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400 vs 350

31K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  jason snyder 
#1 ·
which is better a 400 sbc or a 350 sbc .right now I have a 350 in my nova but my dad has a 400 in his 64 chevy truck and he is selling the truck.if the 400 is a better motor im going motor swap them before he sells it .
 
#5 · (Edited)
400 hands down. :yes:

400 .030 over
splayed mains if its a 2 bolt
Custom forged crank with a 3.45" stroke to make it a 377
Forged rods of your choice
Forged pistons of your choice
solid roller cam
AFR 227 eliminator heads
victor with 4500 dominator top
1050 pro systems dominator

Let that sumbitch wing to 8K and launch you down the track like a rocket ship. The big bore allows big heads to breath better and the short stroke allows it to wing to the moon and make huge power with the right cam, head and compression combo.



This is the engine I wanted to build years ago and I still do. When I built my 383 I could not get my hands on a good 400 block or else thats the exact engine I would have today.


*puts on flame suit* waiting on the "WHY would you decrease cubes!" comments to start.



Heck maybe thats not even your intention for the engine. I am just assuming you are looking for the best base to start a build up with
 
#8 ·
And I can think of 50 more to save your money and buy an SHP block.:D

Then he could do a build up like Tubbed63 mentioned above and never worry about the typical block issues. Only I'd go the other direction and use a 4" stroke and still wing it to 8000+......NOW we're talking about POWER...:devil:
 
#9 ·
Nahhhhh I wouldn't do that with the SHP block myself. They are only rated up to 600hp. A little M sure that would be wicked! I like the 377 with the factory block because a 2 bolt thats been splayed and properly prepped will handle that just fine. I wouldnt dare do a 434 with a factory block and expect it to stay together long at 8K+. :eek:
 
#12 · (Edited)
i'd swap it

if the 400 has never been over-heated , i'd get it. But i'd also beef up the cooling system in whatever i put it in. I had a 400 in a Vega with a V8 Monza radiator. I slung a belt and it got hot fast ,, never ran the same after.

I bought a book on big inch small blocks. In the back it has some examples of dyno'd combinations. It has one mild 9-1 406 , with a 230 @ .050 114 LSA cam , stock vortec heads , it produced 545 ftlbs of torque at like 4200. I'd dare to say it would take 15-1 compression to get that much out of a 350 and alot more stuff.
 
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