman 2 heads, XE 274 Hydraulic flat tappet cam.

I have ran 12.64 @ 105 mph on drag radials with a 3.73 gear and 2400 stall at 3680 lbs without the driver. About 200 passes on the engine so far.

I HAD A 72 NOVA WITH A 406,492 HEADS,11 TO1,BIG HYDRAULIC CAM, TUNNEL RAM AND 2 450'S. RAN A 12.0 BEFORE IT BLEW UP AFTER 4 PASSES.

buy the 492s they will be a big help.my little nova and my chevelle both run 7,0s in the 1/8 mile witch is low 11s with a 406.thats with stock crank and with flat top pistons 5.56 rods ,one motor has 5.7 rods.it doesnt matter just change to a good rod bolt.the cam i useis a elgin solid 556 533 lift 264 257 at 50 thousants duration,victor jr intake sportsman heads.the nova only has the back seat removed and light seats in the front

I drove a buddies Camaro one time. 400, nothing short block, nothing heads, TH350, 3.7 gears yada yada, and I ran a 12.6 @ 105.
So yes, a decent 400 in a light car will run mid 12's.
Slicks and traction BTW
Ron

I have 2 friends that are running 10's with cast cranks. One is a 406 w/ "old" Sportsman 200 cast iron ported heads flat tappet 260/270 295/305 555/578 106 12.5:1 Vic jr. 850 1 3/4 headders 4.11 5500 conv. 10.99 best. (full body Nova 1 seat) The other is 406 13:1 260ish/270 106 63/630 roller AFR 210 cleaned up 1 7/8 headders 4.10 Brodix intake w/box stock 1050 10.63 w/o tuning. (68 Camaro full body 1 seat)

I have a 68 Nova with a 407, 6" H-beam rods, Scat 4340 crank, SRP 10.3 pistons, Afr 195's, Comp Xe274 with 1.6 crane gold rockers, Air- gap, 770 Holley, and a Digital 6,Turbo 400, 3050 stall, 3.73's and a 26" tall tire. 3450' w/driver.
With traction what do you think for track times?
Thank's

11.50's @ 117.

Seems like everyone is making a lot of tq-hp with the stock cranks :eek: .
After we buy the 6.0 rods and pistons ,this crank still be external balanced or it will be closer to internal balance ? Anyone know how much weight can be added to the stock crank and which balance is better internal or external ? if there is any difference.

Originally posted by rcatala:
Seems like everyone is making a lot of tq-hp with the stock cranks :eek: .
After we buy the 6.0 rods and pistons ,this crank still be external balanced or it will be closer to internal balance ? Anyone know how much weight can be added to the stock crank and which balance is better internal or external ? if there is any difference. =
No good reason to run a 6" rod with a stock crank.
It will still be externally balanced if you use the stock crank but you will need to remove some weight from the crank counterweights if the parts you use are lighter.

My preference is always to internal balance an engine if the budget allows ;)

The closer you add or remove weight to where the "imbalance" is located the more effective it is & the less "couple" you induce.
Couple is what happens when you try to balance a long shaft at the ends, it will appear in balance but causes flexing towards the center & the higher RPM you run the engine the worse this becomes.

It will cost you more to add enough weight to internally balance a stock crank then a new cast crank designed for 6" rods would cost but it is not a problem to do, just kinda expensive :D

All that said there is really nothing wrong with externally balancing a crank for almost all applications, especially stock cast crank applications.
There are a ton of them running around out there with no problems. ;)

You certainly don't need anything fancy to run mid 12's with a 400. I just met a guy last weekend with a '69 chevelle that had a destroked 400 (stock cast 350 crank and rods), bored .040 over, 9.5-1 for pump gas, iron gm 76cc heads (no idea what was done to them, but it didn't sound like much), a lunati 292 bracket master cam (230@.050, .480 lift, 109 lca), 1 5/8" headers, dual 2 1/2" exhaust, 2800 stall convertor, th350, 4.11's with 28x10.50 DOT stickies, and the only lightening was a set of lightweight racing bucket seats. He said it runs 12.40's-12.50's all day long.

rcatala here is the 406 combo.

dished trw forged pistions, stock crank and rods,
750 vac carb,victor jr intake, AFR 220 heads bought bare and i ported them myself,Crower solid cam 248/252 .507 .528 lift 112 ls 1 3/4 headers,shifted at 6200 4.11 gears and a 10 inch boss hog converter. on the motor it ran 11.48 at 120 10.50s at 130 0n 150 juice. Tur ning close to 7000 at the line.

