Old/New 400 Build
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2003
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Old/New 400 Build
So my 351m in my f250 is dying/close to dead. Has severe knocking at idle with no oil pressure blah blah... the usual. I have a 400 motor sitting in my garage that supposedly has only 9K on it. Problem with that motor is that it got water in it at one time and was slightly locked up, i got it turning again with little effort though.
My plan is to tear it down and inspect main/rods/cam bearings. If that all looks ok, I will put new bearings and flat top pistons, with cam, chain, intake/carb/headers. I have never built an engine before, but feel confident that I can measue everything and have access to all measuring equipment. (work in manufacturing)...what do you guys think of this? I really want to stay away from machine work as that gets spendy. I want to do all this for less than $1K I figure...
$100 bearings
$400 cam kit with lifters/springs/chain/etc.
$75 used edelborck intake
$50 used edelbrock carb 600cfm
$125 used fenderwell headers
$100 gaskets.
$200 pistons
all for a grand total of $1K
What do you guys think? is it doable? What is the likely hood that the cylinders will be ok I will reuse my old water/fuel pump also....
My plan is to tear it down and inspect main/rods/cam bearings. If that all looks ok, I will put new bearings and flat top pistons, with cam, chain, intake/carb/headers. I have never built an engine before, but feel confident that I can measue everything and have access to all measuring equipment. (work in manufacturing)...what do you guys think of this? I really want to stay away from machine work as that gets spendy. I want to do all this for less than $1K I figure...
$100 bearings
$400 cam kit with lifters/springs/chain/etc.
$75 used edelborck intake
$50 used edelbrock carb 600cfm
$125 used fenderwell headers
$100 gaskets.
$200 pistons
all for a grand total of $1K
What do you guys think? is it doable? What is the likely hood that the cylinders will be ok I will reuse my old water/fuel pump also....
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 308
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From: Southern NM
Sounds as if you have figured out what you want,and have a budget in mind.What do you expect from this engine?I mean to say,what do you want to do with your truck?Engine mods can be general or use specific.You will need to take the 400 all the way down and inspect it.Do you know what caused the water entry into the engine?Storage problem or failure?
Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,107
Likes: 32
From: Spokane, WA
If you're going to go as far as putting the flat-top pistons into it, you really need to get a straight up timing kit. Those flat tops will bump compression, but with the 6 degree retarded timing set from the factory, that plant will still be a tad weak. If you get the straight up kit, paired with those pistons, and maybe a better cam, your 400 would be a lot better off.
You already have the intake and carb, so the only other thing I'd add is a set of headers, and you should have a pretty healthy plant. You might want to give Tim Meyer a call about the timing kit, as if you have the flat tops, you've probably already talked to him before.
You already have the intake and carb, so the only other thing I'd add is a set of headers, and you should have a pretty healthy plant. You might want to give Tim Meyer a call about the timing kit, as if you have the flat tops, you've probably already talked to him before.
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So I tore down the block and have some bad news...well not really, except that I will need to get the cylinders bored. The motor got water in it while it was sitting and the two rear cylinder were frozen solid... I am going to run the bare block and crank down to the machine shop to see what is up then go from there...
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