BadBlue91RS

Hello guys. This is my first post in this section, and I figured I'd kick it off with a question .

I'm going to be picking up my new (used) motor this saturday, and I'll be starting to bring her back to life soon. It's a Chevy 400cid out of a old truck (not the origonal vehicel) for $150. The heads on it are shot and it needs a rebuild, which I planned on doing anyways.

Now, to my question. I've been looking on E-bay at heads (stock) for it and all of them have 1.94" intake valves. Wouldn't I want 2.02", or will 1.94" be sufficent? It's not going to be a real hot motor...prolly about 375hp and 425tq when I'm finished with it. Which should I look for? 2.02" or 1.94"?

Thanks in advance! :lala:

ede

there isn't much differance between 1.94 and 2.02. all else being equall you'd want 2.02 but if all you can find is 1.94 it wouldn't be a bad choice if you took them. you can also up grade to 2.02 if you want. i'd be careful about buying used heads considering the expense you might have to make them servicealbe

BadBlue91RS

Well, all of the ones I've seen on e-bay have been going for 75-150 bucks and they're all very clean. So clean to where I'd believe them when they said that the heads have been worked and redone.

Thanks for the input ede!

Anyone else wanna throw me their $.02?

SweetS10v8

Rebuilding heads can easily be as expencive as just buying new aftermarket heads. I spent $800 on a set of #461 heads before i knew it. When I added it up in my head and thought,"dang I should have just bought a new set way better aftermarket heads!

So check prices and you might find that going with a set of new heads would be more $$ efficiant

kfoley

Make sure you find out the casting numbers on any used sets you look at and check them at Mortec. It might be wise to look for a set of used aftermarket heads to be honest. Rebuilding a set of stock heads does get exspensive, I know....

88IROC350TPI

First make sure the motor is indeed a 400. I've seen a ton of guys advertising "400 for sale!" and it turns out its not. Secondly, Factory 400 heads are junk - they don't even make a mediocre boat anchor. I think your best bet would be to find a set of iron Vortecs (they have 1.94/1.50 valves). They can be found easily for $300'ish and will work excellent. Easily gve you over 375HP

BadBlue91RS

Well, this is the thing....I don't have a whole lot of $ to spend on this, therefor I cant exactly upgrade my drivetrain just yet. I'm trying to stay below 400 hp so I don't murder the poor factory stuff. Also, I don't wanna go over 375-400hp cuz I'm gonna stick with 2bbl TBI due to cash flow issues. This is going to basically just be a christmas present to myself . I know where to get vortecs for $500 a set new and assembled. But according to DD2000, with vortec heads and the cam I intend to use it's going to be over 400hp. Thats why I wanted stock heads.

Sorry for the ramble, but I think now you get the picture?

Oh, and I'm sure it's a chevy 400. It belongs to a friend of mine and he WOULD NOT lie to me....plus I looked up the #'s on the block .

88IROC350TPI

I think you're seeing it a little wrong. You will not make 400+HP with a 2bbl TBI very easily. Basically you could build a motor capable of 400+HP and then when you're ready switch the induction to something real and all your power will magically appear - saving you time/money in the long run.

kfoley

Yeah, don't limit yourself now or you'll kick yourself when you're ready for some more power and have to replace the heads.

88Camaro350

That factory TBI will not support that power without some upgrades...

Even if you limit it to 375hp its gonna run like crap unless the TBI is tuned right.

BadBlue91RS

Well, I did plan on buying a holley 670cfm tbi to try to get it to hold the 375 or so hp.

As far as yalls responces...I think I'm with you all . I'll hate myself later on if I don't do it right the first time. I'll probably go with a set of vortec heads. But there is one downside to those....intake prices go up