ENGINE QUESTION

Hello everyone Im new to this site I was wondering can someone help me. A partner of mine owns a 1970 chevelle he has a 400 in the car which he said is the original engine w/ a 400 trans. I was thinking about purchasing his car & the chevelle 70-72 is my dream car. I have 3 questions.....(1) Is this a good engine...(2) how much hp does this engine put out...(3)i would like to get the same amount of hp & torque as 383 stroker crate engine is it possible w/ out killing my wallet ?

        thanks to anyone that can help  

you really need to read a bunch of the articles in the tech section ... study up...

if you do buy the chevelle... don't throw away any part that you take off of it..

you might be taking the real value out of the car by doing so...  if it is a numbers matching motor and trans...    meaning that the small set of numbers stamped into the block infront of the right cylinder head and the transmission case match the numerical digits of the cars vin number...

other than that.... 383's run great...

oh.. is that a small block 400 car???(4 bolt valve covers)  or a big block 400 car..(7 bolt valve covers)???  

Im not sure if its a big block or not i will chk w/ him & find out.  

Ya you need to figure out if it's a #'s matching car even in bad shape makes it worth alot more. If it's a 400sb. there marginal motor's because of bad cylinder wall thickness, meaning when bored there's is a possibility of overheating. (Some) people say at .30 over you can drill the cooling passages and it will be ok. At the least if it is a sb. 400 take the crank out and build a 383. I'd guess on the average a 400 makes anywere from 30-60hp more than a 383 but it's pretty easy and cheap to have a 450hp and ftlbs mildish 383. The best thing to do if you purchase like a zz383 is order it in shortblock form so you can put a lot better heads,cam and intake. If you really want to spend some money on a set of afr cnc ported heads 2000area you can make over 500hp and about 490ftlbs of torque. other wise a set of world II 200cc aset of trickflow 23deg. dart iron eagles etc.  

he said it a small block 400. do you know how many horses i could get out im looking for 383 stroker numbers  

The small block 400 is not original to the chevelle. Yes it is a good engine, it will make plenty of power if built properly. This is a truck engine and in stock condition made around 250 hp and 275 tq. If you upgrade the pistons, cam, heads, intake, carb, exhaust, and ignition you could easily see 400 hp 450 tq.  

I have around $3000 in my 383, and I did not put the best of the best of parts in it. Middle of the road. Might give you some idea about your wallet. To build the 400 should be close to that. As with anything, you can go cheaper and man can you go higher. But I believe you get what you pay for to an extent. Good luck.  

thanks... good people... for the help... i think im going to buy a 383 crate motor