intake manifold for 400 Chevy ?

[rfoll]

I ran a 400 with an XE268H cam using Vortec heads and used a stock 12" converter. The converter worked fine on the street, but the stall speed pushing a 4000 lb car was no where near 2000 rpm.

Car weight is not a factor... Street tire traction on launch is... Don't know what you did there but a 12" converter behind a 400 should and will MAX stall way above 2000rpm. On launch WITH tire TRACTION.
You got to have TIRES that grip.

Typical street radial tires have crappy launch traction. The street tires spin way before the converter gets fully loaded on launch.

Your tires are spinning.

Any questions?

[novadude]

A 400 runs like a dog with a cam on a 112 LCA. Put those same lobes on a 105-106 LSA, and the motor will be a lot stronger, with the same streetability.

This is about as false as it gets. A 105 LSA cam is great with a 3000+high stall but not when you are driveing a low rpm or launching at near 2000 rpm with a stock torque converter.
They are great with a 3000++stall.

The 112 lsa cam like this with lower valve overlap is a lot nicer at very low rpm, especially around town with a stock converter.

Drag racing with a high stall converter is not he same as DRIVING on the street with a stock converter. The cam that works for drag racing sucks overall in this mild street motor.

No sir, you are incorrrect. With a tighter LSA on the lobes you recommended, I am opening the intake valve sooner to feed the cylinder sooner, which on a 400 is very advantageous to power and torque, and also I am opening the the exhaust valve later, which will boost low to mid range torque and power, because I am not cutting into the power stroke as much. Plus, at overlap, a 400 can tolerate more exhaust dilution of the incoming air/fuel charge because of the extra inches involved. A 262-268 cam on an LSA of 105-106 will run circles around your 262-268 on a 112, especially in a 400, with any converter you want to run.

This is absolutely correct. a 262-268 tiny cam on a 105-108 LSA will have plenty of power just off idle. We are talking about a baby cam. In city driving, I can accelerate from 1200 rpm a manual trans and no lugging at all with a 270/278, 217/225 108 LSA cam in a low compression 350. With 400 cubes, a short duration 105-108 LSA cam will work fine with a stock converter. Even on a tight LSA, there will be little overlap with such a short cam.

Also, there is no need to worry about carb gaskets that keep the two halves of the plenum isolated. With a small cam in a 400, this isn't going to make any difference at all.

Once again, we strayed FAR from the OPs question.... Sorry Monza355!

[Monza355]

Rfoll your car seems to lunch hard with the stock converter !
However I have one question. How is the 2400 b&m holeshot compared to the TCI breakaway ?
Is there anyone here that has ran the 2400 holeshot ?

[rfoll]

The engine was only 8.8:1 CR. The rear gear a 3.42 out of a cop car. I ran 13.20 at the track, faster than my 65 GTO, or for that matter. most of the muscle cars of that era. On the street it would smoke the tires for blocks and cut cookies like the end of a nascar race. An all that with 2000 lb. on the rear tires. I'm not sure what your car is, but without slicks, it's going to spin the tires no matter what you do. If you run the dual plane, it will have better street manners, and if you can keep your foot out of it, decent mileage. I got 15 on the few times I was able to drive normally for a full tank. If you want a little more out of it, add a spacer or find a performer rpm.

[F-BIRD'88]

The engine was only 8.8:1 CR. The rear gear a 3.42 out of a cop car. I ran 13.20 at the track, faster than my 65 GTO, or for that matter. most of the muscle cars of that era. On the street it would smoke the tires for blocks and cut cookies like the end of a nascar race. An all that with 2000 lb. on the rear tires. I'm not sure what your car is, but without slicks, it's going to spin the tires no matter what you do. If you run the dual plane, it will have better street manners, and if you can keep your foot out of it, decent mileage. I got 15 on the few times I was able to drive normally for a full tank. If you want a little more out of it, add a spacer or find a performer rpm.

Looks good guy.. Thumbs up.

8.8:1 3.42 gears I'd supercharge the HELL out of it.. You'd love that.

[rfoll]

That engine is going in my truck. I put a Vortec 350 in the car with a 2.73 gear and the same type intake, (RPM and QJ), and exhaust I used on the 400. 18+ mpg, and it will still boil the tires for a block. GM sure missed an opportunity by not installing a performance 400 engine in A,F,and X bodies.

[pdq67]

As did the 4.3 L V-6, 3/4ths of a 350" SBC engine.

pdq67

[F-BIRD'88]

That engine is going in my truck. I put a Vortec 350 in the car with a 2.73 gear and the same type intake, (RPM and QJ), and exhaust I used on the 400. 18+ mpg, and it will still boil the tires for a block. GM sure missed an opportunity by not installing a performance 400 engine in A,F,and X bodies.

take that Xe268 cam out and stick a Comp DEH265H-10 cam in it 211-221 .442 .465 110/106 Try 1.6 intake rockers.
Watch your gas mileage go way up. Watch your 60ft, ET and MPH improve. Watch your converter stall INCREASE.

