I spent some more time on the heads today and got the exhausts done on one head. I will finish the other one tomorrow.
My new stock stroke 400 build
- Thread starter qkcuda
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Finished the other head. Done for the day.
I did some work I was not looking forward to and have been putting off. Cleaning bolts and painting the oil pan and timing cover. I need to deliver this stuff to the machine shop on Monday.
I dropped off several boxes of parts and gaskets to the machine shop today. They have the heads on the Sunnen machine to finish the valve job, and they have the mill set up to skim the decks after that. The block has moved one step closer to the hone. Slower than I would like but progress none the less. He figures they will probably move it into the assembly room next week.
Nothing has moved at the machine shop this week. I cleaned up the last of the bolts and the rockers and pushrods. I am going to a swap meet tomorrow morning. I am looking for an extra intake so this engine will be a complete stand alone package.
I dropped off the stock 400 torque converter today to have it rebuilt into a 2500 stall. Should have it back in a couple of weeks.
Orig69
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That looks like an original Mopar Hi-stall torque converter, maybe 2300 rpm.
If it has low miles on it I would use it the way it is. JMHO
If it has low miles on it I would use it the way it is. JMHO
Actually it is a 78 low stall unit, complete with low stall stickers. According to Tom Hand's book the later transmissions used all used the 11 inch or wide ring gear converters with low stall internals.
The good news is he said it was suitable for conversion.
Orig69
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I thought it was from the 400 engine that your rebuilding.
Sorry, my buddy kept the original trans that was attached to the 73 400. This converter came out of a 78 400 transmission according to the transmission number. It also had a single balance weight which was another late model change. You can see the green low stall sticker in this picture too.
The heads have had the valve job done and the valves have been lapped in and everything is looking good. They were just surfacing the second head when I got there. The first head was finished and they ended up taking about 5 thou off of it, so by my calculation it should be down to 88 cc's. They only take a couple of thou off per pass. The second head was on its second pass because there was still a low spot in the middle, so it should be about 5 thou total as well.
That's good - you really want both heads cut the same so the compression stays the same one side to another. At my father-in-law's shop, we evaluate the heads and cut the worst one first. The second always gets the same amount of a cut even if it doesn't need it so the engine runs consistently.
Yes, both should be the same Hawk. Both were pretty flat to start to be honest. We took about .015 off the block to get it to zero deck, so I asked them to skim the heads .005 so it would make up for the .020 thicker gasket.
I got a call today that my converter is finished. I only dropped it off Monday morning. They are delivering it to me at work tomorrow. That is what I call service!
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The converter just got dropped off. When I spoke to him on Monday I told him I didn't need a full 2500 stall and was more concerned that there wouldn't be any slippage on the highway. I told him that I cruise at 2300 at 60 mph. I guess he listened 
Seems like good service. Quick, and the guy actually thought about your use and did what is best for you. That's a business I would go back to!The converter just got dropped off. When I spoke to him on Monday I told him I didn't need a full 2500 stall and was more concerned that there wouldn't be any slippage on the highway. I told him that I cruise at 2300 at 60 mph. I guess he listened
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Yes, he came highly recommended by a good friend of mine who had him do a converter for his 68 Dart. He was happy with the way it drove. I am not sure at this point if i will be driving this one this season.
I pulled the totes down from my storage to see what I had in stock. I found all of my new ignition stuff, and this old set of valve covers. The chrome is not that good, but they will be fine for dynoing the engine.
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