I was speaking with guy who builds the eninge who sold me the block and he was saying it didn't need to be decked and the block had been cleaned and the cylinder walls had been honed. I asked him what size rod would he use for my build and he said that he would use 5.5 rods???? Also he is saying he has some 400 heads with already 2.02 valves in it. Would yall trade bare vortec heads for some 400 heads?
Chevy 400 Build
- Thread starter LilSpann601
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That eagle crank mentioned earlier by you is for 5.7 rod min 5.5 will not work. I would stick with the 5.7 rod and buy piston with compression ratio you desire. I would not trade the vortec for a stock 400 head even with 202 valves if not ported to optimize the valve the vortec head will out flow them all day also stock 400 heads are 76cc where the vortec heads are 64cc. Imo the vortec heads by far a better head in stock form then even a stock ported 400 head with valves
Also do you know if block has been bored in the past and just recently hone. You need to find this out in order to get required pistons which generally you would want to have block finished hone to the piston manufactures req. For the clearence the piston requires. If he dont know you might want to get a dial bore gauge and do it. If its stock bore you want to make sure cylinder is not out of round or engine life will be short. Stock bore for a sbc 400 is 4.125 just incase you didnt know.
LilSpann601 said:
Are you assembling this engine yourself? Or is the guy that sold you the block or a machine shop doing it. I would still want the block checked out by a reputable machine shop unless you have receipts and can verify with micrometers etc. that the work has been done.Getting quality machine work is not a place to skimp on, you are going spend a lot of money on a new rotating assembly etc.
I always have my parts before I get machine work done(bore and hone) that way the pistons can be fit to there particular bore and the finish hone is based on the ring manufacturers specifications.
5.7 rods would be the min. you would want to run with a 400 crank not sure what you would ever use a 5.5 for.
I agree with chevy2480 to stick with the vortecs they will flow better vs technology from 40+ years ago, regardless of the bigger valves.
So have the cylinders been bored or honed? I thought you said you were buying .030 over pistons. If the cylinders have just been honed you want standard bore pistons. If they cylinders have been bored than you want whatever over size they were. Don't get ahead of yourself here. It might be very wise to talk to a machinist, not the guy you bought it from and ask them some of the more in depth questions. They build these things for a living and have tons of experience. I personally would drop the block off and have it looked at by a 3rd party. Usually an inspection cost nothing.
CHRIS.O said:
I was going to assembly the engine myself. The block has been bored .030 over. The guy i bought it from had about 5 or 6 engines he was building so i figured I could trust him.The cylinder walls are smooth and the block is pretty clean he said the block already had machine work done just needed to be built.
Well there should be some nice crosshatching from the hone if this was freshly machined. Why don't you post some nice clear pictures of the cylinder walls from both ends?
For your benefit ill throw this pic up. Its of my block during my build. I know its not the best pic by anymeans but its a freshly honed and decked block. If you look close you can see the crosshatching. I know its difficult to see but its there lol
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