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I got my old 400 back that was in my circle track car and I plan on rebuilding it to make some where in the ballpark of 500 hp. Last time I ran the motor it lost oil pressure so I shut it down. When I tore into it the main bearings were just about gone but not completely. The after market scattershield had caused the input shaft to push on the crankshaft and cause bearing failure. I got the motor with a new crank and plan on tearing it all down tanking the block and line boring it. All my motors have been built for me now I think I am going to give it a try and see what happens.

Right on Gabe! Some real horsepower! Get your wallet out! LOL

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76 Daily driver (SOLD)
73 LUV (rusting away at the moment)
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63 Nova
74 Camaro

hey derek what do you think its going to take to make 500 hp out of that 400? Last time I ran that motor it was suppose to be putting out about 330 hp and that was with a 500 cfm 2 barrel carb sitting on a eldelbrock performer and the cam had 14 inches of vacume at a 800 rpm idle. Now that I dont have any stupid rules to go by this should be fun.

You want just dollar figures or part numbers?? LOL Are you prepared to drop a grand into valve train parts?

I guess alot depends on what you already got, but it will need to breath very well, you want to base everything on an rpm range (the higher you go, the more $$$ for valvetrain parts) and a dynamic compression ratio of about 8.5:1, and you can run a low buck HEI setup like on my nova for about $200 new, with a rev limiter, good to 8 grand or more, I never spin my stuff over 7500 max and I run a small motor. I can share tons of other cheap power secrets too when you get ready to mock it up. What kinda parts are in the bottom end? You could just spray some nitrous to 500+ real easy too, but beef up ignition, exhaust, and fuel system as well, dont skimp of fuel system.

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LUV Truck Desserter!
76 Daily driver (SOLD)
73 LUV (rusting away at the moment)
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63 Nova
74 Camaro

I want to keep my tunnel ram setup if I can which kinda means hei isnt an option. I dont really want to use nitrous to make it to the 500 hp mark but was thinking about eventually using some kind of nitrous to maybe push it up around the 650 hp level but that wont be for a while. As for the way it sits right now the crank rods and pistons are stockers. I dont know what the stock stuff is capable of handling but I want to go with high quality aftermarket stuff. What do you think about the tunnel ram setup? should I ditch it for a single plane manifold? I want to build this thing up for some pretty serious abuse but I want it to live for a while too. Its probably going to take me a while to get it all together but Im not in a big hurry.

A buddy of mine, ran a tunnel ram with 2-4's on his nova, and eventually went to a single cuz he was having probs, keepin them in sync with each other.

when and if I do go with the nitrous. I will probably go with a full on msd set up with all the conrols. Im trying to remember if the block is a four bolt main or not. I just looked at it sunday but it was sitting on the oil pan. If its a 2 bolt main how much power can I make before I should be concerned?

Well my position on tunnel rams is they are for max effort motors. That being said they are harder to tune (I know how complicated tuning just one carb can be, imagine multiplying everything by 2!) and you really need the heads and motor to use a tunnel ram. I dont want to discourage you, but you are making things much more complex right off the bat trying to dial in a dual carb setup. Im assuming you're really up on carburetion and tuning them. I know the sync part is the most challenging.

Regarding your other post: You can use a stock bottom end to make 500 horses, if you spin it under 7,000 I have seen guys run in the 9's on cast pistons, crank and other "junk" but how long it will last, who knows. With a tunnel ram and other tuning challenges your best bet is to go to forged pistons at least. Basicly bottom end depends directly on RPM and how often you think you might detonate the motor, dual carbs and a complex ignition may increase your chances of seeing some detonation, in fact count on it unless you are very confident about your tuning skills. If you are a bit green about tuning a high power engine, get some beefy stuff in the bottom end so it will live longer.

Also I should ask how much maintenence you will be comfortable with? Like for example, a big cam requires constantly checking of spring pressure and replacing spring sets for example. Im sure most the really fast guys out there can attest a wild motor is not exactly low maintenence.

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LUV Truck Desserter!
76 Daily driver (SOLD)
73 LUV (rusting away at the moment)
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63 Nova
74 Camaro

I dont really mind the maintenance part since its not a everyday driver I dont have to have it apart and back together all in the same night so I can make it to work the next day. sounds like I better plan on buying a new intake and carb for sure. As far as the RPM range I would like to keep it as low as possible. Last time I ran the 400 it didnt get over 4500 rpms and it was peeling the tires off coming out of the corners about half way down the straits at shasta speedway. If you have time throw me some part numbers to give me an idea what Im going to need to buy. Like I said earlier Im not an engine builder by any means but Im going to do it up right the first time I try.

What kind of heads and valetrain are on it? Is it a roller cam or flat tapper? I would have to punch some numbers into my dyno software program thing to get some detail specs for ya.

But im thinking you'll want something with large valves (say 2.02/1.6 minimum) with at least some bowl work (someone with a bench maybe?). Ill let you know some combo options that 'work' together. The key is to make everything work together in the same RPM range your shooting for.

I dont do alot of head work anymore since by the time I get done flowing ports, doing screw in studs, bigger spring pockets and all that junk I end up spending less for a new set of aluminum jobs that come ready to bolt on practicaly! besides ive done my share of heads in the past and port work is nasty dirty work lol

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LUV Truck Desserter!
76 Daily driver (SOLD)
73 LUV (rusting away at the moment)
---------------------------------------------
63 Nova
74 Camaro

Keep the tunnel ram with good tuning it will not be a problem. Build you 400 with 6" rods flat top pistons and a good set of heads and cam and you will make 500hp with no problem. If you are going to drive it on the street most of the time then i would look into using a circle track cam for the wide power band.The tunnel ram will work if you do your home work.I have a pair of holley 660's but they don't work good on the street but a pair of 600's with vacuum secondarys will work just fine.

500 hp is easy. heck you can practically pick up a motor like that at the junk yard around here. basically a 10:1 compression motor with a mechanical roller cam bout .550-.575 lift and the key is good heads. I'd recommend some Brodix, Dart or Protoplines. 2975 Victor Jr intake with an 850 cfm carb.

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