I am looking a getting a motor to rebuild for the sake of learning i found a chevy small block 400 complete and running for $75 but the guy sai it knocks. which i dont care cause im going to rebuild it. and i can get the rebuild kit for $350 and the local machine shop will bore it for $120 Does this sound like fair prices? Should i skip the 400 and get a different bock? any tips or suggestions? thanks in advance
best smallblock only bee sure you get the right head gaskets with the steam holes betwen the cylinders
prices seam fair to me , but i would want to know exactly what parts are included with this "rebuild kit". tear the engine down before you order the parts so you will know if you need any overbore rings/pistons or undersize bearings
I can get the kit up to 60 over i was going to got about .030 the kit comes with Pistons, Rings, Gaskets, Cam Bearings, Rod Bearings, Main Bearings, Oil Pump, Freeze Plugs, Camshaft, Lifters, Pre-lube, and Timing Set, and Valley Pan And the machine shop charges the same no matter what size bore and hot tank it for $40 thanks
A small block Chevy that knocks is probably pistons, but the crank could be worn too. Better tear it down before you commit yourself to a rebuild kit, there might be a whole lot wrong that will cost a bunch to fix.
Without knowing for certain it may already be bored to it's maximum service capabilities. Like everyone else says, wait to tear it down and have it inspected before laying down cash for a kit. I have always steered clear of 400's in favor of the lesser smallblocks myself but that is mostly supers***ion I inherited from my father.
I wonder if I have the wrong head gasket and this is what's causing the white smoke out of my p***engers side exhaust.
since the cylinders are siamesed on the chevy 400 you need the holes in the gaskets to get the air out and water circulation to work or it will overheat maby you had the wrong gaskets and overheating resulted in blown gasket or cracks of some sort
The first thing I would do is is buy a book on Chevrolet casting/ID numbers to positively ID what the engine is. You can find these type of books at Books A Million if you have those in Washington. You may have luck finding this info online. If time is short I would roll the dice and purchase the engine. 75 bucks is a good deal for any small block. There is a remote possibility that this engine could be a big block. Around 70-73 the small block 400 debut and the 396 big block grew to 402. In some years I believe 1971 specifically, factory literature lists two 400 CID engines. One being the bored 396 the other the new small block. Back to basics. The very first and most important tool you need is one between your ears. Research, small blocks, purchase a few tech manuals and How To books. The information they provide will be invaluable. Stay away from monthly magazines, that's entertainment, you'd be better off popping American Graffiti in the DVD than reading Hot Craft's Monster Chevy Build series, brought to you by, We got all this stuff for free and want to make our sponsors rich. With that said the magazines do sponsor a good tech book from time to time. You'll need a good set of hand tools. A good engine stand is almost a must. A torque wrench, feeler gauges, flat file, emory cloth, wire brush, degreaser "dish soap", paper towels or napkins, masking tape and pencil for marking parts, small bags and containers and even a camera, other than some more nik nak stuff this pretty much all you'll need to build an engine. Building an engine may seem complex but it is a series of small easy steps. If done methodically and carefully just about anyone can have good results. The trick to really saving money is doing all the diagnostic work and knowing what needs to be machined and what you can handle yourself. Sometimes a high mileage engine may not need boring at all. All it may need is bearings, rings or pistons, or maybe just a new camshaft and lifters. The heads may not need to be reworked, they may need just a simple lap job for the valves. Do you're research and don't buy anything for it until you know you need it. BTW, this really goes for any engine but especially sb 400s, If you need to overbore go the smallest amount possible.
I highly respect people wanting to learn, and the best way is what you are doing. Do some research and here is a couple of links that can help: http://www.mortec.com/cranks.htm and http://www.73-87.com/index.html Good luck. Rusty
since this is your first rebuild , i suggest you get the book "How to rebuild the Small Block Chevy" by David Vizard...it covers a lot a lot of little details that most don't.
Isn't the 400 an externally balanced engine? It could just be a senior moment for me but if I'm right there will be some parts that just don't swap over from any SB. Be sure to mention that it is a 400 and not just a run of the mill SBC when you order parts. They got a bad rap for over heating when they were new to hotrodders but I think that was due to using the wrong parts for the most part. The nice thing is that you will learn to be specific when ordering parts. It will help you to get the correct parts down the road. Don't ***ume anything.
A 400 sb is a good engine,just be sure the headgaskets are for sure the right ones,to many good bucks have been tossed away because wrong parts.not alot of room for boring on 400 so be sure this hasn"t been done already.$75 for a complete engine is a hell of a buy.Do some research on engine codes to see what you have before anything else,you might get lucky and have something with plenty of horsepower and just need a basic rebuild.Good luck.
I agree with the advice above. Tear it down yourself before buying any parts. In addition to the "how to rebuild..." book, I recommend a "how to blueprint..." book. Tear it down, CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN everything, and then invest in some inexpensive precision measuring tools. A set of micrometers and a dial bore gauge will go a long ways, and they are a learning experience all to themselves.
worked for gm in those years and the 400 sb had problems with their heads.some1 mentioned steam holes in the heads,good thing to look at cause i've seen lots of cracked sb 400 heads at the steam holes,boat anchors was the fix for this generation of heads
If it has a knock then theres always a chance the crank is junk along at least one rod and maybe two. Just depends on how long it was driven with it knocking. Like others have said, 75 is cheap for a 400 as long as the block is salvagable but I'm sure you want something you dont have to round up more parts for right now. Cant beat a 350 chevy. Parts are the cheapest.
thanks guys i have the book "how to rebuild your sbc" and i have all the tool i need and can get help from an old moonshine runner-great engine guy- i always take pictures of things before i take them apart and every car i dissasemble i put everything in labled bags. picking the motor up today so ill see how it goes.
Thats the book I used when I rebuilt my first SBC. Great reference book as well. Someone earlier was right the 400 is an externally balanced engine so make sure you use the proper harmonic balancer and flywheel or flexplate if your going automatic.
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