I've used both the Moroso and the HardBlok, only difference I could see between them is the HardBlok has little iron filings in it, supposed to help it have the same expansion rate as the iron block but there is so little iron in it that I can't really see how it would help, and I've used the Moroso for every engine after that first go with HardBlok.

Both appear to be the same as Embecco 885 grout, which is calcium hemihydrate based, often called hydraulic cement.

These were all in "short fill" street/strip engines, partial fill to freeze plugs or slightly higher to bottom of water pump feed holes in front of block.

I've never had a filled 400 break a cylinder wall, but split a cylinder in an unfilled .060" overbored block years ago.

Forget the main girdle idea, it is practically worthless. It holds the caps on the wrong end, it is at the block-to-cap interface that things move around and cause problems(called "cap walk"). If you are worried the stock wide 2-bolt caps with ARP studs or ARP cap bolts won't hold, then you would need to put steel splayed 4-bolt caps on the block and have it line bored/line honed. Or step up to an aftermarket block.
Girdle also creates huge problems with oil pan fit, all street pans and most chassis car strip pans don't even have enough room for them, you have to bash, cut, weld to make the pan fit over the girdle.

I've had no problems cooling half filled blocks on the street, but I've always used the biggest radiator that will fit(muscle cars, typically 28-31" x 19")....being a '35 truck with a narrow nose you might want to rethink filling it unless you know you can get enough radiator in there.

Going to 6" rods and internally balanced crankshaft takes a lot of stress off the main caps and block on mains #2 and #4, which are the ones most beat-up by external balance.

 

Since the machining is already done, what can be done to keep the block from distorting before and after the fill. Will I need to have more machining done. It's .030 over now, I haven't ordered Pistons or rods yet. Whats the best approach for this block using Block Filler. Thanks, I appreciate the insight.

 

The fill needs to happen before the machining otherwise the fill will move things around.

Street tires, limited traction, and a automatic transmission I'd think you have little to worry about.

 

406 block fill

The rest of the drivetrain on the 35 Chevy Pickup is; 350 turbo trans with kit and 3500 stall, 12 bolt, 4.11 rear diff, 15 inch wide screwed on 15 inch rims Mickey Thompsons 30 inches tall. The rear differential has ZOOM gears I built many years ago and never used. I rode the car off before changing the rear end, so I've sat on this rear end, (No pun intended) for many years.
I have super high flow heads, Edlebrock Tunnel Ram, custom fab headers, 4 link rear suspension, original straight axle up front. This little pickup needs ballast to get it up to 2800 lbs.

 

How do you bore an engine before you get the pistons?
Measure exactly where the bore is now and try to find pistons that fit while still giving you a little to custom hone each hole for perfect piston to wall fit. If you can find pistons that are a good match,proper dcr to match cam and perfect deck height(easier to deal with),then fill block and final machine work as required.

Good luck with that. Post a few pictures of the truck,,,

 

406 block fill

I didn't bore it, I bought it bored .030 over and line honed, squared and sonic checked typical 400 now 406. If it had not been such a good deal I would not have bothered with it.
I am trying to see if I want to build this 406 or not, so my questions are all about strengthening the block to take the torque it can produce. I will definately go with a forged piston and H beam rods If I commit to this 406. I've been sceptical ever since considering it for street strip, but I have it and it's an option.
I don't think there is another sb on the market with so much controversy as the 400 sbc. It is highly favoured by some and not worth the metal it's made out of to others.
It had problems from the get go for cracking.
The two bolt main blocks are actually heavier in the area of the main bearing caps than the 4 bolt, and it is possible to make this a 4 bolt main block if there is an advantage to removing material to install bigger caps. Thanks again for any insight into making this block stronger I appreciate the knowledge from those who have gone down this road..

 

EricNova has built a few of these.If you are aiming for more than 500 hp the the 2 bolt/4 bolt debate is moot. I use Dart blocks and for myself in my Vette I used the little "m".

