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How much out of a 396?

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87BrnRsd

87BrnRsd

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I have a question that isnt blazer related, but I figure some of you guys might know more about it than me. My brother and I possibly stumbled around a good deal to start our "race car" project on. We just want a crappy, ugly, old car (old 60's-70's camaro, chevelle, nova, gto, 2wd chevy pickup truck, etc....) to make a sleeper out of for those pesky rice rockets. Yesterday, the shop my brother works at hauled in some type of old chevy station wagon with a 396BB, TH400, and 12 bolt rearend. Its possible that we may be getting the engine/tranny/rearend for dirt cheap. (like a few hundred) That is definitely a good basis for a fast car. We plan on boring the engine .030 over and starting from there. We are going to choose our own crank, rods, pistons, rings, possibly heads if we dont re-work the originals, and intake, carb, etc... We are going to spend a lot of time on it and re-build the engine ourselves. My question is: how much power can we expect? We arent going full out with the very most expensive parts on it, but we arent cheaping out. Forged crank and pistons, nice rings, stuff thats going to hold up under a lot of power. We are thinking in the range of 450-550 hp and 475-600 tq. Does that sound about right? Just wondering. Thanks.
-Harrison
 
hate to burst your bubble but i had mine bursted yesterday on a subject like this.

I would say it would put out around 425 at the most and maybe 450 torque.

Just a guess but I'm sure you'll get a lot of posts on this one.
 
You can make good power with it , one of the factory incarnations was 375 hp ( gross ) . Good build and some well picked goodies and it will move . i am actually getting a sleeper too soon , 66 Chevelle 4 door with disc brakes and a 350/350 10 bolt posi setup for a song from a friend when th etax man comes :D
 
500 hp is not out of the question at all.. my 396 is 515 at the crank..
 
dude, don't friggin start arguing with me... my post wasn't even directed at you... do you have a 396?

you don't even know what year his heads are.. yes, my motor is running some good heads that are not stock but that doesn't mean you can't get 500 with some very mildly worked heads...

why are you even commenting in this thread? your trying too hard....:mad:
 
dirtwarrior17 said:
hate to burst your bubble but i had mine bursted yesterday on a subject like this.

I would say it would put out around 425 at the most and maybe 450 torque.

Just a guess but I'm sure you'll get a lot of posts on this one.
Click to expand...

And yet again you are spouting your mouth out about something you know nothing about. Nice

Back on topic, your number are very feasible. The 396 is known as a good motor, got quite a few cubes and with big block heads it is very feasible.
 
What year model of a station wagon because there was a 1 year only run in 1970 in which there was a high compression 454 that was rated a 365 hp from the factory. It was only offered in 1970 station wagons. These motors came with a 4 bolt main, forged crank, and large oval port heads with bathtub shaped combustion chambers.

bigred81
 
I don't know much about K5s yet, but I do know a little about big blocks. Most likely your wagon has oval port open chamber heads and 2 bolt mains. If you machine the heads to hold larger valves, add some dome pistons (aka L78), change to a L78 cam grind or one of the newer ones you'll get close 400-450hp.

There are several vendors who make packages for big blocks (including heads) that will get you there turn-key. Parts for big blocks seem to cost more than the equivalent small block parts so get ready to spend.

One thing nice about big blocks is the torque they can create which is very nice in suprising ricers between stop lights.
 
dirtwarrior17 said:
dude chill out... this guys post says the same thing
Click to expand...

ok, i was nice to you up to this point and tried to help you out.. not any more..

that post doesn't say the same thing yours did.. he's talking about 1 combo of parts...

why am i even arguing this with you... :(
 
jesus......

why are you even pissed at me? I quoted somthing from the first post and put not with the stock heads and you think im arguing with you?

I meant hp wise the post says the same thing but your right my first estimate was too low.

We are thinking in the range of 450-550 hp and 475-600 tq. Does that sound about right
Click to expand...

this is what i was talking about when i said not with those heads.
 
no but serious my guess wasn't that far off... I just threw that number out there because I know a couple people at my school who threw one of these things into their truck.
 
Its amazing how lately it only takes 1 person to **** up all the threads and completely change the subject from everything BUT what the title says. If yer gonna argue, "little one", send a PM...becuase its gettin old readin all the BS threads.

This isnt a personal attackby any means, no one is going out of there way to give "you" grief but making off the wall comments won't help "your" situation. Any flack "you" take here is because of soemthing "you" said at one point or another.
 
Im not doubting that... but there are major problems you would run into like getting enough cfm into the motor as well as fuel and almost all the stock manifolds choke the hell out of the motor.

all i said was not with those heads in reference to his peak hp and torque expectations.... I didn't want to and don't want to argue.
 
no my auto teacher is a dumbass... all he knows is how to rebuild a motor and his knowledge is limited to what the manufactures and instructions tell him.

Just wondering... how would a die grinder get more fuel from the carb?
 
dirtwarrior17 said:
no my auto teacher is a dumbass...all he knows is how to rebuild a motor and his knowledge is limited to what the manufactures and instructions tell him
Click to expand...

What else is a High school shop teacher supposed to teach you? Last time I checked high school shop classes teach the basics and a small level of advanced things, depending ont he field. Heaven forbid a high school teacher doesnt teach you advanced building. That will be the downfall of the next generations NHRA pit crews!

Thats like saying WTF didnt my welding teacher teach me underwater welding...and all this time my limits were set to high....damnit!
 
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