and my dad said that our old hoist will work that was in the shop that burned down it just needs a new jack

 

Just so you know Harbor Freight delivers, they should have an online cataloge.

 

yeah I actually was just on their site compairing prices for an engine stand I'll probably be ordering one from there and maybe a new jack for the hoist too

 

Alright just unloaded my new 78 long block sbc 400 got it for $200.

So here's the story, the engine originally came out of a 3500 and the guy who owned the truck rebuilt it but didn't know what he was doing and used the wrong bearings for the crank supposedly and he got it to run... Just long enough for it to die and lock up, so I could have just got a steal or big big paper weight. Then the guy I bought it from who is a mechanic pulled it and replaced it with a rebuilt 350 but hasn't ever done anything with it, so I bought it.
So yeah now I've got my new motor and once I get an engine stand and hoist jack I'll start taking it apart.

 

How do I tell what my cylinder heads are? I don't think their standard chevy heads here's some pics.


From the front of the engine, these codes are on the left head as printed left to right.




The right head as printed left to right.



The right head also has the 15 like the left head as in the above picture.
I've got no clue on these things I tried looking up the codes but they don't match anything I found and whats with the tetris symbol? lol.

 

I don't know anything about the heads but the wrong size bearing thing is a red flag. I know your new at this stuff but someone needs to look into that. The crank may need to be polished. A 400 for 200 bucks is a good deal though. Your new parts will be right at home.

 

I have the same heads, they are for 350/400ci sbc 76cc, 1.94/1.5 or 2.02/1.6. I was told they are junk for performance.

 

yeah the guy I got it from said I could take steel wool to the crank to polish it but I was like no, the reason this motor locked up is from the guy not knowing how to do things right, I'm not about to do the same thing from my lack of experience. So I plan on talking to my youth pastor to find a good shop in town to have them check stuff out for me. What all would be good for starters to have done to the block to check it out? what will I need to have done to the crank and the rest of the equipment to check it for reuse?

Man thanks for posting Joe I've been searching everywhere on these heads trying to find some imfo, so are they factory heads? do yours have the same 2 sets of numbers? what could I have done to them to make them better?

 

You need to have the block disassembled, then the crank mic'd for size and damage. If it's salvageable then you need the bores checked and the block hot tanked and magnafluxed. Expect to put at least $500 into machine work; maybe slightly less if it doesn't need to be bored.
If it seized from having the wrong bearings it will most likely need the crank turned and the mains align bored. About $200 for align boring, and probably $80 to turn the crank, and another $100 to have the rods sized. If the bore is good it can be just scuffed with a hone and new rings installed on the old pistons. You'll also need the heads checked to see if the valves and guides are good.
A complete engine rebuild set with rings is pretty reasonabl;e at around $130 from Summit Racing.

 

yeah I was looking at the build kits on there before I got it, hopefully everything will work out and I can reuse most of it.
Having the crank mic'd? so that checks it for being streight even and what size right?
what does turning the crank mean? checking for gaps between the crank and mains?
what about having the rods sized? is that so if the crank gets ground down the rods are made to match with the oversized bearings?
and with checking the heads I've heard that 400's need steam holes drilled cause they have over heating issues is this true? and how do I tell if they already have it?
Sorry for the questions if they're dumb this is my first time and I don't have the money to do it wrong so I want to get it right.