Building a High RPM 400ci SBC to Replace Broken "Compression Obsession" - Engine Power S10, E6&7

[@PowerNationTV]

Watch Over 13:1 on Pump Gas! Chevy 350 Dyno Mule: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZy8qoWbd9OWeZo

[@libertyjusticeforall6754]

Hey guys where can I get that same large silver degree That you guys use?

[@BuzzLOLOL]

@@libertyjusticeforall6754 - Summit or Jegs, etc...

[@KhepraPuHeru]

Is that a hydraulic cam and is this engine streetable for highway driving with an air conditioner etc?

[@HappyHands.]

Did you not use Anti-Freeze???

[@lynn4205]

What was done as far as the steam holes to match the block ? I see the head gasket has the two center holes but the head did not

[@silicon212]

Here's a thing about the 400 blocks. 1970-72 all had 4 bolt main caps, and could be identified on the outside with 3 freeze plugs on the side of the block, the only SBC so configured. 1973 through 1980 had 2 bolt main caps (big block style caps), and the standard SBC 2 freeze plugs on the sides. The 2 bolt 400 blocks are more desirable for a build than the earlier 4 bolt blocks, they're stronger with aftermarket splayed outer bolt 4 bolt caps.

[@gordocarbo]

Back in the day (80s as a teen) we all believed you had to have a 4 bolt, steel crank. Little did I know a 2 bolt 400 cast crank woulda served me just fine. Didnt know any better

[@dieselyeti]

​@@gordocarboSure, for a street motor up to 400ish HP that didn't rev a 2-bolt block was perfectly adequate

[@chevyfan82]

Nice to see a 400 build 👍

[@brucefrye8799]

I love the 400 platform. There are so many different builds and types of power adders. I fell in love with the 400 as a teenager. I really enjoyed you guys take on this project! If the 400 had the same amount of money and hot rod parts that the 327 and 350 got the 400 would have been king of the sbs. Looking forward to the next build. Thanks guys for working on these engines and videos some of the best on you tube

[@bobbertee5945]

Why is it, that the 400 SBC doesnt get the love of the 327/350?? I always wondered that....

[@elmerfudpucker3204]

@@bobbertee5945 Tons more component choices. The cranks are different and are balanced different. Plus the bores are different, along with the rods.

[@jimcatanzaro7808]

The 400 was hard to keep cool I owned 2 and cracked the blocks

[@RealSteelStreet]

☝🏼correct answer of why they were and never will be as popular in the street rod world

[@blownaway4371]

Plus Smokey didn't give it good reviews. Back then he was VERY influential, and his opinions made it or killed it.

[@HowardJrFord]

Useable 400 blocks were getting hard to find back in the 80's , that was the reason 383 strokers became popular .

[@elmerfudpucker3204]

Also by that time, aftermarket rotating assemblies were getting cheaper and more available.

[@kainhall]

heck ive got 2 of them...... a bone stocker original in a 77 chev K10 (TH400, np203 full time 4) and a 327 replacement in a 68 impala

[@jamesgibson5876]

@@kainhall I had one of those all time 4x4

[@Inthefoxhole]

I have 3 Waiting for a home.

[@MrLandslide84]

And I've seen a 3rd gen firebird with a 383 crate that would just eat rear ends, and do burn outs 5 car lengths long. lmao. Fond memories. Definitely something I won't forget. Goals.

[@242bleek]

I love that they used stock blocks and cranks for both builds. You have no idea how much internet lore says they will both explode at 500hp.

[@JohnDoesItAll]

Right?! I've got a 2 bolt main block with stock crank making 570 hp and I've zinged it over 7k rpm's more than once. I've beat the snot out of it for thirty years.

[@PeggyParrow]

When i worked in auto machine shops in the late 80s people would say all 4 bolt 400s had 3 freeze plugs per side ... wrong ! I have found 2 bolt blocks with 3 ! I was boring blocks every day then .

[@buzzwaldron6195]

2 bolt 400s stronger mains webbing, anyway...

[@BuddWolf]

640+ hp out of a 406ci small block Chevy is awesome. Great numbers for an old mil. Best of 🍀luck guys, thanks for the post.

[@scottflick5758]

I loved my 406. It had KB125's, mild rv cam, lt-1 type intake. A beast.

[@DavidVizard]

Guys, 'IF' the cam was optimal for the original motor(367 CID?) it won't be optimal for a 400. See episode 85 of powerTec 10.

