Mopar 400 block 8 sleeves

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Miszny

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Hello everyone!

To start, I am in Europe and getting a 400 block here is near impossible... Importing one from USA is around 1500-1800$ after all the shipping and taxes...

So I had an idea to sleeve it in all 8 cylinders and re-use the pistons that are already in it.
Is there anything against what I plan to do?
I talked to 440source about it and they told me its not a bad idea especially given that it will cost me around 1000$ done with Mahle sleeves.

The pistons that are in it will be sent to line2line coating for ceramic coat on skirts. Normally they media blast them to get better adhesion of ceramic coating. This will give me a chance to see how good their coatings really are. The block is currently .030" over and it will not clean up at anything but .050"

Any feedback would be nice before I start putting money into this idea ;-)

Thank you.
 
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I think you have a good idea, but I think by the time you get it all done that the expense is going to be a lot more than getting a block. You need to talk to your machinist & get a price out the door for what you want. I could be wrong on this, but those are my thoughts.
 
Sleeves are fine, the cost of doing all 8 needs to be confirmed before deciding to go that route. 65'
 
Sleeves get a bad rap because they are not "factory." There is a reason racers use them. Machining costs are your main concern, properly installed, that block will be plenty strong.
 
I’ll consider the machinist is not only capable but a really good machinist that can get it done right on the first go around.

Cost is the draw back. That’s it.
 
Are you in Poland? There is a shipper near me that is always shipping cars,bikes,boats and farm equipment to Poland in containers weekly. They might ship you one cheaper than that.
 
I just talked to machine shop today. For 8 sleeves, decking and hone align mains + crankshaft finish they want 1400$.
 
Are you in Poland? There is a shipper near me that is always shipping cars,bikes,boats and farm equipment to Poland in containers weekly. They might ship you one cheaper than that.
Thanks but I learned not to trust people the hard way. I would need to find a block close to someone I know in USA to really know the condition. This complicates things further. Also shipping within USA is CRAAZY expensive. For shipping of 2 Indy heads, intake and some smaller bits I paid 300$. I can’t imagine how much shipping of cast iron block would be. Also packing it would probably cost and it seems that good 400 block is not cheap either.
Adding it all up makes me want to go with the sleeves...

Yes I am In Poland.
 
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I’ll consider the machinist is not only capable but a really good machinist that can get it done right on the first go around.

Cost is the draw back. That’s it.

Yes its an old machine shop with guys my fathers age that do this longer that I live, I’m not worried about their experience and expertise. Price is good because I know them for years and I do everything there...
 
I have a 400 block sitting on a pallet waiting to go to the scrap yard that you could have for free if you were local. I'm tossing it because the cylinders are too thin for a stroker. I'd never put multiple sleeves in a 400 block but I guess you have to do what you have to do.
 
I have a 400 block sitting on a pallet waiting to go to the scrap yard that you could have for free if you were local. I'm tossing it because the cylinders are too thin for a stroker. I'd never put multiple sleeves in a 400 block but I guess you have to do what you have to do.
Where I am the options are limited... Wish I had the market you guys have.
My next step is getting aluminum block. Big expense for me but seems more future proof.
Just got full Indy top end ported by Nick Wilson. It’s new and spent some years waiting for project that never happened.
Took my old top end off and discovered what I discovered...
What is the problem with sleeving this block in your opinion?
 
We just put 8 sleeves in a megablock because it wouldn't go 4.500. If you know everything else is good, sleeve away. S/F....Ken M
 
So bore it .060 and call it a day. Is this a trick question?
 
I have a 400 block sitting in my garage. Its stock bore and should clean up at .030 easy. Maybe even .020.
It was gonna go into my car but I know now it'll never happen.
 
Question is what is stronger, sleeved block or .060 over? Whoever I talk to tells me sleeved...

Alot of nhra racers sleeve blocks right off the git go , better material , and thicker , and perfectly uniform w/ no thin spots .
 
When my family ran in NASCAR with factory blocks, the first thing that happened to them was all 8 cylinders were sleeved.
 
When my family ran in NASCAR with factory blocks, the first thing that happened to them was all 8 cylinders were sleeved.

Is there standard for sleeve wall thickness? Should I worry about it or I just overthink this?
 
I have a 400 block sitting in my garage. Its stock bore and should clean up at .030 easy. Maybe even .020.
It was gonna go into my car but I know now it'll never happen.

Please send me PM about it, I see you are in MI, perhaps we can work something out. I will sleeve the block in this topic but who knows, perhaps we can work out a deal.
 
Is there standard for sleeve wall thickness? Should I worry about it or I just overthink this?
Your over thinking this and worried and I get it. I understand. Been there myself. NO worries.

Sleeves will come in all sorts of lengths & thickness. Your machinist will look up what is available and bore the engine out as far as practical to accept the sleeve.

Once it is done, it will hold a lot more power than a big overbore and last a long time.
 
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