help on my 400 small block?!?!?!?

I have a 400 small block, does anyone know if it is the most powerful small block chevy? or any good tips on making it powerful?? also if I could just buy new heads to fix the over heating problem that the 400 has?? thanks...

hey man, try summit they have tons and tons of performance parts for v8's

Not all 400 sbc have overheating problems.

A friend of mine is running 2.

His first has his water jackets 1/2 filled with concrete, runns 400++hp drives fast and this car actually runs cool with a thermostat.
This is in his 69 Chevelle street rod

The thing that he noticed on his motor is that the bottom of the cylinder walls is thick.

In his 1/4 race car he has a 400sbc with a little more Hp (probably about 500hp, but he runs NOS on his street rod to easily surpass that mark without any problems)
He has no concrete in the water jackets, and he has heating problems.
This engine is in his much lighter 76 Vega.
This motor has thin cylinder walls on the bottom.

Both these motors are punched out to a 406

the most powerful stock smallblock from chevy is most likely the 302. it has good compression and stuff and i heard that they only advertised it at somewhere around 280 or 260 something horses for insurance reasons and that in reality it made over 400 horsepower

the most powerful stock smallblock from chevy is most likely the 302. it has good compression and stuff and i heard that they only advertised it at somewhere around 280 or 260 something horses for insurance reasons and that in reality it made over 400 horsepower

I'd like to see the dyno figures to prove that one!

Actually some of the "factory race" 302s pushed over 420 hp. You could easily make one that made well over 900 if you wanted to push it, but the amount of power they can make is irrelevant. He's asking how much they made. The highest factory rated 400 made about 300 gross HP, so about 230-250 SAE net. The 400 small block came in to being a little past the prime of the muscle car so it fell into smog hell pretty quickly and some only made about 180 hp in the late 70s. Many factory SB2 engines like the LT1/4 make well over 300 net, and some SB3 engines like the LS1 and LS2 make close to 500 from the factory.

Your 400 can easily be made to perform on street duty at about a 400 hp level with really good tuning, and maybe 500 with expert tuning. The secret will be matching great heads with a hot but streetable cam.

I'd like to see the dyno figures to prove that one!
Yeh !! I personally would like to see the dyno sheet on the 302 . Now
one thing for a fact is if you are lucky enough to have a 69 z-28 with a original 302 you have got something.Even if you have a 302 engine alone you still have something .The 400 is a good engine especially the 406.
I ran a 406 for sometime on street tires its ET was 7.70 to 7.80 .
If you still need some pointers let me know i have a great set up for
small block chevy especially the 400.
Good luck with 400

I have a sb400 that I have modified in my '64 Bel Air. It was bored .030 over (making it a 406 cu.in.) and I have no problems with overheating. I did not do anything special to the waterjacket, but I did install a 4 core radiator. If you can afford to, I would reccomend a 3 or 4 core radiator to handle your engine's cooling needs. I also purchased (from Summit Racing,) a cooling fan which is pitched a little different from stock fans to bring in more air through the radiator fins. It is a five blade fan replacing the stock 4 blade fan.

The best fan that I've ever tried is the electric fan from a Ford Taurus. Apparently a Mustang has an even bigger E-fan too.

They're a 2 speed fan, that pumps out a lot of air even on low speed.

I used the 2 stage switch from a BMW, and easily had the job done and tested in way less than a 1/2 day

The best fan that I've ever tried is the electric fan from a Ford Taurus. Apparently a Mustang has an even bigger E-fan too.

They're a 2 speed fan, that pumps out a lot of air even on low speed.

I used the 2 stage switch from a BMW, and easily had the job done and tested in way less than a 1/2 day
Well I also had know trouble with my 406 over heating .The engine was
very peppy and had tremedous amout of torque.It was the best small block I have had
and in the car that the 406 was in i also had 400 35 over and some how we came up with 415 cubic inches i dont remeber how .But it was all roller and it sucked for street purposes. it also had 350 30 over that was ok , but doesnt hold a candle to 406

I don't know why Chevy dropped the 400, instead of the 350. They have more potential

I don't know why Chevy dropped the 400, instead of the 350. They have more potential
The 400 small block was great . I had a crowd pleaser once the 406 went in.But i had a decent 350 small block 4 bolt main but at the time i was young and listen to everybody except the right person and had a very bad combination that was weak.The damn thing was slow . Then a friend of mine that races for mazda moter sports which by the way those rotary engines are quick.He helped me with a combo he had used and built for other people and bam there was it was fast . Its all about
fast cars and freedom man. There is nothing like having the fastes car around in you local area . Someone will finally come along with more knowlege ,or money and de throne you.


