Can you build a 406 or 427 on a budget

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79MaliCrazz

G-Body Guru
Nov 6, 2010
577
70
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Lake Wylie,SC
I'm thinking of building a 406 or 427 on a budget some people say I can't cause it will cost at least $7000 to $10,000 to build and then I have others tell me I can build a one for about $4000.So I would like for someone to point me in the right direction can you please tell me what combo and where I can get it from I would like to build something nice and be in the 550hp plus range but on a budget or can tell me of performance place that sells a motor ready to go with warranty.
 

dogsht

Royal Smart Person
Nov 11, 2008
2,003
9
36
Dayton, OH
Here is one. https://www.patriot-performance.com/xca ... =69&page=1

You can find 406/408 also sometimes budget. 427 big or small block usually gets into more money.

BTW thats 93 octane with warranty. Anymore HP and you run into race gas, out of warranty, shorten motor life, and it gets more fickle to make work on the street with bigger gears & stall converters and over heating issues etc. Well unless you get more cubic inches but that requires more money for stroker assemblies machine work etc or a larger engine to start with. 454,455 Buick Olds or Pontiac, 500 Caddy, 460 Ford, 440 Mopar.

Edit Or a power adder ie spray, turbo, supercharger.

Edit II BTW that is a new aftermarket block which is stronger than a factory block. And a key to getting this power in a nice street friendly usable rpm range is the port matched air gap ie dual plane intake. Im bored with old SBCs but the bang for the buck and streetable refinement & reliability is hard to beat without great experience and a larger motor to start with. Let alone the warranty. Looking at what you have now race intake, race cam, small race type carb the above motor would be unbelievably better on the street.
 

Blake B

Greasemonkey
Aug 25, 2011
186
7
18
KS
if you looking for a budget build, why not find a craigslist 400 and clean it up.

after spending a week with my engine builder going thru differnt possible builds, we established that i could get 400+hp from better pistons/cams and intake on my block. for about 2,150 in parts and 500 in labor.. i got my engine (which is 100% usable day one with 50k miles on it, for $400..) no better budget build than that imo for for a smidge over 3k i'm pounding the pavement with a beastly well street manored motor.

the best part is once i decide to really get into her, i can bore her out to 406 and/or make her into a 434 stroker!!!!! :mrgreen:

everyone has their opinions whether new or used but right now i have 2,100 into a my car (car+motor) and it looks better, has more power and will run more reliably than 90% of the little sh*t i see around here.

to me, 100% my opinion, if you can "freshen up" a 30yr old car, then any parts or components can be freshened up as well. when i buy a new block, or new car.. it will be in something for show, and cruises at the lake, OR a track car not for something a i will beat up on a daily basis. no point in loosing your *ss in resale values
 

79MaliCrazz

G-Body Guru
Nov 6, 2010
577
70
28
Lake Wylie,SC
Ok i understand your point but i want to get it done the first time and not have to worry about later having to pull it out to make it what i want in my case its better to just do the 406 or 427 and then move on to something else.So im looking for a budget friendly build or one from a performance shop that wont break the bank .
 

CHRIS.O

Royal Smart Person
May 26, 2011
1,432
0
36
MI
I think 550hp with a small block for 4k is asking a lot. Especially if you want it to hold up and obviously you do. You can easily dump 2k into just a rotating assembly. I can see 1200-1500 for QUALITY heads to support 550hp. I can see 600-700 into valvetrain if you go roller which I would and not skimp out with a flat tappet cam. You are over 4k now and havent even had any machine work done or bought the core. I could see it being done for about 6k. To have that type of horsepower reliably cost a lot of money. You could build a stout 355 or 383 and spray a 150 shot of nitrous for about 4k. Most of your money would be in the bottom end to hold up to nitrous but really a 150 shot isnt much. I have seen 200 shots on factory stock old 350's last several seasons when properly tuned.
 

565bbchevy

Geezer
Aug 8, 2011
9,590
12,612
113
Michigan
I think the Patriot engine Dogshit posted seems like a really good bang for your buck engine considering they also use a $1,500+ Dart SHP block which is far superior to "select cores" that most rebuilt short and long blocks come with, plus they use a roller instead of flat tappet cam and aluminum heads. This engine will make reliable pump gas power for the life of your car.

And sending a block out to a local machine shop can be a gamble, I have dealt with quite a few "reputable" machine shops in the past trying to save a buck and it never pays off in the end and that's why I do all my own assembly and the shop I use now to do my block machining has most of it's employees with 20+ years doing their job.

So yes the Patriot engine is over budget but it is a quality piece with a warranty and most machine shops the warranty is maybe we will fix it if you can prove we made a mistake.
 
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