[74montecarlo400]

Hi my name is aaron, im 20, and i own a 400 small block and am paying a guy $1900 to rebuild and install... all of our tools were stolen by theives and they almost stole my 74 monte too... so im pretty much forced into paying a guy to rebuild it for me. anyways, im new to engine building and want to make shure hes getting the right parts and im not getting ripped off or something... hes taking the engine apart know and looking to see if it needs machined, car has 95,000 original miles and was owned by two seperate old people before me, i got it at about 78,000 miles over a year ago... i know ive put allot of miles on it, but i was forced to. anywayz, is there certain things i should ask the guy whos building it? or are there any secrets to getting power? he already bought speedpro hypereuctectic pistons. i already have 1:5 roller rockers, edelbrock performer carb and intake w/K&N filter, headers (getting old), flowmasters, etc on the engine now. so i wont really need to replace them. Sorry about all these questions, this is all the money i haved saved up and i just lost my job, i know this sounds crazy, but this is what ive been dreaming of doing since the first day i saw the monte about 2 years ago. i never even thought i could afford to buy it... but now im going to turn it into a hotrod. any advice would be appreciated. thanks

-aaron

[akm]

well hello aaron, welcome to the board.
my name is aaron also, but i'm 21.
a good idea would be to post this in the engine forum for alot more replys.

[belongaterri]

if you want the motor to last you need to machine the block and crank or your gonna have an engine that will be rattling and smoking and low oil pressure in 30k miles or less, plz dont skimp on the important stuff it will cost more in the long run..... goodluck and happy rebuild'n

[Kevin45]

Welcome aboard. Hopefully you had insurance on the stuff that was stolen. Before you buy anymore for the engine get it tore down and checked out. 400's are notorious for cracking between the center two cylinders. Chances are that yours won't be if it has been taken care of but it would be a shame to have all of that stuff and then find out the block is bad. Any good machine shop will know what to do. Good luck and keep us posted on the progress. A 400 is a strong engine when built right and it sounds like you know what you want.

Kevin

[ferrari355]

I need to find someone in dallas tx or oklahoma city to restore a 1967 or 1968 fastback mustang in to elenor so if anyone knows a custom hotrod builder that is reasonable email me at bwmaloy@yahoo.com

[lluciano77]

My advice would be save your money for now. Find a new job and get back on your feet first. There are always unexpected things that will come up that cost more money then you first estimate. You almost always end up assembling everything and then finding out you need something else.
I don't know your situation, but being out of work and spending your last dime on a hot rod isn't the wisest thing to do. Anything can go wrong. Hot Rods are a lot like Reno.