Indiancreek

They make an about 1" spacer to go behind your water pump. Tap and thread the side of the block between the center cylinders. Plumb the cool water or coolant from the pump outlet to the inlet on the side of the block. On some 400s the undrilled casting hole works just fine. I've see on the three hole blocks the center plug used.
The heat developed between the center cylinders can turn to steam, therefore no coolant against the cylinder walls in that area and the intense heat. The steam holes allow the steam to escape vertically and on through the cooling system, keeping coolant against the cylinder walls.

Crepitus

I can see a couple advantages to that. The back 4 holes always get short changed in the coolant dept. That would put thermostat temp coolant right into the problum area. Thanks.

I'm Batman

The heck with that, I have an aftermarket forged 400 SBC crank that's set up for 5.7" or 6" rods. All I need is a good block and some pistons and I'm ready to go.

Indiancreek

The 377 was popular around here for a while, but the blocks (good one's) got harder to find. Lots of after market stuff being built, not all of it good. Rule of thumb, you get what you pay for.
I'm building a 434 for my 75 and a 383 for my 71. Won't really be a good comparison though as the 434 is going to be a little stronger than the other. The 434 is a Dart little "M" and the 383 will be a factory block. Aluminum heads on both, Canfields on the 75 and Edelbrock on the 71.

bluedawg

[QUOTE=Indiancreek;1580881941]They make an about 1" spacer to go behind your water pump. Tap and thread the side of the block between the center cylinders. Plumb the cool water or coolant from the pump outlet to the inlet on the side of the block. On some 400s the undrilled casting hole works just fine. I've see on the three hole blocks the center plug used.
The heat developed between the center cylinders can turn to steam, therefore no coolant against the cylinder walls in that area and the intense heat. The steam holes allow the steam to escape vertically and on through the cooling system, keeping coolant against the cylinder walls.[/QUOTE)

Is this an issue with after market blocks such as the shp? Or did they address it with the scalloped block? I know that the shp blocks have no provisions to match up for steam holes.

cv67

Just got my 383 finished when a perfect virgin 400 block showed up. Magged acid dipped whole nine yards.

Took yrs of looking on/off at blocks that were more or less junk.

Thing is Ill probably never use this thing now that ive sunk so much into what Ive got already lol.

If I need bigger...it will be forced induction. Just need that lotto ticket.

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OP I would HIGHLY recommend having that 4 bolt block checked out by a pro before buying it. If the seller balks at it then move on. Not all can be told with the naked eye.

Indiancreek

Is this an issue with after market blocks such as the shp? Or did they address it with the scalloped block? I know that the shp blocks have no provisions to match up for steam holes.[/QUOTE]

Not an issue with good aftermarket blocks. There are import knock offs that I can't say much about as I don't use them.

Suspect that like most things I've run across that were knock offs, something is lost in the knocking process.

cv67

Way back when I wanted to do a 377 and now am glad I didnt
Love high revvers but it would be more like a larger 350.

That extra stroke does SO much. Plan on spinning this 383 past 7k on a reg basis so why not have both?

If it were me take the 400 block and add 1/8 in arm to it keep the rpms limit to about 6000 and youd have a reliable rocket on your hands.

gkull

That is why the last motor I did was a DART SHP 4.125 bore block. Cheaper way to build good power. Stock bore and 3.750 stroke yealds 400 ci. I used a 3.875 stroker crank and made it a 415 ci

Indiancreek

If you really want to experiment, off set grind the crank to small journal and come up with all kinds of strange combinations.

htown81vette

Come on guys its ONLY MONEY. You can't take it with you!!

Just order a 400 shortblock directly from DART and be done with it:

http://www.dartheads.com/products/sh...k-builder.html

Here's to hoping that your last check bounces

jackson

simple answer is yes.

If bores will clean up at no more than Plus 0.030" (4.155") and all else checks OK ... do it.

2 bolt v. 4 bolt may result in "discussion"

myko

I recently looked into this. I had just built a 383 out of a 4 bolt block I had laying around. Bought a rotating ***'y and vortec top end and put it all together in the $2500 range.

I came across a 2 bolt 400 engine (completely stock carb to pan) for $50! I was planning to put a forged stroker bottom and some good heads on it for some more low end power to enjoy on the street. Of course it depends on your plan for the car.
A rotating ***'y will cost $2000 or more. The machine work will be more. And harder to find a shop that does very many. The end result should be nice but, as everyone else has mentioned, plan to spend a lot more to get extra HP and torque. If you are going above 406CI you have even less options and will spend even more.

Ralphbf

Is this Rotating Assembly any good?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ESP-B13460030

I'm looking for 400 horsepower.

Ralph

Crepitus

That looks pretty close, 400 main (2.65) 5.7 rod good and good. Befor you order a kit you need to make sure the compression is right.
With a 76cc head, a .035 gasket, decked .010, SCR should be about 9.5-1

you might find this interesting;
http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...d/viewall.html

edit;400 will be real easy, do you have enough hood clearence for a Performer RPM? Vortec or aftermarket head? If you go with a 67cc (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-151124/) vortec you will need about a 15cc dish piston

myko

That is a cast crank. It will handle 400HP. In the figures above I was looking for forged cranks. I'm not sure what HP most guys would consider the breaking point to step up to a forged crank. I am aiming a little (not much) higher but want a solid foundation if I were to change heads and cam later.

Also, Billla had recommended I stay away from Eagle. He knows his stuff so I elected to avoid finding out the hard way. He may chime in and give some more insight on problems he has had with their products.

Indiancreek

Not my first choice just based on the Eagle crank. It is based on how much you can spend. There is no cheap real good stuff out there. Again, you get what you pay for,and you pay for what you can aford.
Someone on here, and I talked onetime about this in PM, He and I agree, A budgit built engine runs much better than one that never gets built.

bashcraft

It's cast steel. It'll easily handle 400 hp, probably close to 500.

BB72

I think a lot of guys built a 383 because...hey...everybody else is doing it so it must be good. I don't think a 406 would be any more expensive than a 383. You can drill any head for the steam holes, use longer rods to increase revs, buy any aftermarket cranks and rods cheap. Heck, you can clean up some cheap 350 rods and use ARP bolts and those rods are good for more HP. A really good balance job will up the HP tolerance. A friend of mine balanced my 406 I used to have in the same shop his boss did his top fuel motors, so I'm told. It revved really smooth right to 7k with about 450hp.

Rob

cv67

It can be as cheap sometimes isnt.

Some like to plug some of the deck holes, then drill em out before decking the block to add strength to the deck. Absolutely use a torque plate and line hone a 400 imo.

Even if it cost a few hundred more totally worth it.
Those cheapie cranks are Ok....just check them to make sure the crank is straight, along with the journals. What one SHOULD do with any piece in the first place.
Have used Scat, C.A.T. and RPM brand cranks with no problems at all. Think they are pretty close these days.


To order one take it out of thebox and drop it in youre rolling the dice imo. Everything should be checked period even the good name brand stuff.