[@alertgasper]

True, but a lot of hotrodders with a busted engine will just swap parts rather than buy all new and start from scratch. so this shows how far they're going to get. They could have also destroked the block to 377 cid, saved the crank, and seen what a bigger bore would have done. This won't be the optimal cam grind, for sure, but plenty of cam companies sell a small block cam for "262-400 cubic inches". certainly not optimal for that large a range of displacement.

[@buzzwaldron6195]

Yeah, the 360" mule isn't "coming back", it's being replaced with almost all different...

[@davidbilliter5619]

I guess the question is optimal for what ? For their goals with the 360 ? Csm timing is tailored to your intended use . These engines are used for dyno graphs , lol.

[@johnhall3824]

Take it easy, Freiburger. It’s close enough for TV.

[@RichardBazaar]

Agree worked well but (optimal?)

[@BohappenstanceClick]

The 'freeze" plugs wouldn't have been my "first" question. My first question would be, "Was there anti-freeze in the block?" It was sort a blessing though. You guys created a beast!

[@Not_Built_For_This_World]

I don't know about here, but water is typically used on a dyno because freezing isn't usually an issue. Given that most dyno rooms are climate controlled. It probably should be antifreeze though. Considering most don't use a radiator on the dyno either. I bet they don't make this mistake in the winter ever again. Lol

[@buzzwaldron6195]

Wasn't supposed to freeze in southern Cal...

[@BohappenstanceClick]

@@buzzwaldron6195 Makes sense to me. I don't guess I would've expected that either.

[@rednecksports3712]

I love these 400 it's what I have in my 79 tube chassis camaro. Factory oem block with a splayed caps going 9.00s no spray no boost

[@flyinhighaerial3193]

I have a 71 400 sbc in my 4 speed 1969 Beaumont making 525hp with a set of dart iron eagle heads. Love the torque

[@jeffreyperrault3792]

Just wanted to say Clay Millican is one of the nicest people I have ever met.unfortunetly I love 20 mins from New England Dragway and our national got rained out this year so I didn't get to see Clay again,but he meets thousands of fans every year and he remembers me by name every year.

[@jimciancio9005]

My 406 SBC with Canfield aluminum heads full roller setup with the stock 2 bolt mains block and factory cast crank 11.125:1 compression was a 600+ HP engine all day long and drove to the track, raced all weekend long and always drove it back home! It was amazingly powerful for its weight, and definitely durable with the thicker webbing of the 2 bolt block and siamese bores of the 400 it makes them pretty damn tough blocks. The larger mains of the crank is also a good benefit for strength, even being cast. The only thing that I changed to from the factory design was the 5.56 to the 5.7 rod length, and clearanced the block and rods for the big roller camshaft. This is the only issue one may have. With the larger dimensioned crankshafts of the 400 and going to the larger lobed camshaft, stock rods you may not have too many interference issues? I know aftermarket beefier rods at the big ends have a chance of contacting themselves in certain degrees. So it's vital to check this out more than once and making sure you have a minimum of .020 clearance between your rotating internal parts. The only issue I ever had while racing was pumping the oil pan dry around 3/4 the way down the ¼ mile. This was self inflicted though, using a high volume high pressure oil pump and a stock capacity pan was a bad combination. And this was with crank scrapers and all the oil return passages were cleaned up and enlarged before assembly. This though didn't make much difference. Adding a 8qt pan and Swapping back to a stock type oil pump it would still start to cavitate the pump around the end of the ¼ mile and I would watch the oil pressure dropping off around mid track, while going through the traps at almost 20lbs of pressure @ 76-7800 RPM'S. It never hurt the engine thankfully, but the problem was the oil flow for the original hydraulic lifters which wasn't really required for my application, so the engine was pumping all its oil up to the top end of the engine and it couldn't return fast enough by gravity to the pan. The answer to this dilemma was oil gallery restrictors and my nightmare was over! It was amazingly different afterwards and oil pressure was no longer any problem or cavitation wasn't a problem I mean. 😊 Otherwise they are fantastic engine's for street or strip or even a daily driver with weekend warrior thrills LMAO!

[@gordocarbo]

Wonder if a windage tray may have helped you If the oil gets whipped up too much (aerated) it can wreak havoc on hyd lifters possibly cauing P to V interference . If I build to run over 6k often I always go solid to prevent it. To each their own

[@stevenfan1218]

One of the best motors made..I ran one of these in my 69 nova .it was really strong.

[@MrGixxer1300r]

You guys do awesome work, and I was amaxed what the 400 made stock. Chevy had it right for big car and truck use.

[@romper4444]

Ya it made 454 TBI numbers! And that was net hp with all the accessories on!

