400 build for fun & practice

I have a 2bbl '68 400 I picked up a while back, not sure if yall recall that or not.  It supposedly had 30k miles on it, but who knows.  It was locked up.  Had #15 small valve heads.  Here's what I want to do for fun and practice:  
Thoroughly clean the block and all the parts.  Buy a re ring kit and hone the cylinders. Re ring the pistons, and reinstall the rotating assembly.  Seal it all back up.  Use the 6x-4 heads I have sitting around that were rebuilt (I favored the #13s for my 350) and just replace the one bent valve.  Leave the cam and lifters in it for now.  Put on an iron 4bbl intake (I have), and install the 650 Holley sitting on the bench.  Boom!  Fire it up    Nice little winter project for practice for my '69 400 that will be a monster.  What do ya think?  Any ideas/suggestions?  
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1969 GTO resto in progress. '76 350+.060 365, #13 heads, 9.2:1 CR, Lunati cam, Edelbrock Performer, 750 Holley, HEI, Ram Air manifolds, 2 1/2" exhaust. TH400 trans w/shift kit.  235/60/15 front, 275/60/15 rear on Rally II 15X7s.

Unless you have dollars to burn, I would save the money and buy parts for the one that you plan to make a monster out of. If you have a specific need to throw together a cheap engine to get you back and forth to school/work, that's a different story. Just my opinion.
Steve  
A little help... 'cause we don't all have to learn the hard way!

Well, the thing is, I have 4 Pontiac engines, a '68 400, a '69 400, a '76 350, and an '80 301, and I have a plan for each.  The '69 400 will be a monster, something like your 406 build, Steve.  The '68 400 will be a low CR cruiser/driver.  The '76 350 in my GTO now will go into a Bird, maybe a TA, eventually that is.  And the little 301 will be a daily driver someday.  

I by no means have money to burn, not yet anyway, but the '68 400 will be a mild budget build.  I won't build the beast 400 until I am well out of college and have real income and some more experience and money for it.  Plus if I have to, a nice looking, running engine is worth more than a pile of greasy parts for resale.  So, I figure it's an investment in the little asset.  
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1969 GTO resto in progress. '76 350+.060 365, #13 heads, 9.2:1 CR, Lunati cam, Edelbrock Performer, 750 Holley, HEI, Ram Air manifolds, 2 1/2" exhaust. TH400 trans w/shift kit.  235/60/15 front, 275/60/15 rear on Rally II 15X7s.

current blocks on the back burner my friend, 66"389, 66"421 (with a repaired crack) used for mock up.. 65"327 chevy, el camino ss flavor, 67 283 impala blend,, *had another 283 and sold it to off set the cost for the 389 stroker, all these little trinkets have been dissassembled and hot-tanked and magged" and mothballed except the 389 which is currently under construction, my point is, the 68 400 needs to be pampered a little and saved for a rainy day when the income is comfortable and another project raises its head (and yes they do without warning, right guys?) I had a 301 in a 78 grand am and a 265 in an 80 gran prix and ran them dogs into the ground without mercy, and felt no guilt, if I ran a 68 400 until the botton end let loose i would *gulp* say, "now where can i find another"? save your ivestment for the right time and spend a ton of time deburring the lifter valley and oil drain-backs thermo clean it and bag it up brother, you'll thank me later...  
Widetrack,Superduty,Ram-Air.The chief will never die!

Good thinking 69, go one step at a time.,. that's success.
The definition of success is a progressive realization, of a worthy destination.
Keep that in mind bud.
 
When The Flag Drops,,,



The Bull Chit Stops,,,


P. Engineer, Engine Builder

Darn, maybe I am getting a little ahead of myself.  I just love tinkering with engines, but don't do body work at all.  The next step on the GTO is the body work, then the interior.  The drivetrain is pretty much sound.  I was thinking this winter I would hand it over to a body guy and start doing another engine for practice and sheer enjoyment.  I guess the right thing to do would be to drop a bunch of money in the 400, which ain't going to happen while paying for body work.  

I'll have to rethink this.  My 302 truck could really use a freshen up...  
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1969 GTO resto in progress. '76 350+.060 365, #13 heads, 9.2:1 CR, Lunati cam, Edelbrock Performer, 750 Holley, HEI, Ram Air manifolds, 2 1/2" exhaust. TH400 trans w/shift kit.  235/60/15 front, 275/60/15 rear on Rally II 15X7s.

