chevy 400 pistons in 360??? anyone tried it

[wheels up]

any one here tried the 400 piston in a 360 boreing it to 4.125 and bushing the rods.... if you use a flat top do the valve reliefs lie in the correct orientation.... any one here tried anything like this? or maybe justa high comp piston for the 360

[jeepsr4ever]

Many have done it but bushing the rods can be a problem. The stock rod has a .930 pin and a chevy pin is .927. You would have to bore the small end out to get a bushing to fit. Some have offset ground the crank to accept a 2.000 large end rod but the stock journal is soo wide that it will bleed oil like crazy and make for a smoking stroker (literally)

[Holeshot]

Using the SBC piston along with forged aftermarket SBC rods is do-able, I believe. I know that it is done all the time whilst using a forged 390/401 crank by turning the journals down to SBC spec.

[wheels up]

has onyone done a budget job just bushing the rods and not playing with crank or rod swaps?

[JEEPASUARUS]

I've done it, The vavle reliefs need to be cut to 18 degree if your using a cam with much lift. One engine i did i used the big summit cam and didn't have to cut reliefs at all, the engine i'm using now had to be cut, I did not bush the rods, i used amc pins and had the pistons honed out to .930 instead, then you will need to deck the block to get proper quench because the pistons are a little shorter pin height.

[wheels up]

courious how that runs... and did the current motor that you cut the reliefs on have the same summit bigger cam i take it thats the 8601 . ohh ya how much did you deck the block. we wanted to try the same combo a 8601 and a flat top piston.

[JEEPASUARUS]

The first engine has the 8601 and did have not to have the reliefs cut, TRW pistons, engine runs well, never had it to the track for times, the other engine has a 576 solid and had to cut to 18 degree and relocate intake pocket slightly and .060 deeper exhuast was fine, Speed pro pistons, but you would need to check your engine to be sure, the blocks both had to be decked about .040, different piston manufacturers have slight differences in valve pockets, so they all should be checked.
Hope this helps