rebuild help
04-14-2008, 03:55 PM
#1
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rebuild help ok i have a 77 nova with a 400 sbc they say when i bought it. its not the orignial motor i know that for sure just not sure how to tell a 400 apart from a 350. i got it when i was 15 years old im 22 now and its kinda just been sitting ever since. i wanna do a rebuild and i wanna know where to start on how i know if the bottom end is still ok? where the casting numbers would be to see if its a 400 or not? this will be my first rebuild and i wanna make sure i dont screw it up. any info would be great
04-14-2008, 07:41 PM
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check the side of the block, if it has 3 freeze plugs on the one side it's a 400. also check the balancer, it will be a 8" balancer with it sort of hollowed in the back with different weights on it. 400's are the only small block with this kind of balancer and the three freeze plugs per side of the block. hope this helps.
04-14-2008, 08:50 PM
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If you pull the heads off the engine just check and see if it has the two steam holes between the cylinders. If it does its a 400. The 400's have siamese (sp) cylinders with no water jackets between them, just the steam holes because of the large bore. Good luck.
04-16-2008, 10:00 AM
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ok yea its a 400 thanks for the help now i have a couple more questions i have cast iron heads on it now i want to go lighter and better flow not sure of the cam but it had a pretty uneasy idle but i wanna get a new cam and new heads my question is can i use vortec heads on this motor? theres a swap meet this weekend near me and i was wondering if vortec heads would be a good choice for the motor?