[@electricannulus8854]

I love your comment on the core plug... In the early 70's, in trade school, that was one of the catch questions on an exam. They drilled it in our heads over and over and over; There are no "Freeze/Frost" plugs on an engine, they are "Casting or Core" plugs which are necessary to remove the sand from the hollow part(s) of the casting. They were never intended or designed to prevent damage due to freezing of the coolant inside of the block. Thanks for asserting and clarifying this for the viewers.

[@gordocarbo]

Agree...Dart little M block...shocked at all the metal floating around in the water jackets thank goodness I checked and cleaned th eblock out. Woulda killed a water pump fast Blew a plug out the side of my last L98 block due to a head gasket slowly letting go.

[@buzzwaldron6195]

Uh, those holes weren't for draining sand, they were for the sand core supports...

[@electricannulus8854]

@@buzzwaldron6195 Any way you want to describe them, they were never "Freeze Plugs."

[@buzzwaldron6195]

@@electricannulus8854 - As we leave "freeze plugs", let's go with the correct "core support holes plugs"...

[@kainhall]

100 foot pounds more at 4000 over the 350 and 200+ hp at 4000 over the 350 . this is why i LOVE my 400s (even if they are low comp "stock" motors)

[@bradleymadosh911]

I love those 400 sbc motors. I didn't know there power was that low thow from factory. I have 2 friends and they always wanted me to find them the 400 sbc engine so they could build them for racing. I had one in my truck I built once. I bought a 82 I think Chevy pickup 4 by 4 and I put a box and cab on it that was a 70 pickup truck. It was a turquoise color. I looked cool when I got it done. Only took 2 days to change the cabs and boxes out. I put a 4 inch body lift out of square tubing and had 36 inch super swamper stl on it.

[@mjkasper76]

It's been awhile, but I'd love to see an 87 octane sbc build and compression/ aluminum head limits 😊😊

[@joethepirate1]

I second this.

[@gentilejoshsaved1646]

Yes

[@RealSteelStreet]

9:1 with cast heads & 9.5:1 with aluminum heads👌🏼

[@gabrielsturdevant9700]

they already did this, they ran 14:1 and made about 400hp

[@RealSteelStreet]

@@gabrielsturdevant9700 not on 87 octane, not even close to pump gas 😬

[@ChicagoRob2]

That 400 is a freakin’ beast.

[@gordocarbo]

It really is, if only Id known in the 80s Shame GM never added a lil more meat to those blocks and based their LT1 off it...guess nobody would want a smaller sbc so it may have killed sales . Perfect bore/stroke

[@MrAddis]

Really enjoyed you showing crankshaft balancing. Wish more channels would show this and how important it is.

[@cameronmattox7233]

I've always been told the 2 bolt main 400s are actually known to be stronger. For example the 509 casting blocks

[@BuzzLOLOL]

Yes, the later 4 bbl. blocks have windowed main bearing supports...

[@elmerfudpucker3204]

They are, by a little. The reason is the block webbing is the same for 2 bolt mains, as for 4 bolt mains. The only thing different is 2 extra bolt holes. Without them, the webbing is solid, thus stronger.

[@adamthomas7514]

I want you guys to build my 351 Cleveland. I'll buy all the parts if you want to feature it on TV. So far I've got Trickflow heads. Still got to buy Eagle 4 in forged rotating assembly, cam & edelbrock air gap intake manifold.

[@bobg3034]

Yes the 509 blocks are stronger!

[@bradleydennis1263]

Whether it's a 350 or a 400, I'll take a 2 bolt over a 4 any day. If I need the strength, it's better to have the mains splayed than have a factory 4 bolt

[@patrickmoore1017]

This is one of y'all's best builds!

[@ConfusedBasket-kt2uf]

2 of the best engine builders I've ever come across,, well done guys, top quality workmanship

[@ironken1796]

Pat and Frankie do a great job! I like watching these guys. Lotsa knowledge.

[@timtorkelson7201]

Back in the day my good friend was a truck puller, in Super Stock class his weapon of choice was the 406...Nascar 350 block punched .030" & Lunati 3.75" stroke crank, heavily ported 202 doublehumpers, came that had over .900" lift, 6" aluminum rods, 14.5 compression & 750 double pumper on alcohol..she was very stout!!!

[@mikerobinson6606]

I sure wish I would have dynoed my 406 back in 1995. Wisco 14.5:1, 6.0" H-rods, AFR 220 64cc heads, Lunati solid roller cam, Victor E intake, holley 850cfm and it ran lean as he'll all the time. Twin holley blues on 1/2" lines struggled to keep up. '65 chevy II, 350TH 3500 TCI stall, 488:1 rear. 9.54sec @145mph I always guest it was a 750hp motor.