Later dude

I've got a friend that builds up 400 blocks into 406's
He does consistant 9 second passes on 94 octane pump gas, without any NOS

He'll hopefully build up a Ford 302 for my street rod. Or at least advise me on it.

He wants to build up the 71 350 that's in my for 1 of my street rods, and I might let him if I can find a high compression 500 Cadalac motor to dump in.

I've got a friend that builds up 400 blocks into 406's
He does consistant 9 second passes on 94 octane pump gas, without any NOS

He'll hopefully build up a Ford 302 for my street rod. Or at least advise me on it.

He wants to build up the 71 350 that's in my for 1 of my street rods, and I might let him if I can find a high compression 500 Cadalac motor to dump in.


I have heard about those 500 caddy engines over the years.But do not have any hands on knowledge or anything like that with that engine.
In the near future i have a 71 gmc sprint . I have already built the engine but i am going to make a few changes before putting it in.I have a cowl hood ,the car is factory air and windows.It has been in my basement since 1984 so it is a solid car.I have the body ready to lift off frame I am going to do a frame off restoration.

Sounds like fun Tracy.

Here's what I'm working on as I have the time.

When I got it
http://mypage.uniserve.com/%7Ekvsbt/coupe/Essex%20side.jpg
After Sandblasting, and POR-15
http://mypage.uniserve.com/%7Ekvsbt/coupe/DSC01032.JPG
It's the car that I'm dumping the Ford motor into

Sounds like fun Tracy.

Here's what I'm working on as I have the time.

When I got it
http://mypage.uniserve.com/%7Ekvsbt/coupe/Essex%20side.jpg
After Sandblasting, and POR-15
http://mypage.uniserve.com/%7Ekvsbt/coupe/DSC01032.JPG
It's the car that I'm dumping the Ford motor into

d
Dude thats great it looks like a real classic . Looks as if it may be somthing hard to come by

I got it along with this one for $1000.00 Canadian about a year ago
http://mypage.uniserve.com/%7Ekvsbt/sedan/4%20door%20side.jpg
This 4 door is really rare, with several alumine panels where there is usually steel.

They won't handle as well as your sprint, but they should be nice rides when they're both finished

yeah i noticed youre using por 15. im using that on my 73 chevy truck and it is litteraly indestructible. I tried it on some scrap metal and then tried to key the paint and i had to make 2 or 3 scrapes really hard to get down to bare metal. that stuff is freakin crazy lol

I love that stuff. It's worth every penny.

My sandblaster will ripp through 4 layers of paint, and the rust underneath (yes I tried it) and it struggles to cut through the POR-15.

I just painted my Blazer in entirely POR-15 products and it never even got a scratch while going off roading the other day (the first time that I never scratched it to hell)

I got it along with this one for $1000.00 Canadian about a year ago
http://mypage.uniserve.com/%7Ekvsbt/sedan/4%20door%20side.jpg
This 4 door is really rare, with several alumine panels where there is usually steel.

They won't handle as well as your sprint, but they should be nice rides when they're both finished
dude that is crazy , that is straight up Bonnie and Clyde man. That will be a fanstatic ride man you should get alot of enjoyment out of that.Good luck with that project if it was mine i think i would restore it first.

I completely agree with you Tracy, although for some reason the coupe is a more desirable car to most people.

I only started the coupe first because I was waiting for some info on the 4 door. I thought that it might be way to desireable to hotrod. I recently found out that although it's rare it's not as rare as we first thought.

Don't be suprised if it gets worked on this winter.

My plans for this one are a S10 frame, and I might run a 350 or a 406 under the hood.

