Murphy Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Toying with the idea of building a 400sb, researched info on the 509, 511, & 817 blocks. Seems as tho the consensus is to get a 2bolt main block from various web searches...Looking for opinions from those who have built 400's, which is the perferred block? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 57 Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Finding a 400 that is not worn is a issue .040 is max over bore in my opinion. Last 2 400 blocks I did were 509s one was a 406 the other a 434. I had the machine shop install 4 bolt billet main caps with angled outer bolts, line hone, and square deck the block. it is a pretty big investment that would go a long way to a sportsman block with a lot of nice features. What are your goals does the stock block make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 Thanks for the response Mike, my goal? Good question? Not a strip car......Just a beefier street car, thought building an engine would be a fun challenge. I imagine that sonic testing, magnafluxing and decking then building from scratch would get quite pricy and your correct...I've read several articles where people have stated "start with a good Sportsman block" I know of several 400 complete engines available for $300, condition...who knows for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL M Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 If you've got the scratch you should go aftermarket. My Dart SHP block was around $1500. Sounds like alot but if you add up everything you have to do to the 40+ yr old block your not gonna be too far away from the cost of the SHP. And you'll have plenty of room to grow. Plus you could stroke it to a big cube small block with ease. Again, it all comes down to your budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 57 Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 If you can find a good core complete engine that will clean up at .030 over for $300, that would be a start for a street engine. A 383 would be a nice engine also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 I have a sb 400 that came out of a 71 caprice in my garage on a stand its just the bare block but its a 4 bolt main engine. the heads were no good and the pistons had to be beat out of it, I sent the crank out to be checked and thats the last I saw of it. So I basicly just have the bare block to start with. It will find its way into something at some point maybe the monte or another progect but I will see that engine alive again. My mother in law bought that caprice brand new in 71 and it stayed in the family untill the body fell off it. I saved the motor and tranny and have had it ever since. Those 400 engines are strong runners but only if built properly be carefull who builds it make sure they know the 400 ins and outs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 All great info guys.......this would be a long term project as I still have many other things to accomplish on the Monte. I need to do more investigating with a few local builders here in the valley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footballubet Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 I think I would build a 383 before a 400. I've heard too many horror stories about cooling issues on the 400. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Cooling issues are usually due to the wrong heads being used, the 400 has extra cooling holes in the heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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