[@lwjw3184]

I spent 2 years building(what i considered the perfect high revving 383 stroker street engine) between ordering a little part's hear and there. I sent a high nickle factory 350 engine block to the best machine shop in my hometown. Getting the cylinders bored .040 over, crank mains line honed, debuting the entire engine inside and out, opening up and smoothing out all oil gallery's and returns, getting the Callies balanced and knife edged crankshaft with lightweight Callies compstar H-beam rod's with Icon 10cc forged dome pistons installed. The heads are Brodix SBC 225cc D/S Heads 68cc 2.08/1.60 valves and beehive springs. I broke it in and drove it all summer, adding some Rislone Hy-per Cool Super Coolant additive to water only. We'll winter came around and I checked all my toys to make sure they had antifreeze in them. We'll beings the coolant additive is the same color as antifreeze, I didn't pay it no attention. Needless to say after freezing temperatures both sides of my block cracked in multiple places...........I felt like throwing up when I seen that lol...... after saving for half the year i replaced the cracked factory block with a world products aluminum block. 6 years later and thousands of 8,000 rpm pulls it still running strong.

[@edwardmartin3069]

The small block 400 has always been known as a torque monster...

[@RealSteelStreet]

And for running hot 👍🏼

[@cedricwilson2055]

@@RealSteelStreetwhen the rad gets plugged up

[@RealSteelStreet]

@@cedricwilson2055 it’s actually because they don’t have water jackets between the center two cylinders of each side, 3&5 and 4&6👌🏼

[@RealSteelStreet]

@@bigboreracing356 IDK Sherlock, but ‘probably’ because it’s on dyno water 🤣

[@bigboreracing356]

@@RealSteelStreet How does dyno water cool a engine that does not have water jackets between the center two cylinders of each side , 3&5 and 4&6?

[@PeggyParrow]

I actually found a 511 block with 2 bolt mains ... i was puzzled until i looked at the date it was made ...very late 72 ! When chevy begin changing to 2 bolt mains . The numbers for 2 bolt block are 817 and 509 .

[@Jeff-io2zn]

My last 406 had hyperutectic pistons. A 480 lift cam and 492 gm double jump heads. 750 Holley. That thing made enough power to put a 3800 pound 87 monte carlo into the high 11 second class. Give me 400 or nothing.

[@gordocarbo]

Good old school combo. dual plane 280 cam headers youre hauling azz

[@alertgasper]

If you ever have that much trouble taking off a cylinder head, first make certain you got ALL the bolts. then, undo the rocker arms so every valve is closed, grab a leakdown tester device that lets you pump air into the cylinder, and find a cylinder at TDC and give it some air. unless the head gasket is blown or the piston rings are gapped wide open, the air pressure might be enough. Also, it's a lot easier to slip the camshaft in before the crankshaft. Put your block on the floor, bellhousing-side down. Gravity will be your friend as you drop the camshaft in vertically, and you can do this dry, smearing on lube as you guide it past new cam bearings by reaching into the crankcase. now your lube stays inside the crankcase instead of leaking on your shoe. Now use an engine hoist to get it up in the air, bolt on the apparatus from your engine stand so that you only have to guide it into place on the stand rather than hang the engine and try to get every bolt to match the stationary engine stand.

[@buzzwaldron6195]

Just use the engine crane to lift heads and intakes off!

[@EvangelineMclaughlin]

This would be nice in my Trans-Am. . Yall are great engine builders.

[@peggyparrow2059]

You should have ground the top of the center oil gallery, because some double roller timing chains will knaw on it and put tiny flakes of metal in your oil. You fellows better get some one in the shop with more know how!

[@peterweller8583]

You guys are living the dream, I can say that cause I am so old. When I was a kid $10 Grand would get you a stomping competitive mill. Atomic engines and B & M but alas so many places to noodle away the cheddar.

[@95Sn95]

2 bolt 400s are supposedly stronger than the 4 bolt plus you can install splayed caps on a 2 bolt block and 400s are notorious for having out of round cyclinders, i rerung a 406 as a ladt ditch effort and even tho the bore looked nice from the dingle hone it had bad blow by so it went in the corner and replaced the engine in a tube chassis vega wagon with an old stock 283 just so we could go to the strip, we tossed 305HO heads on it with a nice big cam and a dz302 high rise intake to try n wake it up some, it would pull the wheels effortless and run low 6s in 1/8th with the 406 with camels vic jr and big cam but with the 283 let go transbrake it would chirp n go very smooth steady and slow lol and ran around 8.5 not fast but better than sitting home.