Black fenders, and a grey body

John Dillinger always stole Essex's and I believe that he died in a 33

I completely agree with you Tracy, although for some reason the coupe is a more desirable car to most people.

I only started the coupe first because I was waiting for some info on the 4 door. I thought that it might be way to desireable to hotrod. I recently found out that although it's rare it's not as rare as we first thought.

Don't be suprised if it gets worked on this winter.

My plans for this one are a S10 frame, and I might run a 350 or a 406 under the hood.

Black fenders, and a grey body

John Dillinger always stole Essex's and I believe that he died in a 33
John D man I forgot about Him and his gang . Yeh i like both of your cars . I hope you get every bit of the pleasure that you deserve out of both of them.Because you and i both know that alot of sweat and cursing , and everything else that goes with restoring these cars . Good luck I hope your on the road soon maybe you end up down here in gods country,that is in TENNESSEE

I live in the Okanagan in BC Canada, it's also called Gods Country. And I love it here.
Feel free to come up here any time next year, you'll love it!

I'd like to get 1 ready for Hot August Nights Reno either next year, or the following year.
http://www.gotorenotahoe.com/rt25/hotAugustNights/?pc=googleHAN

If your Sprint is ready it would be fun to run it down there too.

I live in the Okanagan in BC Canada, it's also called Gods Country. And I love it here.
Feel free to come up here any time next year, you'll love it!

I'd like to get 1 ready for Hot August Nights Reno either next year, or the following year.
http://www.gotorenotahoe.com/rt25/hotAugustNights/?pc=googleHAN

If your Sprint is ready it would be fun to run it down there too.
would nt that be fun man . I would like to see that part of the country someday . Love to travel dude . I like to get close to mother nature , andther is no other way than in an bad ass machine or shall i say a crowd pleaser , or a grocery getter whatever it is this is for sure it would be blast.I do'nt think that the sprint will be done that soon .See this is a project that i want my son to help with and he is going to turn eleven his next birthday . So the last several months i have not been working on it. we are going to get back in the swing of things in the near future

You'll probably ike these pitures that I took last week while fishing. The deer pictures are from inside the house where I live.
http://www.kvsbt.com/Thone%20Lake/
http://mypage.uniserve.com/~kvsbt/scrap/
http://www.kvsbt.com/Thone%20Lake/DSC01120.JPG

You'll probably ike these pitures that I took last week while fishing. The deer pictures are from inside the house where I live.
http://www.kvsbt.com/Thone%20Lake/
http://mypage.uniserve.com/~kvsbt/scrap/
http://www.kvsbt.com/Thone%20Lake/DSC01120.JPG
That was great dude . Those pictures or just the simple settings in the background are perfect. I love the winter time it's the best time of the year . At least i think so . Those were good pictures . May be somday i will see that part and other parts of the country that i have 'nt seen

You hear a lot of opinions on the sbc, from 267 to 406 and everyone has an opinion of which one is best or more reliable, In the 43 years I have been building and racing everything from small chevy to big block, Ford 406 and 427 nascar and dodge 340 to 440 and maxi wedge it comes to this, IF YOU HAVE A PRACTICLE plan, a real world look and the form and function to and of your build, then my opinion is whatever you decide to build is going to work. I have built streetable 350, 400, 406, 427 434 small blocks that produced from lowly 355 H.P. to downright scary 847.2 H.P. on fuel/gas if you will indulge, with NO nos or other cheats and garbage. It,s always about attention to detail and extreme accuracy of the build, all of which should be practiced no matter what your build intention is, I have a customers engine in a final build stage as we speak, this 406 will be dropped into a 1966 devin, now the induction is the key to this as it is a cross-ram 4 DCOE 48 weber setup, roller motor built to a specific use end this moderate compression engine with a spec hydr, roller cam dynoed at 537.60 H.P. w/ 462.7 ft.lb.torque and will run 12/24 at sebring hands down, this same engine with a modified intake and highly massaged 830 holley/ fast carb with a slight up in C.R. to 11.9:1 WILL PRODUCE 713.0 H.P. 571.0 Ft. lb. torque all under 7300 rpm safely and damn near all day. If you have any doubts, call me JF Gordon 813-854-2747 or check my web at jfgordon24.com :nono: