When starting off with a 400 block what have you guys built that is a strong reliable stroker engine combo ?? What heads are you getting the best results from?? Roller motors or?? I would like a reliable 600HP pump gas combo...I hear the 511 is the latest and greatest but I swear I heard the same three or 4 years ago...Tell me what you guys are running..Thanks In Advance..

For that power level, a 4.250 crank, ported E-head, decent manifold, hyd. roller and a 1050 should do the trick.

My combo is 499", MCH ported Eddies, 263*/273* solid flat cam, 11:1, Dominator, pump gas.

515 RWHP. Basically Dwayne Porter's combo.

Oh, and I almost forgot; I've been thrashing on it for 6 years now.

451 CID
Brodix B1-BS
M-1 tunnel ram 2 9379 750's
Roller Cam 276* @ .050
525HP to the rear wheels

I have no idea what hp or torque my stroker engine makes. What matters to me is e.t. and you can see it in my sig.

My combo is a mild 451: Has a Holley 850; Eddy cleaned out heads; Eddy RPM dual plane manifold a .582" solid lift cam and 10.7 CR. Best e.t.11.79 on Firestone Firehawk true radials with best 60 ft. 1.756 with original 46 years old springs and non adjustable shocks front and rear.

Love that combo but that has not stopped me from thinking about a larger stroker.

Ragnar in Iceland

Mine is way above that power level, but you can reduce the compression ratio, cam, and maybe the heads to suit you.

400 block, 4.375" bore
Aluminum main caps (a girdle is another option)
4.250" stroke Callies crank
6.535" long BB Chevy style H-beam rods
1.32" compression height, flat top piston (check your actual block deck height)
Deep sump oil pan, 1/2 NPT internal pickup
Comp Cams MM305S-10 solid flat tappet cam, 279/284 at 0.050", 0.650/0.630" lift, 110 LSA
Indy 440-1 heads cut to 68cc for 13.5 CR

9.20's at 3250 lbs

+9.980" Block deck height
-2.125" Half stroke (4.250/2)
-6.535" Rod Length
-1.320" Piston compression height
--------
+0.000" piston to deck

interesting ideas guys..thanks...keep em coming...

I have two motors now that can be run on pump gas, the current one is my old 511 pump gas motor,400 block with Ductile iron main caps, 4.375 bore with 4.250 stroke, it curently has a 4.300 stroke crank in it,now 518 C.I. That crank started off as a cheap Chinese imported 4.15 stroke for a 440, I had the rod journals offset ground to BB chevy rod sizes and ended up with a 4.300 stroke,6.800 long Chinese H beam BB Chevy type rods the bore is 4.375 with zero deck, Ross custom 22 CC dish pistons, (not good that is what happens with poor planning Should have had a quench piston with a reverse dome made ) The heads are Indy SR with M.W. ports that have 76.0 CC chambers,T&D single shaft 1.65 ratio rockers, Comp Cams custom ground solid roller
cam that is 260 @ .050 with .420 lobe lift on the intake lobes, 266 @ .050 with .409 lobe lift on the exhaust. Indy 400-3 intake modified by BG racing and a Holley 1050 CFM Dominator. It made 727 HP on Oregon pump gas at 4300 Ft elevation, best ET is 9.94 at 134. 5 MPH with the air cleaner and complete three inch exhaust system on The other low deck 400 stroker motor is 4.35 bore with the original 4.150 Stroke 8 bolt flange Ohio Crankshaft CO crank cut down for the 400 block on the mains, offset ground on the rods to 2.200 and we cut the counter weights down to clear the block and not have to add heavy metal, Diamond flat top pistons with two valve reliefs, 11. 3 to 1 compression, Eddy RPM CNC ported heads,Harland Sharp 1.60 ratio single shaft rocker assembly, Bullet custom ground cam that is a little bigger than the one in the first motor, Indy 400-3 intake and a Holley 1060 Dominator, it made 684 HP on a Studka calibrated dyno at 2500 Ft above sea level on 110 race gas Lots of choices out there, BTW the 518 stroker 400 block with the indy SR heads made 725 HP on the DTS dyno in Klamath at 4300 Ft using Oregon pump swill, it made 775 HP with a set of CNC ported 440-1 on it also The Eddy RPM flowed 310 at .700 lift and the SR flowed 340 CFM at .700 on the same bench by the same tech, the CNC ported 440-1 flowed 370 CFM at .700 lift 41 hp with 30 CFM more air flow with the SR and 50 more HP with 86 more CFM from the 440-1 heads

Is this street? Strip? Street & strip? What gearing, tire size and ballpark duration are we talking. There's so many aftermarket alum. big block Mopar cylinder heads out there that your question of "Best" could mean many things to different folks.

I got the Indy EZ heads due to once yur gonna spend for aftermarket why go just better than OEM?