[@HowardJrFord]

The 2 bolt blocks are stronger due to the fact that the 4 bolt blocks are notorious for cracking between the main cap bolts .

[@gordocarbo]

@@HowardJrFord THey can crack from headbolts also thats common .Some tap steam holes and screw in a plug, drill a hole to make that area a little stronger

[@YoungHeartedSoul]

What I would do is leave it in the garage, get yourself a few super high quality microphones surrounding the engine then wire a start up switch, maybe a few of them, inside your house with a good speaker system like Klipsch and I would start this engine everyday just to listen to it. What a symphony!!!

[@twotonebtw5448]

Those are impressive numbers. The flat curve of the torque is super impressive. But more appealing is the budget GM block & cast crank!!!

[@drcolster]

I would think its Good Practice to Deck that Factory Block, its old,it was done a long time ago by old machines,deck heights are probably different,probably not 100% flat, plus cometic gaskets require a certain RA finish....but great job as always Powernation..

[@gordocarbo]

Agree. my brand new GM block was out a few thou on each side Earlier blocks esp after decades of use can be out a bunch.

[@David-xh2yt]

Congratulations on another excellent build with impressive numbers.

[@gordocarbo]

WOw that is BBC power! Cubes fit the intake heads perfect. Thats an old grind but it works great in about anything Imagine if GM used these for performance apps like the LT1

[@BrianSchultz-m8m]

I forgot to put in coolant before winter and did the same thing, 4 vertical cracks, 2 on each side. I just took the grinder to them, filled and covered them up with JB Weld and ran it trouble free for another 3 years before I upgraded my valve train and spun a couple bearings on the crank journal. I'll pay for shipping and give you the scrap price for that block. Lol

[@mzaccagnini7179]

Love those 400sbc. Can't believe how clean those cylinders were. Considering the rest of the motor.

[@peggyparrow2059]

Sillicon, not all 72s were 4 bolts, my hubby found a late 72 built in november, k date, that was a 511 number with 2 bolt mains ! Most 2 bolts numbers were 817 or 509,, thats last 3 digits of casting num. On bellhousing end of block. Most 511 blocks are 4 bolt but pull the pan to be sure, also, some 2 bolts have 3 freeze plugs, hubby has shown me !

[@mgmcd1]

That sounded beautiful on the first pull. Great work. Also, 406 is an old Ford displacement from the early 60’s. That poor motor with the BRG paint doesn’t know what it is. 😊

[@BigUnk85]

Hit that joker with a 150 shot you knocking on 800 hp. Definitely a LS killer in the right chassis

[@chrisstavro4698]

The 406 picked up way more mid range torque over the 360. Goes to show the heads are too big for the 360. That's a good driving 406!

[@jamesroberts1800]

Not the heads, the cam. We all know that torque is never affected by stroke either.....right ? It's an apples and oranges thing, the definition of bigger is "more" , ya feel me ? If they had put in longer rods it would have had even more torquies.....know what I'm sayin ?

[@rickyfulks889]

Of course it did, 46 more ci. Thats 13 %

[@joshtheking1772]

​@@jamesroberts1800thank you, I was thinking the same thing.

[@BuzzLOLOL]

@@jamesroberts1800 - Torque is little affected by stroke or rod length, but varies directly with cubic inches... Torque 'characteristics' change a mite by stroke and/or rod length...

[@jjmccloud]

It doesn't show that at all 😂😂 it shows what more stroke and cubic inches will get you. Doesn't tell you anything about the heads

[@CivilizedWarrior]

This was a sweet build. I have a bunch of 400 parts sitting around in my basement, from an old project that never quite came to fruition. Now you’re makin me want to go buy an old 350 block and build a little stroker to drop in a cheap G body or an old C10 or something. Now I just need to finish my other project truck lol. Wish me luck, I’m gonna need it in this economy 🙄

[@gordocarbo]

Always go for the bigger stroke crank if you can. Found if an engine with 30 deg more cam timing than stock doesnt do it then the solution is a bigger stroke not a bigger cam. You wont regret it believe me. Major difference everywhere.

[@michaelmaher4328]

when yall removed the stubborn head off the block and youngblood grabbed the pushrods and kept their order, i thought woah, youngblood got mad skills yo. Love the sbc stuff

[@MrAddis]

Also, love the British Racing Green choice for the block and covers.

