I have a 402 to buy for $600. It needs a bore job, it has a turned crank and rods. It also comes with the stock intake, stock valve covers and a stock oil pan. It's already been cleaned and magnafluxed. It has a set of assembled 290's I can get for $400. Basicly I need pistons, rings, rod and main bearings, oil pump, cam, lifters, timing chain, harmonic balancer, distributor, rocker arms, push rods, water pump, fuel pump...I already have a carb for it. I'm going to reuse the starter and flex plate off the 350 on it. The guy I'm getting it from said it would cost between $2000 and $2500 to build it. I'm not going to go radical with it but does this sound about right? Or is this guy pulling my leg?
How much to build a big block (ballpark)
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Junkyard Dawg
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Won't the 350's motor mounts work?
I get valve covers and an oil pan with it. I might need to buy the brackets and pullies new unless I can get a used set from another Chevelle guy I know.
I get valve covers and an oil pan with it. I might need to buy the brackets and pullies new unless I can get a used set from another Chevelle guy I know.
yes
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22,967 Posts
Use the ARP bolts!
Wanting low to mid 12 seconds... And paying $600 for a 402 Shortblock core???
I'd definitely be looking for that 454 core. I know you have had some trouble, but I think the extra money you spend on a 454 core will be worth it in the long run...
402 shortblock needing machining... $600 sounds too high...
G
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·He, He!! And to think I threw my old junk 301 together for about $150 to $200 back in the early '70's!!
Talk about "shade-tree", but it did at least have new el-cheapo W/JCW cast pistons in the way wore out dingle-berry hone job cylinders!
He, He!! Still love that little old thumper!!
pdq67
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Talk about "shade-tree", but it did at least have new el-cheapo W/JCW cast pistons in the way wore out dingle-berry hone job cylinders!
He, He!! Still love that little old thumper!!
pdq67
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have you ever seen or even heard of a problem with
Chevy main bolts? I don't mean somebodies uncle's friends' brother-in-law's buddy down the street, I mean you personally ever seen a bad Chevy main bolt? Or an engine that blew because a Chevy main bolt broke?
I fixed an engine awhile back, this engine was severely abused in an oval track racing deal. It detonated so hard it boogered six of the pistons and blew a keystone shaped hunk about 1.5" wide out of the center main cap. The crank wasn't very happy about the whole deal either. The chunk out of the main cap was not found, exited one of the big holes in the side of the pan. I think it would be reasonable to figure there was some he!!ish stress applied to the main bolts. They were still torqued properly, not bent, broken or stretched. They were plain old ordinary Chevy main bolts, it was a 4-bolt main small block. Right then I realized that probably every cent I ever spent on fancy main bolts or studs was a complete waste. I realized I had never heard of a problem with a Chevy engine that could be credibly blamed on the main bolts.
IMO, save your money, spend it on something that matters.
Tom
Chevy main bolts? I don't mean somebodies uncle's friends' brother-in-law's buddy down the street, I mean you personally ever seen a bad Chevy main bolt? Or an engine that blew because a Chevy main bolt broke?
I fixed an engine awhile back, this engine was severely abused in an oval track racing deal. It detonated so hard it boogered six of the pistons and blew a keystone shaped hunk about 1.5" wide out of the center main cap. The crank wasn't very happy about the whole deal either. The chunk out of the main cap was not found, exited one of the big holes in the side of the pan. I think it would be reasonable to figure there was some he!!ish stress applied to the main bolts. They were still torqued properly, not bent, broken or stretched. They were plain old ordinary Chevy main bolts, it was a 4-bolt main small block. Right then I realized that probably every cent I ever spent on fancy main bolts or studs was a complete waste. I realized I had never heard of a problem with a Chevy engine that could be credibly blamed on the main bolts.
IMO, save your money, spend it on something that matters.
Tom
I built my 427 for about 2500-3000. I bought that parts a while ago and had the machine work done at that time as well, but i got it all pretty cheap. I got a .030 over 454 block that needed to .060 over for 50 bucks. I got a 402 block with nodular iron crank, rods, and a set of complete original 215 heads for $400. That was my basis starting point. I used the 454 block and 402 crank to make my 427.
Daniel
Daniel
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18,738 Posts
I don't know why guys think that 6500 is some outrageous rpm for a short stroke rat. Its an easy rpm for a short stroke rat.
I've matured, and now only rev mine to 7000. 7500 is a bit hard on a short stroke rat.
