Posted by Chris (216.172.142.219) on February 16, 2001 at 15:25:07:
In Reply to: Stumped again..... posted by Fastman on February 16, 2001 at 06:19:26:
How about trying something different. How about a 400M. These make awsome race motors. They have the cubic inches and there cheap to build too.
If you want something bigger, use a 351W stroker crank. Alot of the 351W strokers use 400M cranks. Use one with a 4.17" stroke and you will have 426 CID. Plus the 400 has a tall deck, so you could probly get a decent size rod in there also.
If you use the stock stroke, you can use 351C pistons (they have the same comp. height). All you have to do is bush the 400 rods for the smaller 351C pin. It's cheaper to use 351C pistons then have custom pistons made up. None of the 400 pistons out there have much compression. You would probly be looking at around 13:1 with a pop-up Keith Black's and closed chambered heads.
The Blue Thunder heads would work awsome. They would probly take some work though. Stock 351C 4V heads would work great and they are a bolt-ons. Weiand makes spacer plates for the intake manifold. You could even use their "Pro Hi-Ram" Tunnel Ram if your into that.
I have found that 1.8 Ratio rockers work really well. (Harland Sharp BB CHEV.) Also, don't overlook carburetion. A decent strip 351C-400M, needs at least an 850 cfm carb.The oil system isn't as much of a problem with the 400 because it wont be turning very hard. I would use a decent size oil pan and run an external oil line. The line comes from passage in between the fuel pump and the block. Run a hard line (or braided hose) to the oil preasure hole in the rear of the block on top.
Most people also run C6 transmissions with these motors too. If you perfer a C4, you have a couple of choices. You can find a 1973 400 out of a mid-size car. Some of them had the standard small block pattern. But, these will probly be almost impossible to find. Or, look for a '70's car with a 351M. My Dad's '76 Torino had a 351M with a C4.
We used 4V heads on my Dads 400. My dads Torino (4 Dr) weighs about 4500 lbs. We swapped in 4.11's, opened the exhaust, and put on a set of slicks. We blew the trany on the second run. These motors make alot of torque.