right now i have a 400 that possibly has a head problem i want to rebuild it but im not sure if i should pick a different motor. i want all the power and reliability i can get for cost. im not really concerned bout fuel economy cause it will be a pullin/mudbogger anyway. any suggestions

 

i would stick with the 400 it has good torque for pulling and can be built up for pretty cheap. the only other motor i would recomend is a 460 but by the time u swap over ur going to have more money into it than a comparable 400.

 

there is a lot of info available on building the 400 for what you are looking for- go to TMI http://www.tmeyerinc.com/ they have a lot of good build material and info. It's a cleveland design- stroked. That's gotta say something. I'm building one now and would happy to let you know what I'm doing and cost etc. Let me know.

 

i would like to hear what you are doing with the 400 i dont know anything about this engine. mostly all i know is behind the engine

 

good- follow me- don't know where the hell i'm going but you can surely learn a bunch from my many miscues. I'm building this '77 150 4x4 for my daughter and am building for propane so there are a couple of differences but not much. I will be searching for a highboy this next winter- I may go with a '77 if my build works well but I am also in love with the FE 390. SO may want a 73-76. Definitely a highboy. Are you going to build a motor then swap? To me thats the way to go as you can get rebuildable 400's for $100 or less- my recent one was free from a guy on this site- this is a cool place for sure. Once I get my daughter's motor in and tested I'll have an additional that I can build as a spare. She turns 14 next month- it's our project. Also hope to build a motor for vintage mustang for my son once I can find one for the right $$$- and when I have some$$$.

I have my block at the machine shop- waiting for the results on the pressure test- have to bore 040. Will use flattop pistons, aussie heads, 255DEH cam from comp cams. Roller rockers, performer manifold, may use exhaust manifolds off a cleveland 4v motor- checking on flow data. I'll be running around 11:1 compression for propane but this can be done to burn 87 pump with up to 9.5:1 compression with the aussie heads that have incredible quence- or thats what TMI did. I'm expecting over 300 horses and 430+lbs torque and decent economu when I'm done. With the 80 gallon tank we should be able to go a bit over 1000 miles between refueling. Will be able to fill at home for about 1.50/gal. Stay in touch!!

 

Check some of these for a little learning
http://www.projectbronco.com/Technic...e_build_up.htm
http://www.off-road.com/ford/flashback/400_power.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~bubbaf250/index.html
http://phystutor.tripod.com/stang/en...cleveland.html
http://www.clubfte.com/users/torque1..._WebLinks.html
Should keep you busy for a little while.