400 engine rebuild
 

Hello people..
looking for advice and ideas on rebuilding a 400 engine out of a 73 chrysler..
its a stock 2 barrel, i have it transplanted into a 73 fury III. i would like more horsepower and maintain drivability , don't want to turn it into a gas hog..
i was thinking a 4 barrel and a cam of sorts, already have dual exhaust on stock manifolds.
what kind of horsepower gain can i expect ..
Don't want to spend a fortune.
All opinions are appreciated, thanks ahead of time.

do note on most of mopar engines that came with 2 bbl OR 4 bbl. the location of pull pinn is in a different location. I.E. the 4 bbl pin is more forward and more to the drivers side that the 2bbl. meaning the brackets and pull cable are different.. some people force the 2 bbl parts to fit. but its NOT a good idea. if you custom cut and weld the bracket just be sure every thing lines up and doesnt bind. some times thats easier than finding the right bracket. some of the repo shops have a wide range of cable lengths. all so check out the A / C bracket. it MAY be that some A / C brackets front pads are not machined for A / C. but not sure. if this is true it will be hard to impossible in to the A / C bracket bolts in.

Wow...Thats a hard order to fill..But Welcome to the site...:)

I think that if you replace pistons and get the compression in the 10-10.5 range, and with a cam in the HP range (268-284 duration, .450 intake lift) you should be able to get net hp between the 383 and 440, i.e., between 300 and 350 real hp. I just installed a more aggressive cam from Comp cams (I think 270-272 duration and .477 intake lift) on my 68 440, which gives plenty of low end torque, despite the larger valves I am using (and I have 2.94 gears on a car heavier than yours). That cam may give you 10-15 % more power, at the expense of a bit low end torque.


Not everybody will agree with that, but I think that the stock manifolds have negligible effect in the 3000-5000 rpm range.

If you take out the gas Hog and the money issue....
451 Rotator Asm. No junk
Edelbrock dual plan intake 750 Vac. sec. Holley
Good set of heads
VooDoo Cam and a Good set of headers
2200 stall converter in you 727 T.F.
You can be Johnny Rocket....
$6,500 or there abouts
:)

Welcome

I like this one: http://www.lunatipower.com/Product.aspx?id=1577&gid=362

Gains might be 300-325hp 400tq. You'll be held back by the cylinder heads. This cam has a nice smaller duration with a bigger lift than the 440hp cam and says stock springs and converter to save some dough.

thanks for the inputs, gives me more to think about

The old adage Speed Costs Money -- How Fast do you want to go

I agree with Bob's picks and you will get the most bang for the buck. My son is now
in the process of financing and building a 512 stroker from a 400 to go in my car and
his bill is phenomenal. I'll enjoy the ride but he can pay for the gas even at 74 cents
a liter.