I would like your recipe for 450-500rwhp from a 396.
Motor is solid, runs great oil pressure and a leak down test shows all is healthy.
Got a good cam, head, intake combo to make some potent numbers? Headers and rest of the exhaust already in place...
Just wondering if this is the cheaper route to go or if I should sell the rat and build a sbc 400 motor...more cubes, less weight...

Thoughts?

 

Not certain, but I think others will tell you to keep the BB because you can't get the flow out of SB heads that you can get from the BB.

Otherwise, good luck.
Jon

 

One of the car mags did a comparison buildup of a 400 sbc and a 396. 396 won easy for the simple reason that the heads flow like a river. Even the oval ports will outflow most high perf sbc heads. A little work and they are killer.

BB also has the eyewash factor going for it.

 

Sell the 396!! How much you want for it?? LOL JK. Rework the heads of the 396 and you will be amazed at how much just that gets you.

 

Anyone have some decent articles on what it takes to wake up the 396 heads? What are the shortcomings?
And who knows, I may sell the 396 and go 454

 

to get a 396 to make 500 hp will take a set of merlin heads and a real stout cam. Useing those same parts on a 454 will get you 550hp and quite a bit more torque.

I would start with a good set of merlins or dart heads and then get someone to grind you a cam for them.

The 396-400 test was by hotrod a few years ago. It used identical cams and the same type of heads. The 396 did make more hp but i really don't consider it a fair comparison. The bigblock was allowed a bigger budget by almost 1000 dollars but it only made about 30more hp. A properly selected cam/head combination (that would have cost less than 1000extra dollars) would have easlily enabled the small block to obtain similar power levels.

The 400sb used Dart sportsman heads (which tend to suck anyway) and the 396 used round port merlins.