400 rebuild cost
 

So Ive never had an engine rebuilt, but I kind of want to rebuild my engine this summer. Right now I have a 351m, but I want to convert it to the 400. I was planning on buying a reground 400 crank and tmeyer pistons to bump up the cr. I wanted to go with a comp cam hig energy cam. Double roller timing chain. I was planning on having the shop assemble the long block for me. Do all the machine work to the block and heads, Balance the rotating assembly, degree the cam.

I already have my edelbrock intake, 4bl carb, complete msd ignition, pro billet dist. Im sticking with the stock exhaust manifolds.

What a general idea of what a machine shop will charge to do what Im planning? Im working on my interior right now but as soon as I finish that up, im thinking this will be my next project and Id like to have an idea of the cost. Also whats usually the turn around for them to do this, so I have an idea of how long my truck will be without an engine? Last quick question, around what hp would I see out of a build like this? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

basic rebuild?
 

around 2500 to 3000 bucks for a good rebuild and upgraded pistons and cam and intake system. carb upgrade should be figured in also. if just a stock engine no upgrade possibly 2000 to 2500 basic rebuild. this seems to be the norm ballpark. might be able to beat but figure atleast 2000+ for engine for everything.:-winkdid one last year about 5000+ on this 400, carb to oilpan upgrades. how crazy do you want to get?:-X22

I already have the complete intake setup and all the ignition components I want. I live i california so I cant go too crazy, still gotta smog. Basically need to pick up all the internal pieces.

been involved on several builds.
 

this seems to be the average around here for a nice build. wyoming has no emmision laws so you can see some pissed off vehicles around here. if you can put a license plate on it you can drive it. top fuel dragster truck runs around town on occasion. its pissed off and a chevy truck wheely bars and 14-71 blower donavon block truck. rules are wide open on old iron in wyoming. good luck on build and any questions drop a message.:-wink

Ive also had the idea of buying a reman long block and just swapping out for a cam kit. Like I said I live in CA so Im not looking for anything crazy on something I need to smog. Im thinking that might be the way to go since I can keep the engine in my truck until its ready. Id probably end up at around $2000.

it all depends on what you want, how much time you can have your truck down, and how much money you are willing to spend. if you want a mild performance engine and can deal with your truck being down for awhile then you could do alot of the assembly yourself and save $$$. if you dont have the time but can spend the money you can buy the reman bolt your parts on it and go(still doesn't address the low compression though), or you can buy a junkyard 400 for cheap take your time building it how you want then just swap it in over a weekend and keep the truck on the road the whole time. (which is what i chose to do). you just have to figure out which equation works for you. time = money = HP

Well with smog here Im thinking I might just go with a reman and swap out cam and timing chain. I want to do a lot more, but I think Ill save that for a pre '75 truck. Ill probably come out a little under 2 grand for that setup, and Ill just swap over my intake and whatever else. So Ill probably end up a little over 2 grand when Im finished. I know I could probably get a little more out of that price if I did what you mentioned and just took my time, did a lot of the assembly myself, but the reman might be the most convenient. The way gas prices are, the truck is only used for towing the boat to the ramp to go fishing and short drives. And I think Ill have plenty of power out of that setup for just street use and towing. Looks like Ill start saving up, I want to try to get this done by the end of summer.

What year is your truck?

Do you have the numbers from your last smog check?

Does the manifold you have have a CARB exemption?

Cam and compression changes could up your Nox emissions, so you have to make sure you have enough "room" in the emissions allowances to tolerate the increase. It's a real gamble imo.

My trucks a 78. It usually passes somg no problem with room to spare. I only run the 2bl and smog crap once every 2 years, if you get what Im saying. heres an article I read that uses the cam I want to run. According to them it will pass smog easily.
Ford 406 Engine Build - Hot Rod Magazine

This was done at a machine shop about half an hour from me. So if I ever do want to go this route I think Ill contact them.

Contacted a company about a reman engine. It will run $1578 after shipping and core charge. Then slap a cam kit in it and call it good. Heres the kit Im thinking about getting.
COMP Cams K32-221-3 - COMP Cams High Energy Cam and Lifter Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com
So Ill basically be right at 2 grand.

I was in the same boat with wanting to upgrade to a 400. I ended up buying a 400 long block from S&J engines ( hiperformerengines.com) in Washington. They installed Kieth Black flat tops and a mild Elgin cam for $2k delivered to my shop. I thought it was a fair price. If you call them ask for Casey or dial extension 302. He seamed to know what he was talking about in regards to the M blocks.

PS: I didn't forget about the dash pad. I'll ship it out as soon as I can get to it. My garage is full of kids toys, yard furniture and previously mentioned engine. The landscaper should be done this week and I get most of that stuff out of the way and back into the yard.

Thanks alot for that info. Thats the company I contacted regarding an engine. Since I live in California its only going to cost $1500 after shipping and core. So I guess Ill ask if they can Install the cam kit I want and If they can bumb up the compression, that would be awesome. That should bring it up to around $2000 like you said. Sounds like a good deal for what I need.

Whenever you have a chance with the dash pad just let me know.

They charged me $275 for the pistons and $75 for the cam. The cam is nothing real crazy. Just a little better than stock. Hopefully I'll have it in the truck soon.

So they were able to bump up the CR for you?

Yup. Should be around 9.2:1 if I remember correctly. They get the flat top pistons from TMeyer.

Thanks for that information. I was planning on doing the cam kit myself and forgetting about upping up the cr, but if theyll do that then that will work out perfect.