[@PeggyParrow]

All 400s i have taken apart have had .0006 tenths of a thouandths or just a little over half a thouandths over size . Oh i should have said up front i have my own engine rebuilding shop, sorry, just got up, i like 400s and build them mainly for torque monsters for street machines,..Dont need really low gears, just lots of torque !

[@BCBtrucks64]

i love a 400 , i built a 73 400(out to 406) 2bolt block with the splayed main caps stock crank and rods wth new hypertectic pistons but issue's with sump leaking and steering hitting high volume sump meant it came out one to many times and i decided to build a 400 dart block(no water jacket between cylinders ) with all the new goodies like scat crank and 6" rods Wisco pistons with raised gudgeon pin holes roller solid and afr 228 heads crane rockers ,bushed roller lifters ' ive only had it started a couple of times and it sounds awesome through 24" hot dogs

[@timmaw9559]

I had a 2017 F150 3.5L eco boost. It was a torque monster and towed my 10000lb trailer awesome. If this new motor for Ram is anything like that it will rock.

[@bluedemon79]

Love these guys! Very informative and they do things right, always!!

[@grendel.6.531]

I’ve watched a lot of these shows and these two together are the best…I hope they stay grounded and keep putting out videos. People like muse need this type of “entertainment”/actually, knowledge! 😊

[@billyjoejimbob56]

Love watching you two work together. A genuine team that gets great results and has fun doing it. Congrts guys!!!

[@JohnnieBravo1]

I was seriously curious about this one, as I run a 400 SBC as one of the engines in my 71 Camaro (the other is a 383, and the two short blocks share the same heads, intake and carb). It's not built as beastly as yours, but it has insane torque.

[@jjmccloud]

More cubic inches is gonna make more power

[@CT_Taylor]

cadillac 500 cubic inch rolling around with 125hp be like@@jjmccloud

[@evilinside5984]

Anyone like me, wish they would have done dyno stages, with this 400? Example: This stock= stage 1, then stage 2= put the aftermarket intake, and 4brl. carb. from project compression obsession, then stage 3= Add the Big 1in. 7/8 dia, Long tube hedders, with a 3in. Dia., 18in. Long, collector extension. That would have been Awesome! Plus then when they rebuilt this 400cu. In., into a 406cu. In., added the roller valve train, and Afr 220cc Eliminator cyl. heads, we would get to see the 200 to 250Hp increase!

[@bobsloan694]

I bought my parents 1971 Chevy Kingswood Estate wagon and raced it at Union Grove Drag Strip in Wisconsin. 1st run all 100% stock and ran the 1/4 mile in 17:88 @ 95 mph she had a SB 400 2bb with a 4 bolt main turbo 350 and a 273 gear. Over the next 5 years that engine was rebuilt several times. I tried TRW 12.5 to 1 pistons and running on premium fuel with 104 octane booster still had issues with spark knock. Finally settled on 10.5 to 1 Stock heads, crank, rods, but up graded Oil Pump, Camshaft, Timing Chain, Intake and Ignition accel duel point system. Holley 850 double pumper and hooker headers. Turbo 400 and a 12 bolt diff with a 4.56 gear. Best time 12:25 @ 135 mph drove it every day a real sleeper. The cool thing about that wagon was it weighed about 4200 pounds and the weight transfer to the fat tires through the leaf springs and traction bars I had very little wheel slip, all grab and go. Sad part is I sold it for 10 cents on the dollar invested not including my time. Great memories worth every penny in fun, good times with buddies and learning my trade. Anyway your project brought back good memories so thank you.

[@mattv8919]

did you have a 13-14 second combo while you had wagon if so could you give details

[@matmichalke5734]

That's so awesome that you picked that color, that is seriously the color I'm going to paint my 65 skylark

[@damienwiggett9302]

Love your work boys, as always😊❤

[@LimitedGunnerGM]

41:46 this is a good opportunity to show the before/after benefits of porting the heads.

[@danielday5357]

Really thought that out devels in the details Pat you the man!

[@The80sRocked2]

Love the 400 build. A lot of us Hotrod them . Thank guys.

[@chrislettenmaier6822]

I just watched the video and I seen a problem that you made in putting the motor together. I love the 400 sbc engine. It is on of the most forgotten motors unless you are in racing. Yes the 400 is a small block format and is in the 305,307,327,350 family. Back in the 50s circle racers in California wanted more tork and the horse power without the weight of a big block. They overbored the what was new block 350, stroked, and gave it large chambered heads = the 400. Chevrolet liked what was done and put it in production. They found a problem with the motor. When in operation the bore was so big for the block that it vaporized the water between the cylinders burning up the motor. This is why on the 400 block you will find 2 very small vent holes between the cylinders this helps keep water in the channels between the cylinders and vent the steam. These holes need to go from the block into the water chambers in the heads. If you use any head that doesn’t have the holes you will burn up and destroy the block!This is why there are so few 400 blocks around. If you use just straight water in the block and it rusts and clogs the vent holes you will destroy the block! Since you didn’t drill the holes into the heads that you used you have killed this block if it has ran to get hot.

