400 block
 

Don't be to scared of that 2 bolt 400 block. I ran them in bracket cars and nitrous street cars for years with no problems the last one I had was a studed 2 bolt block with splayed caps ,filled to the freeze plugs . That motor was .040 over with a reworked stock 400 crank, aluminum rods ,14-1 ross pistons .227 afr heads, and a 2 5/16 hilborn stack injector on alcohol .
I ran 8.0 @160 with that motor in my 235" dragster and that motor went to 8600rpm on the burnout every pass with no problems to the block or crank.

CJ,

Your goal are reasonable. The 400 will be ok.
Much of the stuff I build is for guys wanting much more!

Enjoy the ride and have fun. Invest in the cooling system like Brian suggested sometimes a 400 is a little tough to cool. Make sure you heads have steam holes it will help a street driven car stay cooler.

I want to thank everyone for your time and expert help, great bunch of guys thanks Cj

We machine a lot of blocks in our HAAS 4 Axis machining center and we have seen many problems with the 400 blocks with there thin decks thin webbing and with the big main line and big cylinders makes the webbing weaker the the 350 block and the bigger bores make for a weaker deck then the 350 block as well.

We have gotten far more emails and calls with problems with the 400 blocks.

Any block that comes through our shop is sonic tested and we have seen a few 400 blocks that were not safe for a high horse power application and we have a virgin 400 block that is cracked from the cam tunnel down to the mains.

Don't get me wrong we have machined a few 400 blocks and some have worked out well and some have failed or have developed cracks after a season of running.

you want the 509 casted block is the best...dont buy all the hype about the 400 blocks., they will work fine if properly prepared..ive ran them for years with no failures due to the block