 

406 block fill or 383

I was asking for advice strengthening the block on a 406 sbc build. You guys that have built 406 engines with a **** load of torque and horsepower, and held together; which motor would you build given the chance:
A 350, 355, 377, 383, 406, pushing the limit but 409 for street strip primarily strip, streetable for shows and just plain fun.
I haven't devoted myself to anything yet and what I have to build are stock engines. and parts to make a lot of horsepower and torque.
I'm interested in what the popular build will be given the option.
Thanks.

 

I never like giving up cubic inches, so destroking a 400 to 377 makes no sense to me unless you are class racing with a cubic inch limit....same goes for the 350, why do a 350 when a 383 is the same cost(aftermarket crank, rods, pistons) and the 383 will make more more power!!

I don't actually know how much the block might change on bore size filling it after it has been bored and honed, I always do the filling before boring it. I can't imagine it would be more than a rehone would fix, and if the block wasn't honed with a torque plate the first time you'll want to have it rehoned with a plate anyway, as torque on the head bolt holes will distort the cylinder bores at five points around the top 1" of the bore adjacent to each head bolt.

I'd say fill it, torque the head(junk head or new head, and a head gasket) on each side while the filler is setting up so that you hold it in exactly the same form as when it will be assembled...then take it in for a torque plate hone to match your piston size....if you have to go .040" over to do it that isn't a huge deal, that is just .005" off each side of the cylinder wall, if it breaks at .040" it would have broken at .030" anyway.
You will probably be able to stay at .030" would be my guess, as distortion from filler should push in on cylinder walls, and not pull out on them, so a hone should fix it right up.
The torque plate honing is very important on the 400, with the head bolts being so close to the large bore size it gets more distortion than a 350 block.
Don't forget to torque the main bolts when filling, you want everything stressed just like it would be assembled.

Splayed caps with their angled outer bolts tie into the outside walls of the block, so they don't weaken the main saddles like stock straight 4-bolt caps do, so a 2-bolt block with splayed caps is about the ultimate you can do to a stock block.

Up to 575 hp or so naturally aspirated I've had no trouble with stock 2-bolt 400 caps and ARP studs, the 400 cap is a big wide cap similar to BBC 2-bolt caps, this extra amount of surface area in contact with the block greatly cuts down on cap walk compared to the little bitty caps on 2-bolt 350 blocks....the 2-bolt 350's are the ones that most need splayed caps for serious performance, or at least a stock 4-bolt cap to get enough surface contact with the main saddles.
I've seen what happens when trying to push 7000+ rpm through 2-bolt 350 caps with a girdle, bottoms of the cap had terrible fretting on them and crank was full of cracks(cheap CalAutoTranspeed 383 crank), lucky we opened it up to deal with a leaky cobbled oil pan(to clear that F'n girdle) and decided to look at the bearings...rods perfect, mains trashed, crank smooth but junk due to cracks....all this after just 1/2 season street/strip in 11 second 3400lb car. We had splayed caps put on and scrapped the girdle(it's on the "Wall of Shame") and it's been fine for 5 years now.

Whether you want splayed caps or not will just have to be your call, expense vs. risk.

Don't necessarily need an H-beam rod, SCAT makes nice I-beam rods with 7/16" bolts that will outlive anything the stock block can handle, and they are about 1/2 the price of H-beams. No sense putting over-the-top premium components in a stock block just to have the block fail and ruin a lot of overly expensive parts. Save the fancy stuff for when you buy an aftermarket block.
If you're not going to hit it with more than about 180-200HP nitrous the SCAT ProStock cast crank will also handle your needs, rather than the forged crank.
Forged pistons though, you won't catch me using Hypereutectic's in anything performance, it's false economy.

