Why? Why? Why?

[bigtmoney]

Why do people think you NEED to have a 4 bolt main engine? I have a truck for sale and the guy called asking about the engine in it, I rebuilt it myself and gave him all the specs. After listening to me rattle off everything that went into the motor, gaskets, cam, lifters, oil pan etc....he asks...is it a 4 bolt main?

I'm like no, it's a two bolt main. Come on it's an 88 chevy 350 TBI with a whopping 195 horsepower, why the hell would it need 4 bolt mains?

 

[Fox80]

That's funny been through that before myself, old school mentality I guess, a SBC 400 4bolt main block is actually less desirable and valuable than a two bolt main block, I have two four bolt main 400" blocks I couldn't give away, but the two bolts are worth $500+ to the right person, with aftermarket blocks down in price today we are nearly to the point that machining a stock block for any good power is not worth it ( ie zero decking, splaying the main caps, line boring, rod clearance, soft plugs, cam bearings, etc, etc) you will find someone else to buy it, odds are that guy wasn't worth the hassle

 

[Chris Van]

That's funny been through that before myself, old school mentality I guess, a SBC 400 4bolt main block is actually less desirable and valuable than a two bolt main block, odds are that guy wasn't worth the hassle

Lots of people don't realize that. The 2 bolt 400 blocks are actually stronger than 4 bolt blocks.
Have to agree with the last statement as well. The guy probably wasn't worth the time you spent on the phone with him.
You should have asked him if he really knew what the difference was in a 2 bolt and a 4 bolt main block. And if he was also aware that he could adjust the kanooter valve on the crankshaft sensor to compensate for the difference in the 2 bolt versus the 4 bolt block.

 

[G-Body_Vet]

You should have asked him if he really knew what the difference was in a 2 bolt and a 4 bolt main block.

I used to try to talk sense to idiots but I've grown very tired! Even when buying parts, I know whether I want to deal with them within the first 2 minutes of talking. Lots of self-proclaimed experts out there!

 

[bigtmoney]

I like that kanooter valve thing, maybe I'll try that next! Yeah, he's supposed to call this weekend if he's coming up from Alabama to look at it. I even try to explain to most people that you need about 500hp before you start worrying about whether you're 2 or 4 bolt mains. Then they just glaze over when I start to tell them that you probably wouldn't want to daily drive a 500hp SBC as it's gonna be like a washing machine with a broken leg on spin cycle.

Guess i'll wait for the next one to call to tell me that they need my ECLB truck to be at least 400 rwhp so they can tow their lawn mover trailer!

 

[Chris Van]

I have a neighbor that recently bought a 600 horsepower small block Chevy with an old set of double hump heads on it. It also came complete with a 750 carbeurator that had been punched out to a 1050.
He showed me a picture of the engine before he went to pick it up and I told him that I could already tell him that it didn't make 600 hp. And that there was no such thing as a 750 carb "punched" out to a 1050.
Long story short, this 600 hp motor ran almost exactly 1/2 a second slower in the 1/4 than the 400 hp engine that I built for him.
I simply told him that he has got to learn to weed through the BS that people talk all the time. And that the average person that talks hp numbers actually has no idea about hp in the first place or what it takes to make that kind of hp.

 

[MrLightning]

I have a neighbor that recently bought a 600 horsepower small block Chevy with an old set of double hump heads on it. It also came complete with a 750 carbeurator that had been punched out to a 1050.
He showed me a picture of the engine before he went to pick it up and I told him that I could already tell him that it didn't make 600 hp. And that there was no such thing as a 750 carb "punched" out to a 1050.
Long story short, this 600 hp motor ran almost exactly 1/2 a second slower in the 1/4 than the 400 hp engine that I built for him.
I simply told him that he has got to learn to weed through the BS that people talk all the time. And that the average person that talks hp numbers actually has no idea about hp in the first place or what it takes to make that kind of hp.

just how long has this guy been into cars, engines and been around them long enough to THINK he knows that hes not being BS'd? How much did he pay for the over-rated 600 HP engine? How old is he and does he NOW, after getting scammed, have a different opinion/outlook on whats real and whats perceived?

Seems theres a lot of people that get really hung up on the ever ellusive HP NUMBER!!!!...............when that's really only 1/2 of the overall performance end of an engines real ability. The torque is often overlooked with regards to the HP number and in fact is what more people should be looking at when buying a performance engine.

 

[jae]

You should have asked him if he really knew what the difference was in a 2 bolt and a 4 bolt main block.

I used to try to talk sense to idiots but I've grown very tired! Even when buying parts, I know whether I want to deal with them within the first 2 minutes of talking. Lots of self-proclaimed experts out there!

Amen brother, and Amen to the rest of you. I've gone skittles-face over the years doing the same things as all of you, trying to explain to people hp/torque numbers, 2 versus 4-bolt, Olds vs Chevy vs Ford, firing orders...

My 3 biggest complaints:

1. Every Chevy 350 for sale makes 350hp and is a "Corvette" 350

2. The experts, though they are "self-proclaimed"

3. Referring to articles, getting told by "car guys" "but it made XYZ hp!!!" then trying to explain that engine was a dyno-only queen, the hp number was a glory number for mag fodder & didn't make any power or torque down-low where it's needed, they ran it to within an inch of its life (probably beyond), and that engine would be more sloppy than a wh*re's hoolee-hoo

 

[All Motor Boys]

If you still want to give them 400 blocks away I will take them

 

[foxtrot]

If you still want to give them 400 blocks away I will take them