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opinions on 400 BB mopar building

7K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  spinn 
#1 ·
hello everyone,

ive been researching for a while and i cannot make up my mind wether or not or how I should rebuild my 400 bb.

I startred reading many different threads about every one who has one and throws a "440" crank in and or bores to .030+ over stroked block.

I am kinda on the fence about just calling it a day and buying your basic rebuild kit gaskets and rings ect.. becuase i just spoke with the local Machine shop. I told him i was on a budget and what he could offer me to start out with for 2500 buck keep in mind this is not complete build just to get the ball rolling and his response was I can absolutley nothing for you with that amount. needless to say im thing just a rebuild half on my own.

I am not new to motors or building them but i dont have the means to machine anythiny i.e deck or hone...ect..

All I am looking for is something that sounds good and i could pull out on the weekend to the local track to play with no goals really all though any deceant cheap power is great any help is greatly appreciated.

btw this is going in my 72 Dodge Charger SE:thumbup:
 
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#4 ·
They could not offer you a performance rebuild kit for less than 2500, that is bad.

The B/RB engines have always been expensive to build. The selection of good heads is limited too. There is a place called the 440source.com that has some good mopar deals. Manciniracing too.

If you want fun and cruise with power, the stock rebuild might be our best option.

A real good cruising package would be a magnum 360 with Rpm 4bbl intake , RT roller cam, 750 vac sec holley or 800 avs carb. That would be around $1500-2000 to get and complete.

A heavy 72 charger is a fat machine and needs some grunt to happily motor around.
 
#7 ·
It is easy to get horsepower out of a big block Mopar. Do a basic build on the bottom, get your compression around 10:1 and spend some money on heads. Get the heads to flow and you got it. Put a roller cam in - adjustable rockers - get the right stall and gears to make it all match. Now basic build on bottom, you can get by fine with cast pistons, get good rings. To rebuild heads, you can get almost $1000 in them, so consider getting a pair of aluminum for a few $$ more. You could then get by with a little more compression.
 
#9 ·
With this heavy car, I'm gonna give you my standard song and dance about starting at the rear with suspension, gears, posi, wheels and tires. It probably has an 8 3/4" pig, so I might be thinkin' 3.73/3.91/4.10 gears.
Mopar Posi Units for 8 3/4, Dana 60,8 1/4, 9 1/4 and others.

I'm assuming this rig is auto, so your next concern after the diff would be a looser converter.

I've known fellows who have satisfied their performance goals just with gears and converter, not messing with the motor at all. Of course, if you want to put some soup in the motor later, the rest of the drivetrain is already set up for it. :thumbup:
 
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