[@gordocarbo]

350 didnt come out til 67. Lots stroked and bored 283s back in the day

[@Ada-zn3pw]

Yeah I'll take one of those engines. Nice build guys.

[@notsoseriouslen6374]

"Just run the dyno!" grits his teeth lol ive been with powernation family since powerblock back on tnn before it was spike then spike....my have times have change and also the horsepower has added 100s of hp for the same type of builds....i watched back when a pump gas that was 400hp was crazy now 600 lol...cant wait for whats to come in the next 25 years

[@Jon_Flys_RC]

I feel your pain. I got called away half way through winterizing my antique 1966 StarCraft and when I got back to finish it I forgot to drain the block and manifold. I was rewarded with dripping out the drain plug in the spring to find the block pushed out between the two center cylinders and the special mercruiser aluminum manifold ruined. What’s sad is it was low hour original to the boat and ran great. I was able to replace it with a later production salvage engine.

[@CivilizedWarrior]

Oof, that sucks man. Inboard engines can be a real pain to swap out too, depending on where they are in the boat. That’s why I always make a checklist on cardboard and I don’t cross anything off til I finish each job. You always end up forgetting something when you get interrupted and have to come back and try to remember where the hell you left off lol

[@Jon_Flys_RC]

@@CivilizedWarrior at the time I had a toddler and an infant. My son was helping me but got cold and wanted to go inside. When I got inside I got wrapped up in other things and that’s the nature of how distractions go. It’s a Mercruiser 1A power package so it wasn’t too hard to pull it I just had to pluck the stern drive then lift the engine out over the transom.

[@CivilizedWarrior]

@@Jon_Flys_RC oh nice, that’s not bad. My grandfather has a 91 shamrock 26’ and his 5.7 mercruiser is in the middle of the boat covered with an engine box/tackle storage bolted over it, with like 1/2” clearance on either side. You have to unbolt the motor mounts and jack it up just to change the plugs. Anyway that thing was a pain, we had to rig up a cradle with some I beams to yank the thing out. I love fishing, but man do I hate working on boats. Lol

[@AnDrEw122100]

Clay Millican is one of the nicest guys out there .

[@IndridCool54]

Saturday morning small block church! 😎👍🏼

[@immortalmotors562]

No mention of the Siamese bores? Steam ports? The few things that make a sbc 400 different from other sbc from a builders perspective?

[@jonallen1985]

I’ve been watching this show since 1998, when it was called HotRod tv, I’m still waiting to see a 292 duration camshaft used in a engine build.

[@gordocarbo]

Remember late 80s? The typical 390-400hp recipe was 11-1 350 ported camels vic jr 292 cam .Loved the Isky version over the comps. Needed plenty of gear or it would be a pig

[@leonardhirtle3645]

Love your colour choice. I envy all the toys you have to play with.

[@anthonymacbeth1181]

Old school like the rest of the build

[@fultee]

Would have liked to see the numbers a cam swap, fresh timing chain, headers and four barrel carb would have done. I got a 400 and that's all I could afford years ago and it was a torque monster

[@BuzzLOLOL]

Just adding a 4 bbl. would bump it over 300 HP with headers... was hoping they'd do that...

[@mattv8919]

​@@BuzzLOLOLme 3

[@dtengineering1]

Note to self - use anti-freeze in the dyno room!

[@fordfairlane662dr]

I don't think they have the for thought for using antifreeze!

[@BuzzLOLOL]

Dyno rooms aren't suppose to freeze in woke Kalifornia...

[@HSTvids357]

​@@BuzzLOLOLI'm pretty sure this studio is in Tennessee

[@stevenhoitz9260]

Dynos don’t use antifreeze just straight water

[@dtengineering1]

@@stevenhoitz9260 yeh, I know. That is why the water froze and busted the engine block - ant-freeze would have avoided that issue. Cheers.

[@mightymikethebear]

I know this is a dyno mule but an engine like yours would be a pretty nice street/strip combo.

