Thinking of going BB...

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If that guy does still have that block I'm going to at least check it out. I'm not even sure if a sleeve would repair the pitting at the very top of the bore.

I'm sure the 440 pistons would work, but I think they are considerably heavier.
 
Using a cast piston will keep the weight down and fits your budget. An .060 over 440 piston is .040 over in a 400 but the extra weight is because the piston is taller.This means you'll have much higher comp on the cheap.Using your stock 400 rods would mean the piston is very near the deck.
 
Actually did some calcs and the 440 piston is too tall. Oh well. Like you said,thier heavy. Off the shelf 451 pistons are available,not very expensive.
 
there is an off the shelf 440 piston that'll work....I forget which one it is. Those KBs are so reasonable priced, I don't think I'd chance it.
 
StrokerScamp said:
there is an off the shelf 440 piston that'll work....I forget which one it is. Those KBs are so reasonable priced, I don't think I'd chance it.
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I wonder which one? All the ones I looked at over at Summit had about a 1.9 or so piston height. According to my math the piston needs to be around 1.56 withe the shorter b rod and 1.34 with the LY 440 rod.

But your right SS,better off to buy the KB they are a real bargain.

Just make sure to buy .040 over pistons for the 400 and this will open up your ring selection,as it's the same as an .060 440 ring.
 
No.....I remember what it was now. You can use a late model 440 piston in a stock stroke 400. That's what I was thinkin about.
 
Sinister. said:
I'm not sure if anybody still follows this thread or not but here's an update...

I knew the block was rough but I went ahead and ran a coarse hone through it to see if it was salvageable. We took it to about .010 and saw little change. Unfortunately, short of sleeving it, the block is no good.

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So I'm looking for a new block but I might have found one. It was complete from intake to pan. This is good because as of right now, I don't have a use-able fan and don't have a distribute at all, and it does. It also may be a later block so it might have the larger mount bosses and 452s. Seems like a decent deal for $100.
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Looks like we have the same luck with blocks lol.. first 383 i picked up had a crack across two freeze plugs and the second had excessive pitting in one of the cylinders just like yours. :angry7:
 
Blah. It's no fun.... And I can't find a replacement locally for a decent price..
 
needsaresto said:
Actually did some calcs and the 440 piston is too tall. Oh well. Like you said,thier heavy. Off the shelf 451 pistons are available,not very expensive.
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Ive seen this done with milling the top of the 440 piston(zero deck) and a .039 head gasket in a 400 and 452 head. I dont remember the piston part # or who made it but it worked.

**EDIT I found it

http://www3.sympatico.ca/big-d/460.htm
 
Nothing wrong with sleeving. I've seen it done to B/RB and SB to get a block to Sonic test good.
 
Yeah, there are those that even make the arguement that adding sleeves make the block stronger. Pretty easy to see that they are probably right. Sides all that, by the time you buy some 440 pistons, pay the sheen shop to mill um and rebalance um, you couldda been into a nice set of KB280s. Just sayin.
 
True depending on how far you wanna go with the build and on what budget.

Hey Sinister has the block been bored and you honed it .010? or do you mean the block wont hone to take a piston? and you have to bore it or is the block poo-poo(max bore size now) altogether?

If you gotta bore and you got the cash it I'd buy the KB's and go with 452 heads. If you get another block save that 400 and sleeve it up for a bigger stroker later on.
 
Stroker is right,the deal killer is machine time. Much cheaper to get parts that fit without taking them to the shop.

Im a fan of sleeving. Lots of diesel engines are done this way from stock. I plan on using sleeves in my 400 block if needed. Just seems like way less hassle than running around ,finding another block,getting it cleaned and checked..and then finding out it's no good? You r $ ahead just sleeving the block you have. Sleeves aint that much to get installed,really not much more than boring.
 
Fell a bit behind in my own thread, sorry guys.

I used a rigid hone and honed the block .010 because it was free and I wanted to see how much that particular cylinder need. At the very least it would need bored, but when mic'ing it, it seems it would need a pretty large overbore. Probably another .040 or .050 + hone. So that would put me around .060 which I'd rather not run, but would if it soniced okay. The other problem is, if you look closely, at the top of the cylinder that I honed, you can see a pretty good sized chuck missing... boring it and even sleeving it probably wouldn't remove all of it. Maybe if I milled the deck a hefty amount, but then that throws my geometry off and adds a lot of cost.
 
I know this is a fairly old question, but where abouts in Kansas are you? I may be looking for machine shops at some point in the near future and I'm a Kansan as well. Those prices looked pretty reasonable too, and I would be able to factor them into any pricing I do for my projects down the road. What machine shop specifically were you looking at?
 
Map63Vette said:
I know this is a fairly old question, but where abouts in Kansas are you? I may be looking for machine shops at some point in the near future and I'm a Kansan as well. Those prices looked pretty reasonable too, and I would be able to factor them into any pricing I do for my projects down the road. What machine shop specifically were you looking at?
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Just south of you, my friend!

I was looking in the Kansas City area and I want to say I got the best prices from 'John Automotive' or something along those lines. When I get back into your neighborhood tonight (I am attending KU), I will check my notes and get you confirmation on that name.

There is/used to be a gentleman in Wellsville that did good work but I'm not sure how much he does any more and he sure likes to take his time. Unfortunately, I haven't really found much in the immediate Lawrence area :/
 
Sinister. said:
I like the idea but it would depend on how easily I could get a 440 crank. I'm not sure if any of those guys would be willing to sell me just a crank.

If I get time this weekend I'm going to try to pull the 400 out of the shed and into the garage and see if I can't get the top end off to see what I can find. I'm also going to see if I can't get my buddy to take me back to get the 383/727 so I can have a better idea of what I've got to work with.

Semi-related question, how much of a difference does a 3 angle valve job make?
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Hi Sinister,
If someone answered your 3 angle valve job question and I missed it, sorry.
But I think this is very important. A 3 angle valve job is a STOCK valve job period. Here is why. Your seat angle is 45 deg. to center the seat on the valve face and .060 to.080 seat with. How is this done without the 30deg and 60deg cuts? This is a correct stock valve job. If the machine shop charges extra for doing your heads, right, stock. You need to find another shop. How will your block come out if they are doing your heads wrong and chargeing you extra to do them correctly by charging you for a so called performance 3 angle job when it is the correct way to rebuild them stock?
Every machine shop that charges this way that I have found does sub standard work. This opinion comes from being a 34yr master grade machinist. Not a engine machinist with dedacated operation equipment.
And over 350 engine rebuilds of all kinds under my belt. A 3 angle valve job is standard for a Briggs& Stratton to Catapiller & Cummins.
I have found this to be a 100% indicater for a quality shop. Just my opinion, and my own milage. Yours may very.

Good luck with your build.
Take Care,
Rick
 
Awesome, nice to meet a fellow local Mopar man. I'm just finishing up my Masters in mechanical engineering at KU, what are you up there for?
 
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