Build it to handle 7K all day long. Use the good ARP bolts on the rods and defintely use a lightweight forged slug if you can swing the $. Keep the rod side clearances on the tight side, it'll help keep the oil on the bearings for those trips to 6800. Then I would use the oil bleed solid lifters to keep the cam happy.
Use a small solid cam, imho, its free revability and hp. Something like a 270S from Comp, or a small Crower. Hopefully Harold will have some solid grinds back out soon. Again, there's where I would spend $175 for a cam instead of an el cheapo $100 cam . That $75 spent WILL make a difference.
I've matured, and now only rev mine to 7000. 7500 is a bit hard on a short stroke rat.
Build it to handle 7K all day long. Use the good ARP bolts on the rods and defintely use a lightweight forged slug if you can swing the $. Keep the rod side clearances on the tight side, it'll help keep the oil on the bearings for those trips to 6800. Then I would use the oil bleed solid lifters to keep the cam happy.
Use a small solid cam, imho, its free revability and hp. Something like a 270S from Comp, or a small Crower. Hopefully Harold will have some solid grinds back out soon. Again, there's where I would spend $175 for a cam instead of an el cheapo $100 cam . That $75 spent WILL make a difference.
G
Guest
·You're right it DOES add up, all the "little stuff" pushed me WAY over budget, and you start wanting last minute upgrades too. I only cut one corner and that was for aluminum serpentine pulleys, but i'll be ok without... for now
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I did go with an electric fan which im really happy about. That was unplanned, it looks nice.
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3,011 Posts
Wanting low to mid 12 seconds... And paying $600 for a 402 Shortblock core???
I'd definitely be looking for that 454 core. I know you have had some trouble, but I think the extra money you spend on a 454 core will be worth it in the long run...
402 shortblock needing machining... $600 sounds too high... </font>[/QUOTE]So how much would you give?
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8,560 Posts
My solid roller 454 with a ceramic coated intake, headers and a few dress up parts cost me $4300.
My 8-71 topped 540 bowtie block , canfield heads, Isky valvetrain, forged bottom end and twin 950 blower carbs is north of $12k and I still have a few small parts to get. The big thing about my motor is most parts were bought WAY under retail/mail order and they still cost me that much. My total machine shop bill was $1575. Hoping for a solid 850 HP
My 8-71 topped 540 bowtie block , canfield heads, Isky valvetrain, forged bottom end and twin 950 blower carbs is north of $12k and I still have a few small parts to get. The big thing about my motor is most parts were bought WAY under retail/mail order and they still cost me that much. My total machine shop bill was $1575. Hoping for a solid 850 HP
You guys are too paranoid on RPM. My 408 gets spun to 6200 regularly. (or at least it did prior to going with the new roller cam). Power probably peaks at 5800, but I need to run it to 6200 to get into the next gear and still feel like it is in the powerband. Bottum end consists of .010/.010 nodular crank, stock 3/8" rods w/ ARP bolts and TRW L2354 .030 forged pistons. Bottum end is balanced, I used the good bearings and the good barrel shaped rings (this motor had been rebuilt years ago and already had the forged pistons in it, cyclinder wear was good, so the choice was go another .010 to .040 or run it loose, I chose to just hone for new rings and run it loose, spec calls for .0025 piston/cyl, we are running .004 after rehone). I also run the 8" balancer from the 427 motors. A couple of things we did though, really help the bottum end. This is a 2 bolt block that was studded, then line honed, then decked square. This discussion on line hone got quite lenthy in another thread recently, but bottum line is taking the precautions to eliminate unnecessary stress on the crank make all the difference. Rod and crank clearances were checked and verified. In other words, other than dropping big bucks for an aftermarket crank, rods and big buck pistons, we built the performance potential into the shortblock by paying attention to the details. As most good engine builders will tell you, throwing $$ at parts won't cut it unless you pay attention to the even the little details.
I would not have any reserve to run a solid flat tappet in this shortblock and spin it 6800 and for all practical purposes, this is nothing more than a 396/325 shortblock with forged pistons instead of cast.
I would not have any reserve to run a solid flat tappet in this shortblock and spin it 6800 and for all practical purposes, this is nothing more than a 396/325 shortblock with forged pistons instead of cast.
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The adding up of all the small stuff plus the costs got me thinking I could build the current 350 into a 383 and push the same power.
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