And it was suggested to me, that the 470, offset ground crank, BBC rod journal was the max//best due to the wristpin crowding the oilring with anything bigger than that. Has that changed in the last few years?

And then there's the deed of fortifying the lower end to go bigger crankthrow. Or maybe it should be so you don't throw the crank.

With the economy like it is and all things considered--a 451 build with a stock 44o crank, good rods, any decent head and solid or solid roller is HARD to beat. I always question when a HP number is the target. A real 500 HP engine is a TON in a street machine. Many guys with big stroker street stuff just spin the hides off and never really get a good driver IMO. 451 is a winner, they rev like a chainsaw and are cheap and easy. We did a 406 CI, 383 crank, 400 block , Eddy head, solid cam that made over 600 HP on pump gas in the Amsoil Challenge--It is available as it came off the dyno

Here is my mild stroker with a 440 block that is a 493. If you used a 400 block it would be a 499.

I use a .030 over 440 with a 440Source 4.15 stroker kit. Has dished pistons for 10.6 comp with the Indy EZ heads I use. Also has good .046 quench and will run fine on 92 pump. The EZ heads have mild porting done by Dwayne Porter as he also speced the solid flat tappet cam that is 264 and 270 @ .050 with .591 lift and a 110 LSA. Dwayne Porter does awesome work for a very fair price. I use 1.6 rockers for about .631 lift and I have the cam in on a 106 centerline. Hughes roller rockers and it has an Indy dual plane intake and a Holley 850 DP. Mallory dist and MP orange ECU. This is in my 3700 lb 63 Sport Fury with a 9.5 Dynamic converter in my 727 and a Turbo Action manual valve body. Has 4.30's with a 30 x 9 tires. With SS springs and only 7 track passes so far it has run 10.70's at almost 125. I think it has 10.50's in it with some fine tuning. I estimate that to be about 600 flywheel hp. It drives great and runs on 92 pump and I race it thru the full exh system. This is just a simple mild build that I wanted to be an easy driver to drive anywhere. Ron

R/B 511 ci

30 over 440 4.30 stroke 6.8 long rod j/e pistons

13.1 comp

650/290 solid cam

indy sr,s m/w ports

440-2 adapter 1050


3470 duster went 10.20s


two years later

same short block

440-1 cnc 345s

rollar cam 277 /700 with 1.7 rockers 800 lift

440-2 adapter 1050

3400 pounds 9.91 136 mph

then

tunnelram two 750s carbs 9.85 137.5 mph

I have run 4.15 stroke 400 block combos in the past, but wouldn't hesitate at all to go with a 4.25 stroke 2.2 rod journal 512. Build the motor to suit your desire for hp, and gear according to driving style. The longer the stroke in a 400, the less rpm you need for the same hp and the lighter you can build the whole rotating assembly. Don't forget the advantages of all that torque. Gear it to match. A 3.55 gear will produce about the same torque at the axles with a 512 as a 451 will with 4.10s.

What were the specs on that 406 cam?

With pump gas cubic TORQUE is your friend. I love Hollis's 406 but for most moderate weight real street pump gasser s you'd have to gear the wee out of it to stay int he sweet spot. Horsepower is in the head flow and it's just more genereally practical to build the bottom end for torque and target your headflow for the HP you want.

A 406 and 511 can both be built to easily make over 600 hp but the samller motor will have to turn a proportionate amount of RPM higher. But the bigger motor will always produce more torque below peak torque RPM which is where a pump gasser is going to spend 85-90% of it's life.

The 511 with a low deck 4.375" bore 4.25" arm and a 6.535" arm has about the same bottom end rod ratio geometry as a standard 454 BB Chevy. A 496 (4.15") stroke is just about as good but the 15 extra cubes and lighter bobweight of the smaller rod journals makes what's already great just a little 'more better'. To me a 470 (3.90") stroke small journal low deck is near equal to the (4.15"), 493 Tall deck and nearly equal overall to even a 496 low deck, so the smaller journals themselves (which amounts to nearly 1 less rod's worth of bearing swept area because the bearing is also slightly thinner) seem to be worth a bit of power and RPM above the torque peak. Opinions vary of course, but having built every stroker combination I'd say the 511/496 advantage is a bit more than just the cubes themselves.

Larger bore to stroke ratio motors will almost always make more HP per cube, but it simply (obviously) becomes a matter of more practical packaging since you can more readily increase stroke than you can with bore.

bottom Line you can get to 600hp on pump gas with even a standard size 383 combo....with enough head and cam but on pump gas the stroker gives you higher average torque across the powerband which is really what you usually want on the street, particularly an average sized automatic. Also the converter stall/flash for a 600HP will generally feel more satisfying at part throttle the more cubes you have. for a 4 speed car, the cube preference is a little more subjective