CALLING ALL CATALINAS!!!

When building a 400 pontiac engine, what is the best combination for building that engine. I just want to have a little fun on the weekend.
If anyone have any parts that are for sell or pics please feel free to share them.  

Neal19, anytime you plan an engine build, there are many factors to consider when looking for the "best" combo. What works best for a relatively lightweight Ventura II or Firebird, may not be the best combo for a big, heavy car such as your Catalina. What year and numbers of block and heads are you planning to use? What transmission and rear gear/tire size combo? Highway cruiser or stoplight bandit? What Octane rating fuel are you willing or able to access easily? Regardless, the thing to remember is that in a large heavy car like a Catalina, you need to maximize torque, something Pontiacs are very good at anyways. Don't go too wild with camshaft specs, aim for a true 9:1 compression ratio and free up the exhaust system without going too large (definitely not over 2.5" dual pipes).
The main thing to spend your money on is quality machine work, straight/round cylinders are a must for any buildup as are proper bearing tolerances and oil control. You can totally screwup the choice of cam/carb/intake/gears and the engine will still run, just not to it's potential, but pick the right combo and still have it down on power due to improper machine work....that's a bummer, because it could have been done right the first time.
Steve  
Trying to help... 'cause we don't all have to learn the hard way!