Hot Rods Does anyone build 396's anymore?

sell the injection, get a huffer, keep it light, it'll go fast.

 

There is a lot of back n forth about which is faster, better what build to do blah, blah. I don't know how we ever raced before the 454.

There were 10 second cars way before the 454 as a matter of fact I drove my first big block on PIR in '70. A 396 powered Henry J. I only managed to pull off a high 11. Then the guy that owned the car got in it and showed me how it was done, low 10 and he said that he would be into the 9s before the season was over.

Now before the time slip assholes come out of the woodwork I don't have one, nor do I have the T shirt. As a matter of fact the only thing I still have from 1970 is my wife and one old black n white my uncle snapped of us around the picnic table. I don't think I have to say the rest of this right?

Like I said earlier I like 396s and 427s real well, a 454 is a like a 460 ford, a truck motor.

Oh root the squirrel is right, the Ingless injection is cool but cheaper more streetable zot can be had from a huffer.

 

Oh I hear ya PnB, I just wanna invest wisely.

 

Yes people still build 396's and there are parts out there. Build what makes you happy and what you can afford. A 396 in a drag car with the right gears will haul the mail. Hell I went 10's in a 2800 lbs car with a 383.

 

There were 201 z-16 chevelles made in '65. They're worth more than if it's a corvette unit.


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Z-16 engine suffix code is IX, all engines built between early Feb. and April '65. If that's what it really is, sell it and buy an all alloy block and paint it orange and still have cash left over.

 

Well, it looks like this block is a 69. The numbers are as follows 3955272, it has a weird casting of CONV2 and CM6. On the pad it has T1008Y.

 

YP YQ YR YS were all suffixes used on 1969 truck 396 engines. That's the only ones that had a Y. But a single letter was last used for a suffix in 1965, maybe there's another letter there that's faint, or maybe it's just an oddball.

Doesn't matter too much, a 396 block is a 396 block, for the most part.

 

I plan on using a '70 (396/402) #3969854 block on a OT build. The books show the same casting number with some 454 blocks of the the same year.

 

There is a 396 that I built not 2 blocks from here that dynode 390 and change ( not a chassis dyno) with what was called an RV cam by Lunati, stock heads with a pocket port job and a stock 4bbl intake with a carter AFB. It was punched .030 though so I guess it was no longer a 396. The overhaul happened in '99 and ran about a grand (parts and machine work only)

LOL *Mikey was getting black flagged in a Steel Willys pickup with a blown 383 (uh chevy), he went deep into the nines before they close the local drag strip and they were not even polite when they asked him to leave. granted Mikey has a knack for engines and things like that.

This is not an affront to anyone (in particular) but some people never grasp that it is not about the sack you put it in at all, it is all about the crap you put in the sack and how its stacked that makes the difference.

Note Root, I am not trying to talk you into the 396 here, you understand that, right? You are smart and you will make a good decision on your own.


* mikey--- eigthgradegenious

 

A few years back we got a hold of a shit load of 454 natural gas generator engines being swapped out for new on maintenance schedules. On tear down they looked like new inside. Two bolt mains, cast crank, forged 8-1 pistons. These are great for mud trucks and boat boys with a moderate sized GMC type blowers at 6 psi. Keep the R's under 4800 and they will take the abuse.
And the overpriced 396's and 427's got saved for the hot rodders

 

Get it , My 57 wagon has a 68 396 with a 60 overbore(408) and 71 402 heads. No matter what you build someone will build one faster. Merry Christmas

 

I think I can probably get it in the neighborhood of $400.

 

I'd build it just for the wild card factor Cause just like the 350 the 454 is the go to big block so be different


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A dollar per cube used to be the going rate, Scoop it up!

 

Anyone here know for sure if the 1st year MK lV (1965 396) had an alternator or generator? Can't recall ever seeing a BBC with a generator.

 

Well....you got the good block. Same block used from the low ratings all the way up to 375. Pull the pan and see it is a 4 bolt or two. No big deal either way.....block can be drilled/tapped for 4 caps if it doesn't already have them......and they are still common enough to pick up. The T1008 is the Tonawanda date code.....looks good for '69. Pretty damn cool for 400 bucks.

 

I just had a 1966 chevelle 396 built for my 55 chevy .installing fender well headers on it also

 

Just for shits and grins......here is your never street driven twice national record holder...1966, '67......out of four lanes wide Green Valley Raceway.......Jim Parr's badass Wayne Calvert prepped 396 four speed. Motor still sits in that dude's garage today. I don't care that the car later drove a 427......two national records...three nine six.

 

Don't waste your time putting factory 4 bolt caps on it. The outer hole ends up right in the weak part of the main web, and that's the first place they break! After market splayed caps are the only way to go when you want a four bolt, but this build doesn't need them at all!

 

Yep, probably so....1320's are all you. Wasn't thinking along those lines. Splayed it is !! Probably why the machine shops always have factory 4 caps extras....laying around too I guess. I stand corrected to the better answer.

 

GM went to alternator's in 1963. 1st year 396 was 1965 production.

 

Slammed - Thanks!
Kidcampbell - The block in my Chevy was selected because it was a 2 bolt main so I could have Milodon splayed caps installed.

 

True that....no one wants a six bolt main. lol A lot of my experience holds water....but not necessarily in all things here. Bridging that gap between info too old to be pertinent....and too new to be HAMB horrifying....is a tricky line to hike. I just bring my lunch pail....and talk between mouthfuls. haha

 

I once had a guy trade me two 400 small block 2 bolt main blocks, & a new set of Summers Bros. splayed caps for 1 factory 4 bolt block. That was a good trade!

 

Great answer brother! No judgement from me, just something I learned from a mentor in my travels.

 

396 with generator. The generator was on the six, I just made a bracket to mount it to the big block, since I didn't have money to buy an alternator (for another year). This was 1979.

 

^ Cool

 

In the early '70s I had a 396/375 in my '33 Tudor; fit just right and went pretty good too.

 

Here's one of mine in a '35 Chev. I have 12 big blocks, laying around, I'll never use all of them.