A street car with 3:23 gears,but you want a broad torque curve & good HP.That's why we were suggesting something with more stroke.Keep the rpms and power down low.

 

I agree that was my plan all along, install 455 internals in the 400 but rather than stock 455 parts go with a stroker kit. I know there is more to it than just bolting it together but is it that simple or am I missing something?

 

It's pretty much that simple. The only potential issue you may run into with a stroker kit (488/496) in an early 400 block is the bore size. The off the shelf stroker pistons are only available in 4.155 and 4.185 bores to my knowledge. Depending on your sonic check results this may not be an issue. Worst case scenario you could run the 4.500 stroke crank with a custom piston made to your safe max bore size. My early 400 block is 4.155 with plenty of meat to spare but I'm sure that varies from block to block.

 

That's the part I'm working through now. How big I can go with the 4.125 bore.

 

Althought I doubt it will be an issue, but if you want to do the stroker and find out you have questionable wall thickness, you can always just use a SBC 1.250 cd piston (4.00 bore), everyone makes them in all different configurations.

1.25+7.1+2.250=10.600.

And I believe Eagle still makes a steel backed rod bushing that goes from the BBC pin size (on the 7.1 rods) to the SBC pin size. Problem solved.

 

With a 4.50" stroke,and the smaller bore size,you are looking at 452"-475" range for cubes.

 

In a few months I will be finishing a 468 with stock Edelbrocks , that I "think" can do 500+hp , if it does it may give you a few ideas. Thanks Milan

 

Milan !

 

Lol.... Ive read here for awhile , must be that Nick & Jeremy deal ......

 

Welcome......glad to see you here!

 

x2.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I will be watching,

 

A large cube Olds will help get a heavy car moving quicker.

The money you spend on Ebrock heads and a Victor intake, you could get yourself a set Wensler heads and intake that will flow better than some ported Edelbrock heads, depending who ports them, in stock form.

Don't throw away any 400/425 cranks, some people have been known to turn down the mains to 2.500" so unless it 1/4" deep grooves, it's still good.

You know that the Nodular Iron cranks weigh alot less than the forged ones do right ? And what does every want in a performance engine ? Parts that don't weigh much, ie crank, rods, pistons, flexplate and dampners.

I think a 400/425 crank offset ground on the rod journals to BBC size and the counter weights were ground on to reduce windage and lets say some crazy engine builder had the main turn down to 2.500" inches and he used 3" to 2.5" main spacers in the block and SBO main caps, I still bet the crank would weigh more than a stock 455 N Crank.

I'm just sayin

 

x3

 

Good to see you here Milan! ROBZ442, pay attention to what Milan says, he knows his chit!

 

Will do I am here to ask, listen, and learn. I have been looking into the Wensler heads, are they the same as Rocket Racing heads? When I look up Wensler heads they mention Rocket but on Rockets site I don't see any mention to Wensler.

 

No expert by any means, but IMO if you are keeping the 3.23s, you won't see enough rpm to justify the additional cost.

 

For what you're doing stick with the Edelbrocks. Far less headaches to deal with.

 

The Rocket Racing heads and Wensler heads are the same thing.They are nice,but you will have to use their intake,as the regular Olds 455 intakes will not work.
You could also have a sexy looking intake like Milan has,but that's a $4k intake.

 

My snowballing plans are already pushing the envelope with the wife. I can only imagine telling her about this great intake I want for $4k.

In looking at the Wensler heads it does seem overkill for my appllication. My biggest interest in the aluminum heads is the ability to run higher compression on pump gas as opposed to the cast heads.

 

It looks like you are in danger of being a victim of the "might-as-wells". The reality is you don't need 550 HP. Keep it simple, keep it fun. Build as many cubes as you can afford, bolt on some aftermarket heads, tune, and have fun. You are going to end up with a low compression pump gas torque monster that will roast the tires and be reliable and a hoot to drive.

 

The Rocket Racing intake isn't as bad as everyone wants to make it

 

My only concern with the Rocket Racing heads is something I read on http://www.highperformaceolds.com about the heads turning into sand when you mill them.

I recall someone else saying the exhaust ports may be located higher than stock and those on the Eldebrock heads and require header modifications so they will fit.

 

If I remember correctly,the Rocket Racing heads have the exhaust ports about 1/2" higher than a stock head,or Edelbrock head.I haven't heard of anyone having fitment issues with their existing headers,when swapping to those heads.It's not like Battens,where your only choice is custom headers.

 

For my street car application I am going with Edelbrock heads. I like that they are a direct replacement for the steel heads. No need for special intake or changes to my exhaust system. I can always upgrade later.

One thing I will need to change is my fuel pump, I am currently using the RobbMc fuel pump. I have run an electric pump in the past so I have most of the parts I need already.

 

I'm still here and still moving forward. What options do I have for roller lifters? I know the 307's had 921 rollers but what about the bleed down rate? Is there a better solution?

Thanks

 

Someone else with more knowledge may chime in on this, but I think Comp Cam, Erson, and Howards Cam version of Hyd roller lifters are all made by Morel. I think the only difference is the name brand and price. I hgave a friend who has been running those E-Bay roller lifters for 2 years without any issues. I think they were like $220.00 bucks.He did take them to a machinist before he put them in.

 

Rob the ones in mine are comps

 

If they're .842's then Morel, Comp or Crane. If they're .921's then I'll have some sets avaialble in a few weeks with better valving. They'll take 160-170 on the seat and 450+ open.
But to use the .921's you'll need the diesel spider setup and you'll need to shim it. The diesel block has taller lifter bosses so they'll be loose otherwise.

 

Does a super victor fit under an olds hood? I have one im my chevelle now under the stock SS hood, but can't run as tall of an air filter as I had with the 454-R victor.

 

Sorry about that I guess I didn't do a good job with my last post, my lifters are .921 dia. What would it cost for a set of your lifters?

 

Not to hijack Rob's thread, but could someone explain to me the difference between the .842 and .921 lifters? I have some Howard's and Comp cam Hyd roller lifters. Is there a benefit between the .842 and .921's?

 

The difference is in the actual diameter of the lifter body. Technically there would be a performance advantage to the larger diameter lifter though more so with the use of a flat tappet instead of a roller. This advantage is only realized if the cam lobes are specifically ground to take advantage of it. On your typical street car you won't see a difference.

 

If you look at the Comp Cams lobe catalog, you can see that they offer more aggressive lobes for larger lifters. Thus, you can get closer to a roller cam profile with flat tappets if they are .875" Ford, .904 Mopar, etc. The Olds .921" of course could use these, for more "extreme" applications.

 

Thanks fellas!

 

You can only get marginally closer. You'll never match a roller profile with a flat tappet hydraulic, just ain't going to happen.

And when using the .921 roller lifter, it still has the same size wheel as an .842 so there's still a limitation on the lobe profile. You basically have to use .842 profiles.

 

I was thinking mostly about mechanical (solid) lifters. Compare the total, .050" and .200" durations of solid profiles like mm to solid roller profiles.

 

The Cup cars use a mushroom style lifter to gain even more HP.

 

I prefer the 400 and believe it will run rings around 455 mine revs 7000 400 is a square engine bore and stroke equal love them

 

My next question is motor mounts.

What do recommend for this type of horsepower? Whats available?