Thread: chevy small block 400

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i got a roller cam that cameout of my 383 stroker moter its a solid lift roller its a .640/.645 lift at 50 276/284 i wanted to know will it work good in the 400.The piston i order it was speed-pro hypereutectic flat tops 4 relief 10.9 compression. Do u think that cam will work with them piston THERE 30 OVER

It's a bit low on compression for that cam, you can change to a 350 style head with good flow, drill the steam holes (in the head) to match the block steam holes. This will raise the compression up to a better level for that cam. Have the crank magnafluxed for cracking and stressed radiuses. 400 cranks of that era had a few of them not take the grunt you are about to put to it. If it checks out okay, then have the assembly balanced. Degree the cam dead on, making sure that piston to valve clearance is within specs. Have the heads machined for the proper springs and make sure they don't portrude the valve guides too high to prevent an interference problem. Have some fun with it. That cam is going to require high stall converter and deep gears to run well. Good size carb to go with, such a 750, 830,or 850. And have some fun. P.S> I forgot to ask if you are running roller rockers, etc. If so (recommended) get the guide plates and pushrods to get the geometry right and great durability.

Originally Posted by demetrice askew

i got a roller cam that cameout of my 383 stroker moter its a solid lift roller its a .640/.645 lift at 50 276/284 i wanted to know will it work good in the 400.The piston i order it was speed-pro hypereutectic flat tops 4 relief 10.9 compression. Do u think that cam will work with them piston THERE 30 OVER

You will need a min. of 13 to 1 to run that cam.

i had it in my 383 it had 11.5 piston it worked well

will the double hump heads work they was done to work with the cam and what will i have to do to the heads to make them work on a 400

will the double hump heads work they was done to work with the cam and what will i have to do to the heads to make them work on a 400 or how can i step the compression up some

Originally Posted by demetrice askew

i had it in my 383 it had 11.5 piston it worked well

O.K.,If you know so much why ask???

what do i need to do to the double hump heads to make them work on the 400 and get the compression up some

steel shim head gaskets like Denny said, but don't forget about the steam holes

can the machine shop do this and why do u have to have the stem hole do it make better comperssion

not compression......cooling passages for the siamesed block the 400 is. your heads don't have them, the block does, therefore to stop creating steam pockets you need to have them drilled in your heads to accomodate. A competent machine shop can do it for you.

what has been done to the heads that you need that kind of lift ??i use cams that are about the same spec's in 10to1 400s with very good power but i'm using alot more head then you have. if you have it and don't want to buy a different one then run it. but the heads are know were near flowing enough air to use all that cam. make sure you check piston to valve and like nitro said have someone drill the steam holes..