A few years ago Hot Rod magazine published an engine build story trying to see if it could build a 500-horsepower motor from scratch for five thousand dollars. So of course, it started with a Chevy small block and was successful. But that’s kind of like trying to predict whether a kid is going to prefer candy or broccoli–too easy.

As a sort of follow-up, the magazine allowed me to take up the same 500-for-5,000 challenge with a bit of a twist. Instead of going for the safe bet, I started with a 400 Ford. The idea was that since nobody gives the old 400 any respect, you can find a block and crankshaft dirt cheap. That gives you more cubes for less money compared to a SBC, and hopefully a leg up right out of the gate. I got this one out of a junked F100 pickup for free, but for the magazine we started with a figure of $125. The secret weapon in this build was a pair of aluminum Edelbrock Performer RPM 351C heads. An update on Ford’s great Cleveland heads, Edelbrock’s Performers feature signifcantly improved chambers and ports over the stock heads, besides being about half the weight than the origianl cast-iron pigs. Edelbrock also makes a dual-plane intake for this block and head combination, and that was used as well.

But from there things got more difficult. That’s because the 351M and 400 engine family enjoys almost zero aftermarket support. I partnered with KT Engine Development for the build, and we did a lot of head scratching to find parts on the cheap that would help us hit the horsepower goal. We ended up going with a set of K1 connecting rods with a 6.300 inch length for a big block Chevy and matched them with eight KB hypereutectic pistons for a 340 Dodge because the compression distance was what we were looking for. Custom slugs would have been much preferrable, but we couldn’t afford them under our five-grand budget.

Because the 400 rarely gets any love from performance enthusiasts and because we built it with a variety of parts for different makes, we ended up naming this engine “The Mutt,” and the subsequent article that ran in Hot Rod was headlined the same. We ended up getting an OK 504 horsepower out of it, but what was really impressive was the incredibly flat torque curve that started out at 560 lb/ft at 3,800 rpm and didn’t drop below 500 until 5,400 rpm. Peak torque clocked in at a whopping 565 lb/ft. But we did, however, exceed our five-grand budget by a few hundred–and that’s not counting the new valve covers you see in the photos.

Below is a short video of the dyno session at KT Engine development when we were finishing up this motor. It sounds great and has never been seen before, so I thought I’d include it here. I believe the dual-plane intake was great for torque but really choked off the air flow beyond about 5,500 rpm. One of my regrets with this build is we didn’t have the time or money to try a single plane intake, which I think would have produced a big jump in peak horsepower.

This engine is still sitting in a corner of my shop, and I’ve been pondering using those fantastic heads on a Windsor block for a future build. It probably won’t have this engine’s 431 cubic inches of displacement, but with the right selection of parts it should come close to matching the horsepower numbers, if not the torque. And a Windsor won’t have the same bellhousing and engine bay fitment problems the primarily truck-based 400 will have when trying to squeeze it into a car. So what do you think? How should we build out our upcoming Windsor and Cleveland mix? (Clevor in Fordspeak.) Let us know in the comments, or the forums, and we’ll try to work ‘em into the build. 

If you’re interested, you can check out the original Hot Rod article here.

Here’s the dyno sheet showing the Kansas-flat torque curve:

And here are more photos from the original build:

[View with PicLens]

The 409 has seen a bit of a revival of late with Edelbrock’s introduction of new aluminum heads and World Products following up shortly after that with an aluminum Merlin 409. Our 409 build is meant to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We kept an original cast iron block and mated that with Edelbrock’s much more capable heads that will be disguised to look like stock, then stroked it for a total of 440 cubic inches. There are a few more surprises in store, but you will have to follow along with the videos of the build to find out what they are. We will, however, give you a hint at the final product so you can decide for yourself if it’s worth your time: 505 horsepower at a manageable 5,600 rpm and 507 ft/lbs or torque.

Best of all, there’s nothing exotic in this build. Original 409 heads may be impossible to find, but the rarest component of this build is the 348 cast iron block, which is still easy to locate and fairly affordable. Everything else is right off the shelf, and we’re showing you all of it so you can reproduce this beast from water pump to flywheel if you like.

Part One

What better place to start than the beginning? Detailing our plans and the short block buildup.

Part Two

Finishing up the engine build including cylinder heads, valvetrain, and the sweet dual-quad induction system.

Part Three

Finally, it’s time to have some fun. The engine is finished and we get the opportunity to hear a wide-open-throttle run on the engine dyno.

Please don’t forget to let us know what you think in the comments. Thanks

View the downloadable dyno sheet.

And if you enjoyed that, check out this turbo Buick engine build video:

Nothing proves engine theories or new parts like a little dyno time. Street Muscle Action decided to take a closer look at ignitions in general and the ever popular HEI ignition in particular. We also tested a stock unit against a high-performance unit from Performance Distributors. The HEI is a popular choice because it requires only one wire to hook up and houses the control module and coil internally for a very sanitary installation. But the dyno proved that all HEI ignitions are not created equally.

Part One

Part Two

Printable Dyno Sheet

The first few minutes of operation will determine the long-term survival of your flat-tappet camshaft. More agressive lobe designs, stronger valvesprings and changes to the additives in modern motor oils makes a “wiped” cam lobe much more likely than in the days of classic muscle cars. These are a few very important tips for properly breaking in your high performance flat tappet camshaft.

Printable Instruction Sheet

Parts List & Resources

For the first of many engine builds at Street Muscle Action, we couldn’t just settle for something ordinary. No, this is a new century re-imagining of Buick’s turbocharged V6. This time around we’re talking about a 76 millimeter turbo, 42 extra cubic inches and total output of over 700 horsepower. So far we have the first three video installments in a series chronicling the entire buildup. Up next we will bolt on the turbo and get it up on the dyno, so check back regularly for more!

Part One

Building the foundation: Preparing the block to be able to withstand 700 horsepower, and installing the crankshaft.

Part Two

The rotating assembly: Plugging in the connecting Rods and pistons.

Part Three

Cylinder Heads and Valvetrain: Making old aluminum heads new again and bringing the valvetrain into the 21st century.

You may have noticed the ads in several leading magazines for these new spark plugs from a company called Enerpulse Incorporated. Enerpulse calls its device the Pulstar Plug, and it’s making some fantastic claims about it. By incorporating what Enerpulse calls a “Pulse Circuit” in the plug, the Pulstar is supposed to deliver as much as 10 times more power than a conventional plug. Enerpulse says that equals 11 more horsepower in a Nissan 350Z.

So what’s the catch? At 25 bucks apiece, we’re talking 200 big ones (plus shipping) to outfit your V8. So before you spent that kind of money, we spent it so we could test them on a dyno and see if they work as advertised.

Print Out the Dyno Sheet

Properly installing your distributor involves a little bit more than just stabbing it in and setting the timing. Here’s how to check the distributor depth to make sure you don’t cause premature wear to either your distributor or your camshaft.

Printable Instruction Sheet

Parts List & Resources

Prepare Your Own Block
A lot goes into properly preparing a block before you are ready to begin assembly, but not all of it has to be done at the machine shop. Save yourself some cash by doing the work yourself and leaving only the necessary tasks to your machinist.

Part One

Part Three

Printable Instruction Sheet

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