Well, it took a blonde in a 4 day old Trailblazer her daddy bought her running a red light and totalling her car and my 97 Ranger XLT, but my insurance settlement is going to buy me another Ranger and have some extra $$$ to finish my 77 F150 4X4 street rod. The truck is going to be AWD on the street.

The 400 has gone through a street rebuild that i am happy with, but it still won't break all 4 tires loose, so this is unacceptable.


Now its time to get serious. Getting the block gone through and checked for straightness and cracks, then if it gets the okay, I have 2 choices that I would like feed back on.

Choice #1:
400 bored .060 over, new forged 8:1 pistons, aussie heads making about 10.5:1 compression, dual plane intake and holley 750, short fill hard block (going to be weekend toy), 4 bolt mains, and trial and error with cams till it does what i like. Hopefully in the 500+ HP range. I may have to spin it over 6000RPM to do this, but it'll sound mean when it does.

Choice #2:
400 bored .060 over, new forged 8:1 pistons, stock 2V heads worked over, short fill hard block, 4 bolt mains, high lift short duration cam for smooth idle, and 671 blower on custom aluminum intake with maybe 2 500 CFM Holley 2 barrels.

All of this is within my doing, I live above an auto machine shop, and am an aluminum welder on the side, so I'm not looking for resons why either can't be done, I'll find a way. I just want to know what other people out there would like to see instead. I want this thing to be all original, nothing else like it out there.

 

Do you think .060" is a safe overbore? Why do you want to fool with aussie or 2V heads when you have a 500+ HP goal? Where are you going to buy 4 bolt mains? Have you considered a stroker? Are you aware that 400 blower manifolds are available? Why 2 500cfm 2V carbs?

 

you can get 4 bolt main caps for the middle ones, not the end ones. the cost is way to much.

 

if y'all are worried about the main caps dancing around why not have them dowelled a la pontiac?

 

i am not worried about it. was stating that someone made 4 bolt caps.

 

True "dowelled" like a Pontiac may help cap movment, but it is still a cast cap.

 

Save your money on the 4 bolt caps. The 3 center caps are available custom made but they don't simply bolt on. They must be fitted by a machine shop and the block align bored. Expect to spend $500 minimum for 4 bolt caps & labor.
A stud girdle has been proven good for up to 800 HP. http://www.f-p-s.com/ has them for 351C applications.

 

Okay, let me restate a few things:

1) I live above an auto machine shop = free work if its after hours, so all i need is to pay for is the caps.

2) Maybe 2 Holley 500 2 barrels. I have them already and i doubt its going to need over 1000CFM.

3) Custom Aluminum Intake cause i can get aluminum plate for free and i have all the welding and fabbing equipment.

and Finally: the main reason as i stated originally:

I just want to know what other people out there would like to see instead. I want this thing to be all original, nothing else like it out there.

The money and labor isn't a concern at the moment, its just which one has the bigger drool factor. If I built the bottom end for boost and decide later its too much hastle, the it'll already be set up for that 150HP nitros shot if i decide to cam it.

Longevity is a minor concern, this thing is going to be a weekend toy to make anyone who pulls up next to it in a rice burner realize what torque is instead of horsepower.

 

I'll try to find the place that makes the 4 bolt caps. I think the center 3 were just under $300. I plan to make my own to save a few $$. I plan to use a stud girdle too.

Consider the old 351M/400 Offy 360 manifold as a starting place for a scratch built intake. (Been looking for one myself) I've seen the 351C version modified for dual quads and another changed into a blower manifold. The port location is almost ideal. It's much better than spending $750 for a new blower manifold.

 

ha brian, i am faster. this is a copy and past from an old post of mine. the price might be old.

RE: 4 bolt mains on 351C

roush racing used to make and sell them. also you can have new 4 bolt caps made at Pro Gram Engineering. the sell the center caps for $235 or $285 for a 400 ford.

this be the link

http://www.pro-gram.com/

 

How about going with a pair of some of those exotic 4 valve alloy heads? Or the aluminum Aussie heads?

I like the blower idea. I'd go with the dual 500s and a roller cam/valvetrain.

4 bolt caps won't hurt.

Look at fabbing up a custom oil pan with baffles for street use. You can make it wider than stock to increase capacity without increasing depth. Also, use a windage tray.

Thought about roller cam bearings?

I would not go .060 over! .040 at the most.

 

Just thought I would thow in my $0.02... I would like to see both options built lol. But for the most druel factor I would say go with the blower! And like others have said; I have read that the thinwall m-blocks should only be bored .040 over but I have seen others go .060

Good luck on which you choose and keep us posted!

 

what about a crank? 427 reborn!

 

.040 over is safe
but the big red truck is on the right path....but may not thought it out
you can go .060 over but have to fill the water block and that would make it un-drive-able on the street(for more than 20-30 seconds) because you now have very little cooling