Will a stock 400 smoke the tires?

[440 PHIXX]

Every 400 car I ever owned was pretty fast for what they were at the time and yes could always smoke the tires. No, none of them were 12 sec cars stock.

I’d bet a properly tuned Ram Air IV in a ‘69 Bird would touch the high 12’s...

 

[YY1]

Put that Mopar 400 in a car of similar weight (say a 67-69 Barracuda), with similar gearing, and it'd be right there "spittin' distance".

...and if on a track with turns...my money'd be on the Mopar.

 

[Cranky]

I’d bet a properly tuned Ram Air IV in a ‘69 Bird would touch the high 12’s...

Don't recall seeing any out at the track doing that back in the day....

 

[YY1]

Mid 13's is relatively easy to achieve in a 383 powered B body.

I'd imagine a lighter car with the same, or similar engine could hit the high 12's.

 

[440 PHIXX]

Don't recall seeing any out at the track doing that back in the day....

On today’s tires.

 

[Cranky]

On today’s tires.

I still have never seen it happen unless the engine was pulled apart and blue printed and everything was on the money. Possible someone got a 'freak' car from the factory where all the tolerances stacked up just right. I've seen a few stock Mopars come out of the factory just right too but it doesn't happen all that often. And yeah, there's some talk on the internet where someone was running 12's with them in around 2005 and the RA IV motor put out 446hp at just under 6k....but no mention of what was done to the car. Most of the cars that came with the RA IV motor were pretty close to 4k lbs.

 

[440 4 speed]

1975 Gran Fury Custom, 400 4bbl would smoke the tires on pavement, never ran it at the track.
1972 Polara Custom 360 2bbl would smoke a tire also.

 

[BB BELLA]

I’d bet a properly tuned Ram Air IV in a ‘69 Bird would touch the high 12’s...

no doubt about that and smoke your pocket book buying one! they are more rare than hemi cudas!

 

[YY1]

Still waiting for everyone that's said "there's no replacement for displacement" to chime in.

 

[YY1]

From the "if only" file-

Imagine a B1 head 400, and easily obtained 9.5 or 10:1 pistons.

 

[YY1]

...or the "were they or weren't they" 451.

 

[BB BELLA]

don't forget it was the big 455 buick that beat all the muscle cars in the stock tire shoot out,cubes rule!

 

[440 PHIXX]

no doubt about that and smoke your pocket book buying one! they are more rare than hemi cudas!

True that... Didn’t a run of aluminum heads recently get released? That’s the big “thing” about a RA VI. The crank is cast on the original.

 

[Ron H]

My elder brother had a '69 Ram IV GTO he bought in '71 (not a Judge) and broke 13 with it, don't recall he did much other than MT slicks.

 

[GTX JOHN]

In our testing the early 230 blocks with only the double size
casting numbers in height (Cold Weather Blocks) have the
thickest walls by far. They are worth money and I am constantly
looking for Them. The thicker the wall = the better potential ring
seal.

I believe we have one of the fastest and most successful Stock
400 Racecars in the Country IF not the fastest. We built it and did
not buy a fast car!

I have disassembled over 30 400's over the last 50 years and have
yet to find a Forged Crank in my experience.

Google John Irving Drag Racer

 

[Dutchrebuild]

Had a stock 400 73 RR 4-speed that had a forged crank. Had a 400 out of a 4-speed truck with forged crank. Just took apart a 72 230 block 400 hp automatic engine with cast crank drilled for bushing

 

[qkcuda]

I had a 72 230 thick main web block that had a factory forged crank. I personally disassembled the engine and the bearings were date coded to when it was built. The story was that it came out of a 72 charger with a 4 speed. I believe a number of early engines with 4 speeds received forged cranks.

 

[GTX JOHN]

I am surprised at this.

 

[Mr. Mike]

The factory would use up production inventory eg forged cranks before switching over to cast.
Same as other design change parts.
I got a great deal on a 67 GTX 4spd car needing resto bc all the experts were sure the input shaft had the pilot sawed off bc late date replacement 440. Turned out who ever did the work smarter than the experts passed it over. They thought so little of the car somebody used the entire trunk floor for a donor.

 

[theman440]

No