If you're bored and need a project, I'd do the 301 since nobody will miss it if you mess it up! lol, besides it is close enough to a real PMD V8 that it will be just like building a 400 without all that unnecessary power
Steve  
A little help... 'cause we don't all have to learn the hard way!

Talking about deburring the lifter valley.



 
Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races

Thanks Pman.  Good pics.  I actually already deburred the valley years ago when I was planning on building it.  I didn't go thru with the build because my engine rebuilding professor told me it needed it bored out for sure due to rust.  That just put me over the edge.  It's a really tired old dog and I couldn't justify putting all the money into it as a 301.

I was checking out the 400 more today.  It has a little surface rust on the cylinder walls, but I bet it can be honed out.  The bores are not nearly as bad as the 301 bores.  I think I can just rering it.  The bearings look good too.  I'd probably plastigauge them to make sure, but they're prob reusable.  
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1969 GTO resto in progress. '76 350+.060 365, #13 heads, 9.2:1 CR, Lunati cam, Edelbrock Performer, 750 Holley, HEI, Ram Air manifolds, 2 1/2" exhaust. TH400 trans w/shift kit.  235/60/15 front, 275/60/15 rear on Rally II 15X7s.

Your welcome.


Nothing wrong with a N/a 301 as long as you are not looking for much power and just a dependable engine.

Post some pics of those bores.
I would buy new bearings as it is just not worth taking the chance with old bearings.
Northern is a good place to order kits from I use there kits some times and never had any problems.  
Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races

No, I agree, nothing wrong with a 301 at all.  It's just that I have two 400s in the garage...  So why build the 301 when I can build a 400 for nearly the same price.

Here are the bores.  They look worse than they really are in these pics.  You can run your finger down the surface and the copper coloration disappears.  It's surface rust that.  But, you tell me:


 
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1969 GTO resto in progress. '76 350+.060 365, #13 heads, 9.2:1 CR, Lunati cam, Edelbrock Performer, 750 Holley, HEI, Ram Air manifolds, 2 1/2" exhaust. TH400 trans w/shift kit.  235/60/15 front, 275/60/15 rear on Rally II 15X7s.

Its a little hard to tell as the pics are a little blurred but they look like there isn't any lip at the top of the cylinders.
Do you feel a lip at all at the top of the cylinders run you finger nail from the middle of the cylinder to the top if your nail catches on the top and there is a lip I would bore the block.
Looks like mostly carbon build up to me.  
Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races

Exactly.  There is a slight carbon ring at the top.  I bet I can sand the whole ring off with ease.  The 301 was so bad I had to use a ring removal tool or whatever that is.  I think I will sand off the carbon and clean and hone the cylinders and see how it looks.  
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1969 GTO resto in progress. '76 350+.060 365, #13 heads, 9.2:1 CR, Lunati cam, Edelbrock Performer, 750 Holley, HEI, Ram Air manifolds, 2 1/2" exhaust. TH400 trans w/shift kit.  235/60/15 front, 275/60/15 rear on Rally II 15X7s.

P-man!!! we must be cut from the same mold buddy!! very nice parting lines! and an excellent finish on the valley walls.. thats the way to do it folks, get your butts over to home depot, lowes or wally world on black friday and get a Dremmel tool, practice on an old water pump castiron intake etc. then carefully whizzzz away all the casting boogers on your Ponch mill, there is strength to be made to the block, less chance of casting flash winding up in your oil, and less chance of a crack beginning... nice work P-man!!! my 389 is a mirror image..  
Widetrack,Superduty,Ram-Air.The chief will never die!

Getting some carbide de-bur bits for my die grinder and going to town.  Also getting a flex hone and cleaning up the cylinder walls.  I figure, I cannot go wrong with doing those things.  Then, I can decide to preserve it, or to keep rebuilding.  
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1969 GTO resto in progress. '76 350+.060 365, #13 heads, 9.2:1 CR, Lunati cam, Edelbrock Performer, 750 Holley, HEI, Ram Air manifolds, 2 1/2" exhaust. TH400 trans w/shift kit.  235/60/15 front, 275/60/15 rear on Rally II 15X7s.