And it was big. IIRC, 326 to 455 was all the same. Certainly the 389/400 we’re the same block.
400 Chevy SB would easily fit, but I don’t know why someone would do that.
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Any vintage car guys here?
- Thread starter mick71b
- Start date
400 Chevy SB would easily fit, but I don’t know why someone would do that.
Had a 67 with a 400 in it and I've regretted selling it for years. I used to get pulled over by the police quite often but it wasn't for any offenses they just wanted to check out the car.
I learned much later that 10 in wide modern tires would twist the axles off!
AUTOMAN
XS650 Addict
small block chevy 400?
I had one just like yours. Same color. Mine had a Gold interior. 400, 4spd. 433 posi.
AUTOMAN
XS650 Addict
Mecum and Barrett Jackson have made the price of old vehicles unaffordable
No, as noted above.
About the only good thing about the Chevy 400 was that you could stuff the crank into a modified 350 block and make a 383 stroker out of it. A friend and I built one for a '68 Chevy 3/4 ton 4WD. It was a snow plowing sumbitch until it shelled the ring and pinion in the front differential.
Priced out fixing it, wife said "You might as well buy a new one". Not being one to pass up a chance, I went and bought myself a brand new 1989 K3500 with a 454. Sold the 383 back to the guy who helped me build it and the rest of the truck to a guy for parts.
Mine had a black interior with the TH-400 automatic.
Charles13
XS650 Addict
I had a 69 gto ram air2 that did exactly that, I kept the broken axle stub behind the back seat of my pickup
grouchie83
Just on this planet to serve the cats, apparently.
That is mint. My first car was my Dad's '89 4-door with the 305 TBI. I loved that boat.
My dad had a couple neat cars back in the day, that were daily drivers at the time.
A 57 Chevy Belair 2 door, 283 powerglide, but then he got the "New Car" bug and traded it on a stupid 63 Dodge 330 4 door sedan.
He made up for it in 66 when he traded it on a new Olds 442. Unfortunately just before I was of age to drive it a guy hot wired it and it caught fire and burned.
A 57 Chevy Belair 2 door, 283 powerglide, but then he got the "New Car" bug and traded it on a stupid 63 Dodge 330 4 door sedan.
He made up for it in 66 when he traded it on a new Olds 442. Unfortunately just before I was of age to drive it a guy hot wired it and it caught fire and burned.
The Pontiac was neither a small block or big block as all the Pontiac V8s (or at least the 55-81 version) had the same basic block architecture and did have the same bore spacing. As mentioned previously the 326 to 455 the deck height and other things are identical.
AUTOMAN
XS650 Addict
That's why I had asked. Mailman's buddy had a SBC400 in his goat?
I used to put 454's in lemans for my buddies. NEVER a GTO
4 dr. sleepers indeed
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buzzword
XS650 Addict
1964 chevrolet c/10 farm truck - grandpa bought it new in TX, and I’m the 2nd owner. lots of work and money into it, and it still looks almost exactly the same as it did back then - just lower, louder, faster, and smoother.
450hp crate 383, tri-y headers, 700R4 trans, posi rear, power disc brakes, power steering, vintage air a/c, and an airlift performance airbag system. frame-off and completely revived the whole underpinnings - all new fasteners, bushings, etc. redid the upholstery on the seat, added sound deadening, carpet padding, and carpet - very comfortable now!
love this thing - never selling. my mom and her sisters learned to drive in it when it was new with a 235 ci straight 6 and a 4 speed granny low Muncie in it, hopefully my girls can learn to drive in it now even though it’s rowdy as all get-out.
450hp crate 383, tri-y headers, 700R4 trans, posi rear, power disc brakes, power steering, vintage air a/c, and an airlift performance airbag system. frame-off and completely revived the whole underpinnings - all new fasteners, bushings, etc. redid the upholstery on the seat, added sound deadening, carpet padding, and carpet - very comfortable now!
love this thing - never selling. my mom and her sisters learned to drive in it when it was new with a 235 ci straight 6 and a 4 speed granny low Muncie in it, hopefully my girls can learn to drive in it now even though it’s rowdy as all get-out.
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I've had a few note worthy classics, my first car was a 1979 Toyota FJ40. Loved it for all of it's imperfections and style...only wish I was wise enough to know NOT to sell it back in the day. Currently, I have a '69 Karmann Ghia... that I love to tinker with...its VW slow, but fun.
Lovely! Never had a Ghia but had slews of Beetles, including a reasonably hot-rodded 1959; big-bore, dual-port heads, dual carbs, cam, exhaust etc. as well as Porsche 356 brakes. Loads of fun !
There's something about the classic VW's...much like vintage motorcycles, they are accessible, relatively easy (maybe cheap) to work on, and are a joy to drive...but in the back of your head you know something is going to break. Ha ha! 
What could possibly break on an air-cooled Beetle??? Well, now that you make me think about it, I did have a crankshaft break once. Funny thing is that despite having ventilated the top of the engine cases, it still ran. You could see inside the engine at the two halves of the crankshaft with a diagonal break, one end driving the other. Didn't do much for smooth operation of the engine, though.There's something about the classic VW's...much like vintage motorcycles, they are accessible, relatively easy (maybe cheap) to work on, and are a joy to drive...but in the back of your head you know something is going to break. Ha ha!
Ha ha... I've had so many little things go out...throttle cable snapped, Wiper motor, heat vent cables break...etc ...not to mention how many oil leaks.
