Thread: 400 sbc build

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Hello Garrett, my name's Richard. I figure that you're probably 19 years old and this is your first foray into hot rodding an automobile. You are at a place in life where all of us on these forums have been before. Some of us were able to finish our firstborn and move on to other projects, while others of us failed somewhere along the way and relegated the project to sit out beside the shed to rust away into oblivion.

There are some main points that will make or break the project, such as money, time, a place to perform work, tools to perform work, continued interest in the project and sticking to the original plan as closely as possible. You will need to make certain that you will continue to want your name on the title of this Camaro and not foresake it for another, sexier model down the road. So, in that vein, you will want to also make sure that what you're starting with is a solid piece, rust-free and never having been in an accident. Drive the car around to several auto body shops, they can tell you pretty quickly if the car has been hit or not, and whether or not it is suffering from terminal cancer (rust). Also, have them identify whether or not it is a "flood" car. Pay 'em a few bucks to look at it.

If you'll tell me the state where you live, so I can look up the elevation of Lakeview, we'll continue.....Also, I'll need to know what fuel is available in your area. What's the highest octane rating at the pump? Do you have E85 available?
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Originally Posted by techinspector1

Hello Garrett, my name's Richard. I figure that you're probably 19 years old and this is your first foray into hot rodding an automobile. You are at a place in life where all of us on these forums have been before. Some of us were able to finish our firstborn and move on to other projects, while others of us failed somewhere along the way and relegated the project to sit out beside the shed to rust away into oblivion.

There are some main points that will make or break the project, such as money, time, a place to perform work, tools to perform work, continued interest in the project and sticking to the original plan as closely as possible. You will need to make certain that you will continue to want your name on the title of this Camaro and not foresake it for another, sexier model down the road. So, in that vein, you will want to also make sure that what you're starting with is a solid piece, rust-free and never having been in an accident. Drive the car around to several auto body shops, they can tell you pretty quickly if the car has been hit or not, and whether or not it is suffering from terminal cancer (rust). Also, have them identify whether or not it is a "flood" car. Pay 'em a few bucks to look at it.

If you'll tell me the state where you live, so I can look up the elevation of Lakeview, we'll continue.....Also, I'll need to know what fuel is available in your area. What's the highest octane rating at the pump? Do you have E85 available?
.

This car is super solid, no rust anywhere besides a small bit forming on the rear fender, which will be taken care of as soon as it comes out of storage this spring/summer, it was originally from Missouri (ran a title check) and came to buffalo around 2009, where the former owners had it since, and kept it in a garage every winter. This car is my low budget dream car, so I plan on having it for a very very long time, I have tons of ideas for the car, and just recently was able to save some money and have those ideas within reach. I plan on doing most of the work my self, in my garage, ive torn apart small block chevys before so I have a good understanding on the ins and outs of a stock sbc. But I am no expert so thats why I am on here. And 93 octane is the most common, I run it in my camaro (it pings if I run anything lower) and also in my Focus ST (turbocharged, more power with the higher octane). E85 is also around but is not very common, but I would be open to doing an E85 build if it had a significant gain in power over a 93 oct build.