Hi Guys. Very good thread. A lot of knowledgeable people here. I did not know there was a problem with 10W40 oil. I admit I have used it frequently over the years. I have a Dodge 2.2 liter turbo engine with a quarter of a million miles on it, with a long history of using this weight of oil, among others, over the years, and you know it still does not burn any oil at all. Still a good motor. It's in my daughter's Daytona now.
Sawby4president, my friend has a tall deck truck 427 in his garage next door. I do not know if there are any plans for it, but if you want to inquire about purchasing this engine from him, I can probably get you in contact with him.
The 366 is not normally used in muscle cars because there isn't much you can do with them. You can get better power out of small blocks stroked to 383's or the other big blocks. But your idea of putting one of these in your bus has merit. It'll probably run well for you for many years.
The 305 is not normally a high performance motor. It has a small bore and a very long stroke, and the valves are badly shrouded. It makes good torque, but is a low rpm, low horsepower motor. Other than that, it's fine.
You can get them up to about 330 horsepower, but in stock form, they never made much more than about 160 to 205 hp, depending on the year.
The Chevy small block, however, is a very decent-running engine. But unless you have at least 350 cubic inches, it's hard to get enough torque to make a heavy vehicle feel good. I had a wonderful little 327 in my 68 Corvette originally, but it just didn't have enough poop to feel fast, unless I revved the snot out of it and popped the clutch. The lack of torque really frustrated me.
One thing Chevy V8's haven't done that well in is the designed rod/stroke ratio. This has resulted in a problem with connecting rods coming apart in some cases. And many hotrodders only make it worse by stroking the engines, further destroying an already mediocre rod/stroke ratio, such as the 396 small block, and the 454 small block.
There are things you can do, however, to help the strokers live. The main thing is, get the best connecting rods you can afford, and the longest you can fit in there.
Saw4by...Keep that in mind when you build your Vette's 400. I strongly suggest the 6" rods in a good forged H-beam design with ARP bolts. You'll also need to get the best flowing heads you can afford, such as AFR or Brodix. Small blocks don't breathe like the big blocks.
Your Vette will be VERY fast with the 400 in it. Torque IS the best medicine.
My 400 will someday reside in my truck with a blower on top.
