[chevy350cutlass]

what do you guys think is better a 4 bolt 350 or a 2 bolt 400 for making about 400 hp?

[SDLuck]

400 2 bolt will make more torque and hp for the same money as a 350.

[DoubleVision]

400. Hands down. What most small block builders find out as time goes on is:
Once you go 400 you never go back.

[TANGO]

The 400 SB Will make the 400 H.P easier . You will need a Good Coolant System with one . But I think the Early 350 4-Bolt engines are Stronger . And The 350 can Make 375 H.P easy . And 400+H.P with better $ Part's

[chevy350cutlass]

so should i go with the 400 or 350

[NEW INTERIORS]

That all depends on what you are going to put in them....

[DoubleVision]

400 is 50 cubic inches bigger, that may not seem a lot to you but it does to me. Read this article about 400 small blocks.
http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...que/index.html
2 bolt main blocks are fine to 500 horsepower. And we`ve ran 2 bolt chevy 400`s past that power level and they didn`t come apart.

[chevy350cutlass]

ok so now how big of an over size can i go with the 400

[chevy350cutlass]

can i take a 400 .060 over and be ok or not?

[Rubberman2003]

Well that depends on your heads. Different heads can accommodate different amounts of lift. This can be changed by your valve springs. Its common to upgrade valve springs to be able to get a higher lift cam in there. You also need to decide where you want your power to be, what i mean by that is rpms. Your parts have match very well, or you could invest a lot of money and end up having a turd. Your torque converter,heads,intake,cam are very important to match up. Thats just my 2 cents.

[327NUT]

I'm sure it's been done before but for a STREET engine I wouldn't go .060 over on a 400. They are pretty thin stock so no need to make it any worse. If it's .030 over now and not much taper then hone it and enjoy it.

[chevy350cutlass]

what kind of work would it take to make a 377 using a 400 block?

[stoneshrink]

It's easy to make a 377 with a std. bore 400 block - simply use the 3.48 stroke 350 crank. To make a 427, requires overbore of (this depends on the stroker crank length) of .030; and a stroker crank either 3.75, 3.875 or (haven't tried this one) a 4.00 crank. The problem with the stroker cranks in a 400 is that you're grinding material away from the oil pan rail where the water jacket is breathtakingly close... so you mess up, and you have a nicely ground anchor. The second problem with a stroker 400 is that you need a small base circle cam - and those are expensive; and can have real wear problems if using a flat tappet grind.
There is another option of getting an aftermarket block (which resolves most of the issues) - but you'll have to rely upon someone else who has experience with those.
oh yeah, my 406 (.030 over) SBC has 600 hp at the crank and has lived that way for quite some time.... so reasonably the power levels you're talking about will be well within what a good, seasoned, production block could handle.

[chevy350cutlass]

ok thanks for the info

[curtis73]

2-bolt chevy blocks are mostly capable of whatever you can throw at them for the street. You only need a 4-bolt block for more extreme settings.

For that reason... definitely 400. Cubes are king.