Think I changed my mind

[rayderluvr]

In previous posts I have said I want to stroke my 400 and have 450 horsepower. that would be nice, but I have reviewed my budget and and am thinking I want to try and build a "healthy" 400 without the expense of a stroker kit. After reading, I am more interested in a lot of torque....can I build a strong 400 with stock heads, intake, and exhaust manifolds?

[XH29N0G]

These people should know and can advise.  My 2 cents of relatively primitive understanding about torque of the engine is that it is related to the time and the amount of travel that combustion gases force on the piston.  A longer stroke will have more piston travel per rotation and thus can get more torque.  A cam can also affect stroke by changing the amount of time that the combusted gases push on the piston.  That said, there is also the issue of torque at the wheels, which can be changed by changing gearing. 

Let's see what others say.

[Dmichels]

My advice
1 Listen to what others have done and what worked for them You are not going to re-invent the wheel
2 You need to plan and build the whole car as a package depending on intended purpose.
When I was planning on building my 440 I was going to use the biggest cam, High CR, duel cards ECT ECT I was going to have the badest 440 ever I planned this all myself. THen I hooked up with a guy who had been building Dodge motors and racing since the 60's. Thank god I listened to him.
I am not trying to be insulting so do not take it that way
You need to gather as much info as you can
Dave

[moparguy01]

a friend of mine built a real stout 400 a few years back. we figured it was around 300-350 hp. but it moved his 2wd ramcharger around real nicely. and it was CHEAP. he used the keith black hyper pistons which brought it to around 9:1 compression, and put in the large summit racing camshaft, which i think was a .488 lift cam? nothing too extreme. He ran headers and i think that was basically all he did other than getting the head work done. Was it a screamer? no, but if it could move that big ramcharger around, it should move a charger better.

From what I've seen, the 400's ran poorly because they are plagues with low compression and crappy camshafts. Fix those and you'll have a decent engine.

[Chryco Psycho]

the reality is a stroker with all new parts & balanced will cost very little more than rebuilding all the used parts with machining , new rod bolts etc & you have removed 7 lbs from the rotating mass meaning there is less stress on the parts . It just makes sense to take to 451 CI

[Cooter]

. After reading, I am more interested in a lot of torque....can I build a strong 400 with stock heads, intake, and exhaust manifolds?

350-361-383-400...ALL have less crank[Stroke] Than A Small Block Chevy. Stroker Crank at a MINIMUM. Or, simply dump in a 440.

[firefighter3931]

the reality is a stroker with all new parts & balanced will cost very little more than rebuilding all the used parts with machining , new rod bolts etc & you have removed 7 lbs from the rotating mass meaning there is less stress on the parts . It just makes sense to take to 451 CI

Exactly.....the 451 is a no-brainer ! 

The short stroke of the 383-400 is not your friend when it comes to torque.....lengthen the stroke and it'll make more torque (at a lower RPM) 


Ron

[Nacho-RT74]

. After reading, I am more interested in a lot of torque....can I build a strong 400 with stock heads, intake, and exhaust manifolds?

350-361-383-400...ALL have less crank[Stroke] Than A Small Block Chevy. Stroker Crank at a MINIMUM. Or, simply dump in a 440.

even that, they do it better LOL

[BSB67]

I think you are doing the right thing....pausing to take a close look at your specific situation.  These cars are a hobby, and really have low priority relative to life in general.  Look at how much money you have today for the build, and get clear on your objective.  If your budget and objective don't match, one of them has to change.  It could be that your finances are such that you are better off doing nothing, and waiting until you have more money available.  Or plan on spending two years and spend as you go.

Parts and services costs for engine builds are well known .  You can estimate very closely today on what your build will cost. Some good used parts do pop up, but you need to watch for them all the time and be patient.

A 451 is a better choice for pushing around a b body, but it will certainly cost more.

[c00nhunterjoe]

I think you are doing the right thing....pausing to take a close look at your specific situation.  These cars are a hobby, and really have low priority relative to life in general.  Look at how much money you have today for the build, and get clear on your objective.  If your budget and objective don't match, one of them has to change.  It could be that your finances are such that you are better off doing nothing, and waiting until you have more money available.  Or plan on spending two years and spend as you go.

Parts and services costs for engine builds are well known .  You can estimate very closely today on what your build will cost. Some good used parts do pop up, but you need to watch for them all the time and be patient.

A 451 is a better choice for pushing around a b body, but it will certainly cost more.

Well said! 

My vote goes to start putting money in the piggy bank until you have enough to build your engine. In the meantime, enjoy driving the car

[Brightyellow69rtse]

How about upgrading parts that you can reuse while you save for the rebuild? I had the lowly 400 i did everything you could  do without pulling the motor. It made a nice difference and kept me happy. I also had the larger summit cam.

This kept me happy for a long time till the  440 came together

[Scaregrabber]

Evaluate the present engine condition. If the ring seal is good and oil pressure is good you could buy better heads, intake and camshaft and see how that works for you. IMO if it needs new pistons, well it won't cost much more to do the 451. If you don't have to do anything to the shortblock, you can buy parts that can be used with a 400 and later with a stroker if you decide to go that way.
I've owned a lot of 400's that kept me happy.

Sheldon