You can make some pretty obnoxious torque with a garden variety 400 small block, even with factory heads. Built right, these make for stupid--and cheap-- fun on the street.
For whatever reason they seem to have somewhat fallen out of favor, so the prices for a decent core are down. If you choose to go that route, be mindful that they are known for cracks so make sure you're starting with a good core. Also, the 2 bolt blocks are actually stronger than the 4 bolts in stock form. If you plan on really stepping on it, it doesn't cost much to convert the center 3 mains on a 2 bolt block to splayed caps.
Quote:
Originally Posted by markinnaples
As I've mentioned before, I lost an oil ring in the 302 in my Camaro, so I want to swap it out for something with a little more torque and I've been taking my time and shopping around for what to put in next after I finish some stuff around the house.
I've considered another small block; maybe a 383 stroker or 406, but I've toyed with the idea of putting in a decently built big block with lots of low-end torque. Shouldn't be too hard of a swap as I have manual steering and manual brakes, but I am a little concerned about the extra weight of the BB with the manual steering (eventually changing to power steering but that's down the road some due to budgetary constraints).
So, with all of the extensive experience in here I thought I'd ask you what you'd do, hi-po small block or moderately built big block?
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