The rods out of that motor are in a 302 ford right now and he turns it 8000 all day long. lol.

in a nova it can be done pretty simply with even the 882 heads, if you're talking about "at sea level". i ran high 12's with a dish piston stock 400 shortblock with 993 heads and a 288/.480 hydraulic flat tappet cam, rpm intake, 1 5/8" headers, 4.10 gears and 3000 stall, weighing over 3700lbs with driver. on the juice it would run high 11's. in a car several hundred pounds lighter, it should be a breeze, especially if you run more compression and better heads than i did.
as far as the crank goes, rpm is what will kill it, not really the power, although there is a limit i'm sure. but as long as you aren't turning much over 6000rpms it should be fine with good bolts, good balance job on the rotating assembly, and a good harmonic dampner.

Wolfplace the 6.0 rods are not a good choise ? I thought it was a good idea to make it live longer "less frictions " .
I know you had built a lot of 406's and I will get all the good advises you give us graemlins/thumbsup.gif ,but we will like to try the 6.0 rods if the is no problems involves ;) .
Travis those are good #s but we got a 3.75 crank and the 406 is the expectations for now .
Darracq the combo got stock 5.556 rods ? and are in a 302 FORD now ,they fit :confused: ?

I got a new solid cam from a freind that got it for a stock 350 but his motor builder did not wanted and he gave it to me for free graemlins/hurray.gif .

but will work with a 406 ? here are the specs.

Crane grind F-244/3453-2s-6 part #110921
@.50 244/252
intake opens 19.0 closes 45.0 ABDC 102
exhaust opens 55.0 closes 17.0 ATDC 110

@.020 280-288
opens in. 34.0 closes 66.0
ex. open 70.0 closes 38.0

i verify it at Cranes Cams the compresssion for it is 10.5 - 12.0 graemlins/sad.gif

minimum rpm 3200
max rpm 6800
valve float 7600

Sorry, doble post . graemlins/clonk.gif

Originally posted by rcatala:
Wolfplace the 6.0 rods are not a good choise ? I thought it was a good idea to make it live longer "less frictions " .
I know you had built a lot of 406's and I will get all the good advises you give us graemlins/thumbsup.gif ,but we will like to try the 6.0 rods if the is no problems involves ;) .
Travis those are good #s but we got a 3.75 crank and the 406 is the expectations for now .
Darracq the combo got stock 5.556 rods ? and are in a 302 FORD now ,they fit :confused: ? =
rectala,
I didn't say they were a bad choice, I said there was no good reason to use them with a stock crank ;)
They will work just fine.

In my opinion, both the rod length & friction associated with the different length rods in most applications is a non issue in the real world.

I use 6" rods mainly so the engine will balance internally.

In the externally balanced engine with the stock or smaller counterweight cranks I would use the 5.7 rod.

I don't normally build them with the stock rods but have & there are a lot of stock 5.565 rod engines out there that run pretty fair ;)

Again, in my opinion, most of the information you will see on rod length is something someone has read or been told & is being repeated.

In a competition engine if you match the cam timing to the rod length the difference in results will be at the point of not being measurable.
There are valid arguments on both sides of the rod length deal but in the end, again in most engines we deal with you are not going to see any difference.

Bottom line, use whichever rod you are comfortable with,,, they will work fine ;)

On the cam I think it will work very well in a 406 with 10.0-11.5 or so.
It is going to be a bit "lumpy" on a 106 but should work fine,,, plus the price was excellent graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Yep stock 5.556 rods. The rods are narrowed and big and small end resized for the 302 crank, Keith black makes a pistion for it.

After i ran that. I put ross flat tops in it with 5.7 rods and it ran exactly the same ET. almost 2 points more compression deck was milled. Way lighter pision with 1/16 rings and it ran same et. Rod length means **** to me.