400 engine rebuild...

[ScottMH]

my dad and i have decided to take a shot at rebuilding our 400 ourselves.  i have order several books on rebuilding the 400 so hopefully that will help out. we will prolly farm out the machining work but the disassembly and re assembly we plan on doing ourselves. while we are at it we decided to stroke it. I am pretty sure that we are going with the fully opted 470 stroke from 440source.com does anyone have any experience with this kit/company? also, the website states "Please note that Clevite's only main bearings available for 400 engines are the "P" series bearings. These bearings may require slight modification to clear the larger radius on our cranks" can anyone explain what the modification on the bearings would be? would it be best to farm that out too? any information would be great! thanks!

[Brightyellow69rtse]

i havent heard too much about the 470 but people seem to prefer the 451 as its been around forever and has been proved a really durable setup.........Mike

[67_Dodge_Charger]

I picked up a 496 kit for my 383 from 440source and I am still going through my machine shop.  The machinist is checking clearances with a dry assembly and will do a final assembly after we discuss any other modifications.

What do you want out of your car?  Do you plan on racing?  The 451 is supposed to be very reliable.  Remember with more cubic inches you will have a longer stroke and that will lead to paying more attention to other details.  What heads are you planning on using?  Start with your budget and that will tell you how much you will be able to tackle.

I started with the 496 stroker kit, edelbrock 84 cc rpm heads, offenhauser tunnel ram dual quads, two edelbrock 500s, Mr. Gasket Street Scoop, mopar performance polished aluminum valve covers, arp bolts, 6 qt oil pan and msd ignition.  And I am going with a solid lifter cam setup.  My engine setup is for show only but I can change out the cam, intake and carb for street or racing.

There are some great people on here that will be able to help you out with any questions. 

Robert

[Chryco Psycho]

I have no issues with dealing with 440 Source , they have good parts & service , the 451/470 is a good build 

[Challenger340]

You must chamfer the sides of the bearings, to provide clearance for the high radius filet present, on the aftermarket crankshafts use in the stroker kits.
If you're a 'first timer", best have someone show you how, or, farm it out. Crank endthrust clearances are the detriment to failure.

[ScottMH]

so you wouldnt recommend rebuilding the engine ourselves? we are looking for a complete engine gasket kit for the engine but most are OEM specs. i would assume we would need to goto some high performance gaskets wouldnt we? we are looking to drive the car to shows and on weekends