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Old Jul 28, 2004 | 02:04 PM
  #1  
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zach2004
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400 mods

i am planning to do a bunch of mods to a 400 i have in a 73 torino. i was just wondering what kind of gas milage any of you all have after putting on performance enhancers.
 
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Old Jul 28, 2004 | 05:46 PM
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74 F100 351m
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From: Okla.
Look at the picturs of my 351m I still get about 15 mpg if I'm nice to it. I have a 265/275 comp cam, roller rockers weiand intake and 750 carb.
 
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Old Jul 28, 2004 | 07:13 PM
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Check my gallery and look at a 540HP 400, that gets 8 MPG no matter how you treat it.
 
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Old Jul 28, 2004 | 10:45 PM
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heres a good mod for you, go to www.blowerdriveservice.com and find the 3" belt drive 871 blower for the 400....looks like some fun to me....

---JOHN
 
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Old Jul 30, 2004 | 12:26 AM
  #5  
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A built 351C in my old Mach 1 (Holley 600, #69 primary jets, Edelbrock Performer, 10.2:1, "3/4" cam- 294* duration, .564 int., .536 exh., Hooker Super-Comp headers) was good for 11 MPG, on the freeway, at 60 MPH.

When you play, you pay.

Good luck, and it's nice to see a 400 as a choice for power. My dad had a 72 Mercury Montery with a 400 in it. It was a strong running engine, for a stock motor in such a big car.

Greg
 
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Old Jul 30, 2004 | 12:44 AM
  #6  
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if any of you all know how much hp you all have with what mods, i would like to know that.
 
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Old Jul 30, 2004 | 05:24 PM
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Colo79Ford
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I just had my 400 heavily rebuilt, had a new milder cam installed, bored it over .060, thats what i wanted, hopefully i wont hear from anyone youre not supposed to do that, i did it, and i have no problems, temp never gets above 160ish during highway driving, delbrock from the manifold up, and had the heads re done, also corrected the timing using a pre retarded timing timing set..im in the process of breaking it in, but it has all the power you could want, low and top end, i get better RPM range, ive had it up to 5000 while doing the 1/4 mile with it, and im getting 11 MPG right now...ohh, and i live at 9,118 ft above sea level...i dont know the number, but after a point, you dont need to know a number, you just need to know if its what you want or not..Hope this helped somehow....
---JOHN
 
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Old Jul 30, 2004 | 10:42 PM
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There are several lighter modifications that will increase some horse power. A K&N air filter lets the carb suck straight down instead of at a 90 degree. They claim to add up to 5 hp. Dual Exaust also gives more power depending on your manifolds. I really noticed performance when I changed the springs in my distributor. It is just stock. The range the advance cover is greater. I beleive yours will have points. They make a weight curve kit I think for the ford points distributor. Headers will help. Don't try to run to big of tires. Little things like that all help.
 
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Old Jul 31, 2004 | 12:40 AM
  #9  
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why not big tires?
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 02:55 AM
  #10  
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does anyone know what to do to change the compression? do you just change the push rods?
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 06:11 AM
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To change the compression ratio of an engine you need to change the heads or pistons or both. You can also mill the heads or deck the block.

The easiest of these is to change the heads to a set with a smaller combustion chamber. If you are rebuilding the engine, a new set of flattop pistons is an economical way of increasing the CR.
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 12:43 PM
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where would be a good place to find a set of heads? would I just need to tell a machine shop what I want the CR to be?
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 02:27 PM
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You can get a set of Aussie Heads on Ebay. They are 58cc combustion chamber heads, but they will raise the CR of a stock 400 to 10.0:1. You will have problems with detonation with 93 Octane or less fuel. You should change the cam to a cam with a later Intake Valve Closing angle to reduce the compression.

What is your desired use for this motor?
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 02:32 PM
  #14  
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Well I am using this truck as a weekend toy. mudding, offroad, towing, you know just put it to work. I have a stage 2 cam in it now and have a edelbrock intake with a holley four barrel
 
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Old Aug 3, 2004 | 06:16 PM
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Can you give me your cam specs (lift & duration) and your carb size? I'll run it on Dyno2000.

Do you have headers?
 
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