hi does anoyone know of some things i can do to my engine with out buying anything to give it a little more power......and could anyone give me some good cheap ideas to give it a llittle more power....thanks kevin

 

well with no money being spent, you can play with timing. and thats about it.

for little money, a k&n air filter

other than that, a new intake ie a 4bbl and a 4 bbl carb, headers

also go to aussie 2v heads, they are closed chambers with 2v ports.

then if you have the funds a better cam, and flat top pistons.

 

And where did you find flat top pistons other than taking a set of 351C and bushing the 400M rods to the smaller pin? I Am just about to tear my 400M down and do that.

 

Save yourself the "tear down" and bolt on a set of Australian 2v heads, that'll give you two points of compression over stock (8.1-to-1 becomes 10.1-to1) with the stock pistons. Alot easier than an engine rebuild..........

 

sure there are things you can do to a stock 400 for little money. they aren't great power gains but every little bit helps. You can adjust the timing and advance it a little bit, a carb spacer around 2" with improve throttle response. A good tune-up new plugs, a good set of high-pro wires(worth every penny!), dist. cap etc. You can side gap your plugs, a good coil, and definitely a K&N air filter. All of this stuf is either cheap or free and real good carb cleaning and tune and you should notice a definite difference! After those mods would be a 4V carb and dual exhaust, then above that is a cam.

400m

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 25-Feb-02 AT 11:00 PM (EST)]ohio pistons and badger pistons have 9:1 flat tops made for the 400

 

where can i buy ohio or badger pistons for my 400??? do i have to do any head work to have the 9:1 compression or will they give me that compression by just installing them???
thanx gabriel

 

if you tinker with the rear end gears and gear it higher it might have more power, but then maybe a loss with fuel milage. id just go for a 4 bbl carb and intake

 

>where can i buy ohio or badger pistons for my 400??? do i
>have to do any head work to have the 9:1 compression or will
>they give me that compression by just installing them???
>thanx gabriel

Your local machine shop can order them for you. The Ohio Piston/Nylen part # is 1282P and the Dynagear/Badger # is 400-10F. If you still can't find them let me know offline. I know a guy who can order them and have them drop shipped them to you.

They don't require any special machining at all. They're simply flat tops instead of dished like the stock pistons.

 

Are these cast, hypereutectic or forged?

My 400M engine should put out over 400HP after I am done with it and I'd like something stronger than the original cast. I like the idea of the higher efficiency, longivity and tighter tolerances of the hypereutectics. Forged are stronger but have that slop built into them because of the expansion and the cost are twice as much.

 

See my response on the 73/79 board to piston ques. Regular flat tops at 9 to 1 may sit too far down in the bore and cause detonation/preignition.
Been there/done that (three engines).


Bear Tracks

 

the flat tops ater 9:1 in open chamber heads, the 78cc ones, about 10.5-10.7 in closed cham 4v heads.

 

It seems like cast stock pistons are the only ones I can get around here. I guess I will have to use the Keith Black hypereutetic KB 177 351C pistons with the 400M rods bushed to the smaller 351C pins. I like the idea of the hypereutectic aluminum. Longer wearing, Closer tolerances, reflects the heat back into the chamber increasing the efficiency. They may not have the superior strength of a forged piston, but are stronger than the stock pistons without all of the slop a forged piston gives. I will use my truck on the street as well as playing around off-road. If my engine was turbocharged or supercharged, I might need the strength of the forged piston. Since I will probably be putting out a little over 400HP, the hypereutectics are strong enough. I will shave .010 off the heads to clean them up and reduce the volume on the 351C 2v heads after cleaning up the chambers. I will deck the block .030 or .040 to reduce the possibility of detonation(Normal pistons sit .050 in the hole. Add the gaskets and the stock pistons are .090 in the hole...That's too much for the squish effect).
I'm not sure of the final compression will be with the KBs. By taking off .040 or .050 total, I will keep the head geometry within reason, even though the adjustible Scorpion aluminum needle roller rockers can easily handle the changes in deck height. I hope the hardened pushrods will have no trouble with the guideplates. I have installed the larger aftermarket 4v (2.19/1.71") stainless valves. The heads have a lot of flow work done to them to open them up. They may not be closed-chambered 4V heads, but close. The valve bowls have been hogged out to vertical in relation to the larger seat inserts; Bosses removed, ports opened up to the gaskets; Passages slightly straightened and opened up. Single coil/dampers valve spring are 4v strength specs plus 10%. I won't be going 7500rpm.
I will be using a milder Edelbrock Performer Plus 400M cam because of the huge valves. A Edelbrock Performer Plus dual plane intake and Edelbrock 750 cfm carb. MSD 6AT ignition and a Accel super coil will fire the plugs. A set of 1 7/8 tubed headers and a 2.5" dual exhaust/flowmasters in my '77 ford 4x4 (no cat needed) will complete the package.
I didn't set out to make most of the top end Edelbrock. It just happened a piece at a time. I have bought 99% of the goodies off of ebay, SAVING A LOT. In fact, only the decked block, bushed rods, crank and oil pan are going back into the engine. Anyone got one of the virtual computer dynos? I just wonder what the probable HP and torque will be. The heads are nearly finished but the original block is still in the truck.
By the way, Any additional ideas/comments very welcomed.

 

Greybeard,

I think you'll need more cam to get the hp numbers you're looking for, even with the 4V valves.

I ran a Comp 265DEH cam in a 400 with well-ported heads, 2V valves, and Keith Black #177 pistons for estimated CR of 9.4:1. That engine gave 388hp @ 5200 and 485 ft-lb @ 4100 on a Superflow SF901 dyno.

 

bubba, he may be up @ 10:1 for a cr, that shold be close, and with an open exhaust, he might make it.