i have the numbers from the back left side of the block its 6 digits

330817 it came out of a 78/79 el camino but im sure it wasn't the stock motor

I would say also it`s not the Original, but it`s a real good find, casting number says it`s a 400 small block from the 72-80 years. if your looking to hot rod it, you found the torque monster of the small block line.

thanks for helping out there doublevision, what else did you find on this motor like the factory horsepower and torque ratings.

and also im 18 and just started wrenching and what not and i might have some extra money to put into it, what are some good suggestions to achieve a 325hp 350ft lb monster

thanks

pulled the heads, and found the stampings

Gm35
T
CONV4
3998997
E2973

can anyone help here

I found the casting number 3998997....72-73...350/400......76cc chambers on site http://www.geocities.com/meanracing...ingNumbers.html and if made in 73 which is what it looks like it had hardened seats. You got a good one 81elcamino

add at least 50ft lbs to that torque number, the 400 is a torque monster

with the 400 as your starting point, it`ll easily achieve your power goals. first off, I`d use a set of 5.7 rods from a 350, the 5.565 rods are not very good. get a set of D-dish pistons with the correct compression height to match up with the extra lenth 350 rod, have the block decked to the point the pistons are about .008 in the hole, use a .041 head gasket to establish a .049 Quench distance. have the heads skim milled to eliminate warpage and have whatever work they need to be back in useable shape, have the machine shop check the bores, if it doesn`t need bored, have them hone it and clean the oil gallery`s, and install new cam bearings. do your build and use a cam with about 224 duration, a good set of headers, a aluminum dual plane intake, a decent carb and ignition, and you`ll have a engine that will cook the tires off from a dead stop. if I said anything in this post that makes you wonder what i`m talking about, just ask, me or anyone else would be happy to tell you how it all works. my Desktop Dyno shows with a 222 @.050 duration cam and 9:1 compression, headers, 750 cfm Q-jet carb, pocket ported stock valve heads a power figure of 344 horsepower and 419 ft lbs of torque. and that`s a small cam for a 400. so you could go larger if you run a stall converter, depends on your budget, but you have excellant starting material.

i pulled the intake and the heads and i was checking the pistons and the one piston was just screwed, the roof of it was covered in a really bad carbon deposit and it looked like it had been hit alot with a ball peen hammer. My dad was suggeting that i rebuild it and here is what i have to work with.

on my 305 i have the stock q-jet that we had rebuilt and works dam good, im going to have to get new pistons and i was thinkin 10:1, for the intake im thinkig performer rpm or even an air gap intake, and for exhaust i would probably buy a set of headers and go with duals with some cheapo cherry bomb mufflers.

now as far as the cam goes i really dont know to much except for bigger lift= nice lumpy motor. but how big of a cam is to much my car now has 273's and i would like to find some different gears ( we have 373's sitting around) but what is a good cam that would work well with those gears and still give you a good noticeable idle?

thanks

i think i may have found the cam

Comp Cams:
High Energy 260H
440 x 440 lift
1200-5200rpm range

so this is what i have so far

intake: Performer RPM, Air Gap
cam: High Energy 260H
Exhaust: Hooker headers 1 5/8
into dual exhaust with some cheery bombs
Carb: for now Q-Jet 600-650cfm whatever is stock for a 305
Pistons: 9.5:1 (dont really know whats good as far as pistons go)

now as far as the heads go im thinking i jsut need to rebuild them, Lap the valves and possibly port and polish?

any suggestions