400 Non Stroker Build

Look at some of Jim Laroy's (IQ52) low compression builds. If this is a street car, low compression is your friend. Your buddy. You don't want to be idling in summer traffic gettin heat soak with 9.5:1 or more.....or maybe you do, I don't know. See if you can find a copy of the April 1998 issue of Mopar Muscle. That's the issue where DLI outlined a stout stock stroke 400 build. They did use a piston that's not made anymore, but you can build that same engine as a low compression build. The general rule of thumb all else being equal, is 3% increase in power for every 1 (ONE) compression point. Read that again and soak it in. Is that really WORTH custom or high cost pistons? Is it WORTH having heat soak and detonation issues in the middle of summer? While you're out trying to have a good time? Trust me, I know. I just got done tuning detonation out of my high compression slant six build. If I could have done it differently, I would have.....AND if it gives me much more problem into the summer......I'll change the milled head out for one not milled "so much".....but I believe I've got it worked out now. Serach "Bare Bones 400" on this site. It shows how I built mine. It's gonna be a stump puller. I can just about guarantee it's gonna have 1 LB FT per cubic inch. That's power you can feel and with less than 8:1 compression and it'll run on 87 all day long.