 

406 block fill

Thanks for the knowledge. Coming from someone who's been there done that, means a lot to me in this decision making.
The one thing I like about the 406 is the amount of torque it's capable of making. I don't need a whole lot of Horsepower, it will be there on it's own, it's getting launched that I'm aiming for. Get out of the hole fast and down the track with a lead.
The 35 Chevy pickup is very light compared to anything built today. Once I get it mobile I will take to the scrap yard up the road and put it on his scales, but I'm almost positive I will need ballast.
That being said. It puts less stress on the motor compared to pushing a 3500 lb car down the strip.
I have some old 882 heads I can bolt on when filling the block. How high up should I fill. I get mixed messages about that part.
As far as cooling goes. The tall narrow rad has two small fans in front of it and the flex fan on the water pump pulley.
I should likely add an external oil cooler, and high volume pump. I will run it with the side panels off the hood for maximum airflow.
The intake is an old Edlebrock Tunnel Ram, I used on a bunch of motors when I was a kid, I've hung on to it knowing one day I will do it again. That day has come.
I need to pick out a good bottom end rolling assembly with I beam rods. That's another piece of advice I thankyou for, a penny saved is a penny earned that can be better used elsewhere.
The top end I'm considering Lunati, I remember them from years ago, and I like what I see. Comp cams is very popular, so I don't know which to work with. I've noticed that Edlebrock is not as popular as when I was a kid. They were pretty much all there was, for affordable aftermarket parts. They made great carburetors and we prefered them over holley back then..I have no idea now. I still have a few Edlebrock Carbs from the 70's.
Is a stock water pump good enough?.
Once the fill is done, the machining is done, the main caps are swapped for splayed caps, it's time for assembly. Before getting there, is there a preference for the bottom end assembly.
There are too many to choose from. It is mind boggling, and I just don't know. I can't even guess what I should use based on the thousand options available. Forged pistons, I beam connecting rods. What company is what I do not know.
The splayed main caps will need to be line bored. I need to put this list together in succession one foot in front of the other.
Thanks again. It's advice like I'm getting that will make this a great build instead of a good build. I appreciate it, Everyone who have offered up their wisdom for an old gear head.
I'm not that old, a little over half a century young give or take.
Mentally I'm a rangy teenager, physically, we won't go there.

 

Just one piece of advice worth what your paid for it.
Forget name brand recognition. It's fast only in bench racing. Pick parts that work together as a total package.
Get a budget and stick to it cause it's real easy to overspend on nonsense.
Put everything on paper as a plan cause its real easy to over think these things while listening to every ones opinions.
Don't forget to have fun with this because that's what its all about anyway.

 

406 block fill

Fun is the ultimate goal. For me, Coming back to this after being away for decades, it has been an incredible shock seeing what's gone on over the course of time. The aftermarket industry is inundated with high performance parts which leaves me scratching my head wondering what's what.
I look for what I'm familiar with and see who's using those brands. Aftermarket parts are like fishing lures, they attract the fisherman more than the fish. There are some good quality parts, and some that are just fishing lures, and that's what I have to separate.
The Asian industrial manufacturing has got into every market. It is hard to know without digging to see where parts were made.
I've started the list based on procedures, from the block fill onward. I will debur the block, After the fill, it's back to the machine shop and have them sonic checked before proceeding, check cylinder distortion, hone or rebore accordingly, splayed caps and line-hone, and have it sonic checked after their work is done. I will use the crank I have, it's fine for my goals.
I beam rods and forged pistons? I'm not sure who makes a good set for the buck. Manley comes to mind.
The top end geometry will be in an assembly. It's all been worked out, so I need don't need to guess and hope for the best.
Carburetor used to be a no brainer, we favoured Edlebrock. I don't know what choiced there are, but Edlebrock has been at it for along time. I still have a few carbs from years ago.
Ignition is a crab style distributor cap for the Tunnel Ram, that's about as far as I've got with that.
Thanks to everyone for their guidance in helping make good decisions. I'm very glad I joined this forum. 35 Chevy Steve.

 

I have a nice 406 with a 2 bolt 509 block. 6" rods, internally balanced, AFR heads, roller cam. Runs fine with no block filler. I have ARP main studs and had it line honed and torque plate honed and all that. It does not have block filler. Stays at 180* in traffic. If the motor is for a street truck that doesn't get thrashed at the track all the time I don't see why you'd need anything too special.