Thread: 396 big block

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i've posted in a few forums before this one and have had no luck. i hope i will get some feedback here! i have a stock 396 that i want to rebuild to acheive 400 to 450 hp which shouldn't be difficult at all. i can't decide what size of cam to put in!? this would be my first engine re build as i specialize in body work but mostly painting. what brands are good and what parts would you put in it to get that much hp? any website suggestions as well. i figure with a slightly bigger cam, heads, and intake i should get the hp i want. the car will mostly be driven on city streets. maybe drag a few times. any opinions!?

google camquest its might give you some ideas

describe what you have in a bit more detail and tech will post several combinations that will get you there .. your cam choice should not have such a great bearing on your goals .. i dont cam for power i cam for sound effect .. i want to sound like i have 800 horses even though i may only have 180

We've got some very sharp BBC guys on here, first thing they'll want to know is what heads are on the engine (casting numbers), transmission you'll be using, rear end gears, and few other things... Cam choice is critical for performance with any engine, the more information you can provide about your car will make the selection more accurate!!!!

Oh yeah, and welcome to CHR!

Thanks dave!
the engine acctually doesn't have heads due to the fact the guy was selling them for an insane price. transmission turbo 400 with a 2 stage shift kit and a 2000 - 2500 stall converter. the rear end gears are 4 10 posi. the engine is from a 67 impala or nova can't remember. and i have yet to get it on a stand and find out if its a 2 bolt or a 4 bolt main. the casting number is 3902406. its never been bored out and i don't want to bore out the cylinders. thats all i know right now anyways anything else?

regina must be a hotbed of hotrods .. on numerous forums i see members from that area ..

ya there are lots around here but the only track close to here is 2 and a half hours away!. you should see the highway when there is a show or a race on every car for 2 hours is a hot rod its cool! lots of farms around here with hidden treasures as well.

well IMO finding a good set of oval ports would do the trick, either casting number 049 or 781 which are the last three digits. These heads are easily capable of this power level and probably found for quite a few bucks less than aftermarket. I think the cheapest heads you can find right now are from summit and they are around $1500 for the pair! You could achieve this with a relatively small cam as well. somewhere in the 230-240 degrees duration area. I'm building a 468 right now with the 781's and probably not much bigger of a cam. I'm hoping for at least 450 horsepower but I really want the torque to go through the roof. Remember, horsepower sells a car, torque moves it! Good luck with your build, I think these oval ports are what your looking for!

Originally Posted by chevygirl396

ya there are lots around here but the only track close to here is 2 and a half hours away!. you should see the highway when there is a show or a race on every car for 2 hours is a hot rod its cool! lots of farms around here with hidden treasures as well.

Pat McCarthey is back on now, he's the man to talk with about what it takes to make a 396 do whatever you want it to do!!!! Heck, when he gets recovered from the burns he'd probably build you a set!!!!

Originally Posted by chevygirl396

Thanks dave!
the engine acctually doesn't have heads due to the fact the guy was selling them for an insane price. transmission turbo 400 with a 2 stage shift kit and a 2000 - 2500 stall converter. the rear end gears are 4 10 posi. the engine is from a 67 impala or nova can't remember. and i have yet to get it on a stand and find out if its a 2 bolt or a 4 bolt main. the casting number is 3902406. its never been bored out and i don't want to bore out the cylinders. thats all i know right now anyways anything else?

well if you want some cr the 049 and 781 heads are open chamber so on a bone stock 396 it will lower the compression. hard to say what piston is in the short block maybe some numbers on them or the under side if pan is off or photo will help this will help tell me somethings . as for cam this is a older engine and rear cam need number #5 with a groove cut in the cam for oil to the valve train this is a smaller bbc they do not need as much cam as a 454 or big heads with big valves .you really have a 400 small block just built far better stock from gm so the 396 would not need much

Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

well if you want some cr the 049 and 781 heads are open chamber so on a bone stock 396 it will lower the compression. hard to say what piston is in the short block maybe some numbers on them or the under side if pan is off or photo will help this will help tell me somethings . as for cam this is a older engine and rear cam need number #5 with a groove cut in the cam for oil to the valve train this is a smaller bbc they do not need as much cam as a 454 or big heads with big valves .you really have a 400 small block just built far better stock from gm so the 396 would not need much

tell me more about the groove in the cam for more oiling. is that necessary in all bbc? sounds like a good idea

Originally Posted by slammed84

tell me more about the groove in the cam for more oiling. is that necessary in all bbc? sounds like a good idea

the older blocks 65to67 did not have the 360 groove in the#5 cam housing bore of the block so oil from mains would not oil the lifters with out the cam groove or the right cam bearings. new blocks do not need this done to the cam is it has the 360 groove in the rear cam housing bore older sbc are the same way

i see, so its kinda like the 348 and 409's? i picked up a 348 from 58' a while ago, its an alien to me but will be fun to build someday and put in an old land yacht. its completely rusted together from sitting in the oklahoma weather for years but if I can get it apart without tearing it up it should build ( i traded a bunch of crap parts for it). I have everything except the oil pan and valve covers, unfortunately the guy took the heads off and thats why its so rusted, i did get the heads though. CHP has a build on their website where they took a 348 and turned it into a 434 with over 500 torque and horsies. They only spent $8000 doing it too, lol.

so i've finally had the time and set up to take this engine apart! i just finished it was fun. i think i've decided to just build it stock. but i have a question when i took apart the bottom end the # 6 connecting rod was quite loose and there was nothing left of the bearing. the #5 bearing was almost demolished as well. and the crank is scored and damaged on that side as well. is this all caused by the loose connecting rod or are there other factors that could be involved in causing the damage. and also is it bad to try and have a machine shop fix the damaged crank? will it make it weaker?

Originally Posted by chevygirl396

so i've finally had the time and set up to take this engine apart! i just finished it was fun. i think i've decided to just build it stock. but i have a question when i took apart the bottom end the # 6 connecting rod was quite loose and there was nothing left of the bearing. the #5 bearing was almost demolished as well. and the crank is scored and damaged on that side as well. is this all caused by the loose connecting rod or are there other factors that could be involved in causing the damage. and also is it bad to try and have a machine shop fix the damaged crank? will it make it weaker?

bearings have spun so the rods could be junk as well on the crank. you can some times just have it ground but you can only turn so much off . then your looking at welding the crank up steel cranks weld better most time up then cast iron cranks and when you looking to weld a crank less a very good crank the price of the work on crank is worth more then a good use one or a new crank some shops should not weld them but do. i seen bad weld jobs .i can not see how bad it is so you should take it to the machine shop sounds like your looking at a crank and two good rods .why it wipe could be many things. you could buy a 454 crank and use the KB pistons and add some CID to it