Did some trading today for a motor and tranny. The Motor is a small block 400 chevy. It is a 2 bolt main with a 509 casting number. The motor is complete, air filter to oil pan. Has around 1500 miles on, .30 over pistons, quadrejet carb, headers. It has a 700r4 tranny bolted up to it also. Since I'm the FNG and really dont have a feel of what some of this stuff is worth, I thought I would ask. I already have a motor and tranny for my pontiac project so I dont need this one. Planning on selling it or trading for it, but dont know what its worth. Any HAMB 'ers get first shot if there interested. I know this is not classifieds just wanted to get a feel for the value. Dont wanna post it in classifieds with a stupid price. Thanks!! FNG
Small block Chevys are everywhere............Some people love 400's, some will tell you they aren't worth the space they take up. I have one sitting under a bench waiting for the right project. If you have the room, save it.
They are hard to find in this area. The last 3 I got possession of I bought running driving cars to pull them from. I like them myself. Bobby..
That is a good block, when I ran stock cars we would look for a 509 or 817 2 bolt main block then install splayed caps, clearance for big crank and rods and build up to 434. You would probably get the most money out of it from a racer rather than a hot rodder.
I do not like that motor at all .I have had 2 and I always had problems .Watch out for the steam holes in the heads .If you change heads make sure you drill them between the bores or you will have heating issues.My last 2 cents
So....is a 434 better for racing than a street application? i wonder why this is- I guess i'm not up on the whole stroker thing. Doesn't a long stroke tend to give you a motor that likes to provide low-end and mid-range torque?
This is a post I did on another topic, but, it relays what I think of a 400 cu.in. sbc: _____________ Just my 2c. I built a .030 over 400 a few years ago. stock bottom end with hypereutectic pistons, 10.2-1 comp. . Got a new pair of World Sportsman II 200cc heads from a broke rodder for $600. a new Crane Saturday night special cam, lifters, and springs that a woman found in her basement and sold on Ebite for $128. A swap meet RPM intake with a 750 Holley off Craigslist. Swap meet roller-tip magnum rockers. NOS dual points distributor. Did the assembly myself. See a pattern here? I built the whole thing for $1800. My '57 Ford (3500lbs.) with a 700R4, 3.70 posi, shorty headers, full exhaust, 9" slicks and slapper bars, went 13.01@101mph. Got 17 mpg all day long and ran @175 degrees. It was pretty much my daily driver for 2 yrs. It's got probably 5500 miles on it and seen 6000rpm at least 500 times. It was at the pile-up in October and the new owner says the other guy, (who bought it from me), wants it back again. Plan it right and you will be very happy with the torque and power a 400+ sbc can make. I'm building another one with Goodwrench heads and a smaller cam for my next driver now.(a '33 Olds). Pretty much like Shifty said. I'll keep my eyes open for a better set of heads when my budget clears up. __________________
I had one in a 78 Monte Carlo and with 2:29 gears from a stop the thing would melt 50 series tires! Unbelievable torque. Great torquey motor and I wish I still had it.Never had a problem with mine....
I know a guy who used to run an old Nova with a 377 (350 crank in a 400 block?) and a lot of nitrous, and it was one of the fastest cars in town back in the early 90's.
In the 2 blocks I had the treads would strip out very easy .The heads are prone to have problems due to the steam holes .My motors would eat starters used a mini starter in the end held up better than stock .Blew a head gasket on the highway caused a piston skirt to break off threw that pos away .Stroker motors are great 400 sbc in my opinion suck .I had other issues but I feel sick thinking about all the wrenching I did on that motor. My last 2 cents
everyone will generally tell ya they are junk in so far as sbc's go..the 509 is the block to have..never buy a factory 4 bolt...the block you have is hi nickel and is what is setting in my blown vega wagon...tons of tq, great for heavy cars...and yes, are easy to cool and will generally still pull 6000 rpm's + some...if you aren't cash hungry, slide it under the bench, then one day when ya want tire smoke front end popin motor, stick it in...i resisted the 400 for over 25 years...now i wont touch anything but 509 casting 400's...........
The 400 small block is a great motor. My best on was a 4 bolt main motor with a set of .040 Venolia flat-tops, peened and polished stock rods, balanced with a set of worked 202's, drilled for the steam holes of course, a comp 300 cam with Rhoads lifters and other misc. parts. With a Brad Urban Q-jet, it ran 13.20's in a 57' Chevy sedan delivery at 2900 lbs, and got over 20 miles to the gallon. Never ran hot - get a good radiator and run 3 bottles of water wetter and the right fan set up.
What a rebuilt engine is worth depends on several things that aren't really mentioned here.... How documented the "rebuild" was and what it consisted of. What kind of heads are on it, and what's been done. How you present the engine, ie is the oil pan off for inspection showing a clean rebuilt bottom end, or is it a greasy lump on the floor and the buyer's gotta take your word. After all, you don't REALLY know unless you were there during that engine's "rebuild" Value range on that engine goes from $800 to $1500, and is also dependent on what it's got for tinwork, intake manifold, etc. But a nice used rebuild with good chrome & a hi-rise will top out at $1500 unless it's got a thousand bucks worth of aftermarket heads. If you're familiar with 350 values, add $250 and that's the ballpark price on a 400 good luck
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