Chevy 400 Build

[565bbchevy]

I don't know what your budget is but Patriot Performance sells 185cc head completely assembled with 64cc chambers,2.02 int and 1.60 ext, screw in 3/8 studs w/guideplates and is good for 575 lift. Summit sells them for $735 for the pair plus with these you can use perimeter or centerbolt valve covers and it also appears to drilled for standard and vortec intake.
Something to consider by the time you by all the parts and pay for labor for your bare heads you might not be to far away in price and you could sell your bare heads and get some of it back. Part# 2151

 

[jrm81bu]

That eagle crank mentioned earlier by you is for 5.7 rod min 5.5 will not work.

I seen that in the crank specs but I really don't see how the crank can dictate it. Although if I were bulding from scratch the 5.7 would be a better choice with the better rod length to storke ratio.

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.

The 400's came with the shorter rods from the factory.

 

[565bbchevy]

The crank dictates the minimun length of the the rods based by design of the counterweights, so the farther the weights extend out the longer the rod has to be. Plus the longer the rod the better your rod ratio which will help longevity in a street engine and reduces wear on the thrust side.
With a stock 400 crank the factory 5.56 rods could obviously be used but most aftermarket cranks are designed for longer rods, they are easier to balance especially if you need to add Mallory metal.
The 400 has a rod ratio of 1.48 from the factory which is not very good, any improvement on that is a plus.

 

[jrm81bu]

Didn't think about the counterweights, duh. I was just looking at the point that you can move your pin height to accomadate whatever rod length(within reason). But forgot about the skirts still interfering with the counterweights.

I know the ratio on teh 400 isn't that great but I havent had an issue with it yet. Of course I don't spin it past 6200 either. Like I said above, if I was starting from scratch i'd go longer, but when i'm trying to be cheap, i'll go stock, lol.

 

[565bbchevy]

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?

You appear to not want to question the work on the block just because the guy you bought it from said it doesn't need any.
So I have a couple questions:

First, if it just came from a machine shop how did your guy misplace or loose main cap bolts(5?) that should have been torqued in place during all that machining?

And is your machinist and the guy you bought the block from the same guy?

 

[LilSpann601]

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?

You appear to not want to question the work on the block just because the guy you bought it from said it doesn't need any.
So I have a couple questions:

First, if it just came from a machine shop how did your guy misplace or loose main cap bolts(5?) that should have been torqued in place during all that machining?

And is your machinist and the guy you bought the block from the same guy?

I questioned the builder I bought the block from many times and he said that the block was bored over .30, new freeze plugs, oil cap plugs and it had already been honed. So kinda starting to panic about the block not being machine all the way. I got the nerve to put the block in my trunk and take it to the machine shop this morning. Out of my trunk the machine guy took out some sort of micromemter tool to see if the block had been bored. He said it has been bored but all the bores were not correct and the guy had a sleeve put into the engine we caould see from the bottom. Well the machine shop has the block and iuts I guess going to test prep it. Anything I should tlel him to do to the block while he has??? Like peformance mods or something

 

[CHRIS.O]

I'm glad you took everybody's advice and had it looked at. You gotta be careful, some peoples "ready to assemble" is a lot different than others. It appears it wasn't ready to assemble. It is a good thing you dropped it off rather than put it together and questioned why it had issues and all your money on internals was a waste. Theres really nothing I know of to do to performance mod a block other than filling the block but thats more for a race application and with the power you want you wont need to do that.

 

[565bbchevy]

Well, that is the best thing you can do having it checked out, just have your new machine shop check it out thoroughly and find out if anything is questionable and let them know your intentions for the build of the block.
I would also consider having them magnaflux and pressure test it.
I know these precautions are going to cost extra money, but it is still better than blowing your engine after you assembled and installed and put all that money into it.
I have seen people drop right out of this hobby after going through just that, taking the financial hit combined with a big hit to your ego after doing all that work.

 

[mebe007]

Might as well have them mill the deck a little bit so its nice and fresh. You'll get a lil comp boost out of it too lol

 

[DRIVEN]

A sleeve and a fresh decking is clearly visible in the first post.