Thread: Pontiac 400 build

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Has anyone built a pontiac 400 with good results? I want to keep the shaker hood so I need a intake that will work with it. Or keep stock intake. Any tips on what to put in it would help. I want to use it as a weekend driver and use pump gas

I built a Pontiac 400 years ago and had good results with the stock intake. I switched to an Edelbrock (Performer I believe), improvement was minimal.

Pontiac used cast rods in some of their motors. If this is your case, the most important thing you can do is switch to forged rods. You can build a very reasonable motor around stock parts. Use the stock crank, block, heads, and intake manifold. Use pistons to get the compression ratio between 9:1 and 9.5:1. Comp's XE262 or XE268 should make decent hp with excellent streetability with your displacement and a stock intake manifold. With the slightly larger displacement of the 400, both cams should also work with a stock torque converter . If you can find the height of the manifold, any manifold of the same height will work. Get some headers and a good carb and you'll be set. All of this in a properly blueprinted motor should get you to 375+ hp at the crank and 430+ ft lbs of torque.