[@pauls5745]

esp. with that smooth cam. you don't need high duration for a street car. still runs very strong

[@ramonriveraroman4170]

Tommy put that engine back into the Caprice forget about LS. Mr. George how much is the LS no that's too much. 🤣 All jokes aside I like a 350 stroker or 406 because they're easier to get decent power a low-budget.

[@lewisdeclouette6342]

Man, I love this show.

[@JSFGuy]

Saturday morning let's go.

[@95Sn95]

I used to be upset when I missed power block on Saturday seem back around 2000 there wasn't squat for car shows and basic cable sucked at least when I got digital premium I was able to get speed channel I thought that was awesome were to spoiled now.

[@JSFGuy]

@@95Sn95 I hear that, this is probably good to cast to the TV in the garage when your buddies are over.

[@rlscustoms]

A 400 SBC especially with 4 bolt mains are like hen’s teeth, would make a great pump gas street engine with 10:1 compression

[@gargar8196]

I put one in a work truck. I rebuilt it and it had power enough for the work truck 😊. It was still running when I sold the truck years later

[@hugieflhr03]

That fiber timing gear is a dead giveaway that it’s original GM.

[@charlesgraham9954]

ill take the 400 over the 350 any day of the week

[@elmerfudpucker3204]

More to start with, for sure.

[@RyanBenbow]

​@@elmerfudpucker3204indeed I would take a 400 . Not put it in My truck. I would put it in My Impala for a demolition derby And a 350 transmission

[@donowens8556]

42:50 😮8​@@RyanBenbow

[@joshredding9588]

Travis LOVES letting everyone know he’s familiar with engines…he rambles on and on and on and on and on lol

[@peted5217]

The Old Frozen Engine Block Trick !!

[@buzzwaldron6195]

Those holes weren't for draining sand, they were for the sand core supports...

[@dieselyeti]

I recall years ago PAW sold a stroker kit for the 400sbc that made it a 426. These were great boat motors; the 400 small blocks always ran hotter because of their siamesed bores but raw water cooling in a boat made that a non issue

[@AWesome9749]

I actually prefer to use the two bolt 400 blocks with splayed for bolt main caps. My shop has seen a lot of 4 bolts that cracked from the outer bolt to the cylinder wall. Especially in high rpm engines

[@bluery8]

Has anyone else noticed that they did not drill steam ports in those heads????? It's a must on a 400 to cool the Siamese cylinders... I see burnt pistons in the near future for that engine... Correct me if I'm wrong!!!!!

[@gordowg1wg145]

Most surprising thing was the nylon teeth were still intact on the cam' gear. Very cool street build, overall - nice to see it mixing it with the modern engines. Be interesting to see what it can do with a well designed TB and EFI setup!

[@rickyfulks889]

The nylon gears arent near as weak as is believed, and thet absorb harmonics well

[@gordowg1wg145]

@@rickyfulks889 It's more that they harden over time and bits can break off because of the brittleness - but overall that engine was in remarkably good condition considering it would be around 50 years old.

[@KingJT80]

@@gordowg1wg145 its an untouched 400 that never seized or overheated it should be in good condition.

[@troytheriot8679]

Yall are great engine builders

[@keysautorepair6038]

The machine’s you all use are amazing omg.

[@shootermcgavin2819]

I wonder how many people learned that "freeze plugs" ARE NOT freeze plugs. They are actually supposed to be called core plugs. Just like the "harmonic balancer." It IS NOT a harmonic balancer, it is a crankshaft dampener 🧐

[@buzzwaldron6195]

Yes, those holes weren't for "draining sand", they were for the sand core supports...

[@neilchilders5442]

Turn that huge ac compressor on and see how much it loses.😂😂

[@6ford9]

Probably a loss of 50hp

[@Dr_Reason]

I would not turn it past 5000 with the AC clutch engaged.

[@tjlovesrachel]

@@Dr_ReasonI’ll turn it 95 all day…😂

[@nojunkwork5735]

Yeah, that huge ac compressor, and pull a loaded dump truck and see how much it loses, and disconnect a couple of spark plugs and see how much it loses. All of which have nothing to do with maximum dyno hp tests.

[@jjmccloud]

​@@nojunkwork5735😂😂 thank you

[@brandonknight7240]

That was pretty impressive

[@garywinkel1831]

Excellent show Guys!

[@JRH666]

Love Clay's Hollwood smile, top man.

[@troymotter7422]

You didn't mention anything about the steam holes in the block or heads "siamese cylinders" . Did you drill the heads or not

[@demo2x]

That was my question I wanted answered also. I've drilled steam holes in all my 400 projects.

[@BuzzLOLOL]

Needed more for daily driving than racing and WOT dyno runs...