That XE268 cam needs a 3000++++stall and GEARS (430-4.56 in that car) and 10.3:1cr. (92 octane)

[novadude]

That engine is going in my truck. I put a Vortec 350 in the car with a 2.73 gear and the same type intake, (RPM and QJ), and exhaust I used on the 400. 18+ mpg, and it will still boil the tires for a block. GM sure missed an opportunity by not installing a performance 400 engine in A,F,and X bodies.

take that Xe268 cam out and stick a Comp DEH265H-10 cam in it 211-221 .442 .465 110/106 Try 1.6 intake rockers.
Watch your gas mileage go way up. Watch your 60ft, ET and MPH improve. Watch your converter stall INCREASE.

That XE268 cam needs a 3000++++stall and GEARS (430-4.56 in that car) and 10.3:1cr. (92 octane)

You are kidding, right? you don't NEED a 3000+ converter and 4.56 gears for a STREET car with a small 224 @ 0.050 hyd cam. If it were a max effort track car, maybe.

[rfoll]

The engine currently has a Crane 113941 ,http://www.cranecams.com/product/cart.p ... il&p=23979. Like I said, it is going in my truck. It will tow the boats, the race car, and occasionally the car trailer full of firewood. I like all of my engines to perform well, but they don't all have to be racers.

[F-BIRD'88]

That engine is going in my truck. I put a Vortec 350 in the car with a 2.73 gear and the same type intake, (RPM and QJ), and exhaust I used on the 400. 18+ mpg, and it will still boil the tires for a block. GM sure missed an opportunity by not installing a performance 400 engine in A,F,and X bodies.

take that Xe268 cam out and stick a Comp DEH265H-10 cam in it 211-221 .442 .465 110/106 Try 1.6 intake rockers.
Watch your gas mileage go way up. Watch your 60ft, ET and MPH improve. Watch your converter stall INCREASE.

That XE268 cam needs a 3000++++stall and GEARS (430-4.56 in that car) and 10.3:1cr. (92 octane)

You are kidding, right? you don't NEED a 3000+ converter and 4.56 gears for a STREET car with a small 224 @ 0.050 hyd cam. If it were a max effort track car, maybe.

WEell 13.20 is not exactly blazing.. Stick in the converter and gears and run it and tell me all about it. I bet he real gas mileage
will stay remarkabily close to now. with correct carb and distributor tuning and it will run solid 12's and
you can drive it back and forth. The nice thing about those big cars is you can run a BIG TALL 30" street tire liek a P275-70-15... Then switch to the short slicks for racing. You got lotrs of room in that trunk for slicks and floor jack.
YA THAT CAR NEEDS BIG GEARS AND A CONVERTER. It will be a cool street car and go FAST.

AND CRUISE REAL NICE with 30" tall street tires on it. The cruise rpm is TOO LOW right now for that cam in that motor.


I'g 13.2 out of 305's. That cool Caprice Couldbe strong strong 12 sec street car.

You need LEVERAGE to get a big heavy car moving.

The engine is coming out cause it is a boring slug as set up now. Don;t take that the wrong way.

No I'm not kidding.... With the right 4.30-4.56 gears and 10" 3600 stall converter you'd be leaving the race car in the garage and taking that cCaprice to the track and having affordable fun and WINNING your bracket class.

And drive it there and back at reasonalble cost. Better than you expect.

[F-BIRD'88]

The engine currently has a Crane 113941 ,http://www.cranecams.com/product/cart.p ... il&p=23979. Like I said, it is going in my truck. It will tow the boats, the race car, and occasionally the car trailer full of firewood. I like all of my engines to perform well, but they don't all have to be racers.

A LOT NICER cam isn;t it.

Don;t take this all wrong there RFoll ...That Caprice is cool.

[rfoll]

The engine was anything but boring. It was a nice street motor. It cost me a whopping $500 to build fresh and ready to go with a collection of parts I had laying around. Small cam, headers, Vortec heads, and the Performer RPM. I installed it as a test, I wanted to change rear gears, and I needed a new street motor. This did the job in the interim. The car had 2.40 gears and a very tired stock 350. That engine was a slug and got 14 mpg highway.. The car weighs 4400 lb with me in it. I ran it at the track just because I can, and for the sake of curiosity. It never went back. Not every engine needs to be a racer. If I were serious I might have used one of my 3000 rpm converters and the spare 406 race motor I have sitting on the engine stand. But this is truly a daily driver.

[rfoll]

It's an Impala. Paid $400 for it. I had one nearly identical that I sold when it got to 400,000 miles. This one only had 100K on it. I should be able to drive it for the rest of my life.

[F-BIRD'88]

It's an Impala. Paid $400 for it. I had one nearly identical that I sold when it got to 400,000 miles. This one only had 100K on it. I should be able to drive it for the rest of my life.

There ya go... You think just like I do....