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Rebuild 400 or buy a crate 350?

3K views 22 replies 17 participants last post by  Rich74custom 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,
First off this site is awesome, full of great people and alot of information. This is my first post, so bear with me. I started this project as a hobby to step away from work (I own a HVAC company, that is stressful) and so far working on the bodywork is the only thing that helps me relax.

I am building my first project car and have good common sense, but not much knowledge about the details. My project is a 72 Nova, has a solid body, 8.5 rear end, not sure of the gears. Multi-leaf. I picked up a virgin 400 SB. I am wondering if I should rebuild it and put it in my car mated to my turbo 350 or just buy a crate motor. The 400 is a 4 bolt (71 model, I think), it came out of an Impala wagon. I am looking to build a mild motor. I don't need more than 400 H.P. As this is my first car my knowledge is limited and I am looking to do this on a budget, however I want to do it right the first time and not make any costly mistakes (if that is possible). I am looking to build a good looking car to drive to shows with my family. Won't really be racing it, but would like it to sound good, represent the muscle car era and be fun to drive.

If I stay with the 400, here are a few concerns or obstacles that I may encounter: I am going to have power brakes and and the auto trans, so I think vaccuum may be an issue. I woudl prefer to stay away from a stall if I can. I want to use pump gas and am looking to do as much work as possible myself. I am thinking maybe stock lower end, cam, some decent heads, good intake and carb, headers and exhaust.

With all of that being said, what would you recommend for me to do? Any things I should worry about? Any threads on here you can refer me to? Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing your input.:)
 
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#2 ·
Sounds like you would get all your goals from the 400 with a mild cylinder head, mild hydraulic roller cam, a dual plane intake, and a 750 cfm vacuum secondary carb. This motor if built right would be a very torquey so a basic 2000 rpm stall converter which is just over stock would be all thats needed. You wont even notice the stall speed. There would also be plenty of vacuum to use power brakes. No need to spin it past 6k RPM. JMO

I am also in the HVAC industry as a Metasys control install tech. I love this trade:yes:
 
#3 ·
Hello everyone,

I am building my first project car and have good common sense, but not much knowledge about the details. I picked up a virgin 400 SB. I am wondering if I should rebuild it and put it in my car mated to my turbo 350 or just buy a crate motor. The 400 is a 4 bolt (71 model, I think), it came out of an Impala wagon. I am looking to build a mild motor. I don't need more than 400 H.P. As this is my first car my knowledge is limited and I am looking to do this on a budget, however I want to do it right the first time and not make any costly mistakes (if that is possible). Won't really be racing it, but would like it to sound good, represent the muscle car era and be fun to drive.

With all of that being said, what would you recommend for me to do? Any things I should worry about? Any threads on here you can refer me to? Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing your input.:)
Contact Philip here on the Forum and ask him about his home re-built 400. His motor is very well thought out, strong, budget minded and he has all the answers you will need to build a KILLER street 400 motor if you decide to go that way.

Otherwise buy a turn key crate and just drop it in and go. There are so many good builders here to choose from, mild to wild. Jack
 
#6 ·
I would go with the 400. You have mentioned that you are looking for a pretty mild engine (stock near/stock stall, want good vacuum for accessories, pump gas, etc.) That being the case, you'll get more power and torque out of the additional 50 cubic inches of a mild 400ci than you would from an equally mild 350ci. Plus, you already have the 400.

Seems like an easy choice to me. :)
 
#7 ·
Do you have the skills, knowledge, abilities, and the tools to rebuild the 400 engine?

https://www.yearone.com/Catalog/1962-74-nova/engine/yearone-crate-engines
https://www.yearone.com/Catalog/1964-72-chevelle/engine/crate-engines

YearOne has two 400 hp crate motors with a one year, 12,000 mile warranty and for as low as three grand. They have many more available, including the RamJet engine, and ZZ4 engines.

GM performance parts has crate motors of like horsepower with up to three years of warranty. If you're acquainted with a GM dealer perhaps you can work a discount.

Unless you can get that 400 engine rebuilt for a really reasonable cost, you'll have more into it than a quality crate motor, based upon my experience. Will your machine shop warranty the engine? Fortunately, you have lots of time to do the research and make a decision.
 
#12 ·
Some people I know are worried about building engines because they don't know much about them. It's not hard at all. Grab an engine building book from a local parts store or look online just so you don't miss anything and also do it in the easiest order. That 400 should be fun, I had one that ran really well, then I went to a more built up 350, and now I'm building my first blower motor ?. Plus it's nice to say you built it yourself and you know every nut and bolt to it.

Sent from my iPhone using AutoGuide.com App
 
#13 ·
As all have already said go with your 400....I had one in a 71 camaro with a 4spd and 4.10 gears ran 8.20s in the eight mile all day and drove it to the track...it was standard bore dish top motor with dart iron eagle heads and a comp 292 501 cam..so the 400 will definitely get you where you wanna be!!! Good luck with ypur build!
 
#14 ·
Thank You everyone for the response. I have contacted Phillip and he gave me all his information on his 400. I can't thank you enough for the recommendation to contact him! I am going to run with the 400, should tear it down soon and have it at the machine shop within 2 weeks. I will keep everyone posted.

Thanks,
Justin
 
#20 ·
+1 For the 400.
i ran 11.80 with mine, rv cam, stock heads w 202 valves. Edelbrock intake and holley 750, Stock stall, 2.83 gears and 150hp Nitrous off the line.
13.5 all motor.
Funny, when I read the 11.80, rv cam I said NO WAY. I read the rest down to 2.83 gears and said NO FREAKIN WAY, then I hit the 150 shot and said OH!!!! LOL Jack
 
#21 ·
Have you ever rebuilt an engine or have any friends that can help you? If you don't know how to rebuild an engine, have the tools needed or know someone that does prices can add up quickly. I can't find a good link to them, but GM sells a couple reasonable priced crate engines that make decent power.
It seems that people are pushing towards building your own. But if you have to buy all the tools needed to assemble the engine after spending all the money on parts and machine work it won't be cheaper than buying a crate engine. Plus depending on who you ask on this site you will need little to no machine work or machine work comparable to a Nascar engine. Some of the tools will crossover for other uses, but some like micrometers and ring compressors are very limited use items.
Without working knowledge on engines some as simple as picking cylinder heads or a camshaft can be difficult. People here ask for help and get 25 different answers and I’m sure are as confused after the answers as they were before they asked.
Then after figuring out what parts out of the thousands out there, finding a machine shop to do the machine work, then you building it and the machine shop giving you a 3 year 36 mile warranty is pretty slim.
 
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