355 and 406 build question.

[TC]

You should just leave the 305 in it and add what cheap bolt ons you can and forget wasting any more money you don't have on it.

You sure you belong to a hot rod board??.......

[skullbucket]

You sure you belong to a hot rod board??.......

Yea but wife losing job, budget, hiding buying parts from the wife, building a car thats worth only its weight is scrape price ETC, whats the use ?
Ya know I go one step further and say, Really................ the "Power Tour", is this the car you really want to be remembered driving or being seen in by millions of hotrodders and pic takers?
I guess I just have a higher standard of standards.
Can't you find at least a $500 79 Malibu? If I wasn't going to drive a hotrod I would just rent a new Malibu and ride in comfort to each stop.

[streetshark]

Back in 2008 member Jim Rockford made a thread about a LT1 swap into a box style Caprice that turned out pretty good if I remember correctly.

As for hiding buying parts from my wife, I was making a married-guy joke. I am in no way destitute nor eating ramen noodles every night. Just trying to be budget conscious and build a relatively fast, different car out of stuff that I have laying around. Add some go-fast goodies and go have fun. After all, isn't that the spirit of hot rodding? As long as it puts a smile on my face, than I consider it money well spent.

[jcharliem]

...Sell the 350 and use the money to buy better parts for the 406 - like 5.7 rods and pistons.

If you need to purchase rods/pistons for a 406ci... why buy 5.7" rods when you could step up to 6.0" rods?

[TC]

If you need to purchase rods/pistons for a 406ci... why buy 5.7" rods when you could step up to 6.0" rods?

The pin is already going to be in the oil ring with the 5.7's, why push it up further with a 6" rod??.......

[SuperBuickGuy]

If you need to purchase rods/pistons for a 406ci... why buy 5.7" rods when you could step up to 6.0" rods?

moving the pin up .05 is pretty painless, 6.0 has some downsides (short skirt piston stability, moving the pin above the oil groove, etc) and in what he's talking about not worth it (all IMO). Jeff's car, absolflippinglutely, but in a DD/cruiser/might see a track once instead of his foxbody/never sees above 5500 rpms; probably not.

[yellomalibu]

I know of a few 406's that have done some surprising stuff with the original 5.565" rods with good bolts... For what the o/p intends to use this car for, going with a long rod isn't necessary, imo.

BUT if you're going to buy ARP bolts and get the rods magnafluxed and re-sized, you've almost paid for a new set of H beam rods with 7/16" cap screws ... and as I said before, there is a much better selection of pistons for the 5.7 rod to get the compression where you want it.

[JeffMcKC]

A lot of guys jump to a 6.0 rod the ring pack will make more power than the long rod will help, the little used 5.85 rod works very well in the 400 blocks

[TC]

A lot of guys jump to a 6.0 rod the ring pack will make more power than the long rod will help, the little used 5.85 rod works very well in the 400 blocks

Years ago DF dyno'd a 400 SBC using the stock rod, a 5.7 rod and a 6 inch rod..... The stock rod produced the highest peak torque output with the lowest peak HP, the 6 inch rod made the most peak HP with the lowest torque output and the 5.7 rod made a couple of lb-ft of torque less than the stock rod and made a couple of HP less than the 6 inch rod, basically the 5.7 gave you the best of both worlds......... And one thing was very clear, as the rod got longer the low end torque output went down....

[jcharliem]

...basically the 5.7 gave you the best of both worlds...

Pffttt. I bet that's the very reason you have 5.7 rods in the "jack stand" Camaro.

Let's re-open the debate of what "rpm's faster." I'm thinking you'll Google up everything he can find on 5.7 rods...just because that's what is in the jack stander.