I am thinking about putting a 400ci in my 79. I have heard that the 400 runs very hot. Should I stick with the 350? I am going to use 333882 heads. Thanks.
Fiction....the only 400's that run hot are the one's that are built incorrectly. And you don't even need steam holes...
Please reconsider the use of 882 heads if you are intending on building a performance-oriented engine, you'll be severly handicapping yourself. There are plenty of affordable production heads that willl give you better performance than those lightweight, smog heads.
I dropped a 400 into my friends chevelle with a water pump and radiator we stole off of a wrecked suburban and the thing refuses to run over 150 degrees
Per John Lingenfelter, "Performance wives tales have exaggerated the overheating problems associated with the 400's siamesed bores. This may have stemmed from hot rodders adding different heads and neglecting to drill the required steam holes between the center three cylinders. When a 400 block is properly machined and doesn't suffer from core-shifted thin cylinder walls, you can build an excellent torque thruster from a basic 400."
LPE also suggests pocket ported 441 heads with a cam of at least 230 duration @ 0.050" lift.
Anyone that claims to be pulling 450-500 hp and is not having cooling issues is probobly not making the power they think. If you want to run 250-350hp out of a 400,the stock cooling system will most likely work out fine.
I had to run a Griffen 2 core aluminum radiator with a 16" Permicool fan to keep things under control.This is a fact!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Corvette Store
fact or fiction - 400ci
