Two lane , Thank you !!!!!!! 

my gut dropped when i went and saw my mate and he presented this block to me.... all i saw was money down a drain hole !!!!

yes core shift would be an issue !!!! i hadnt thought about , and having a chunck out of the bottom will not be ideal for a ledge for the sleeve to sit against .....

the call has been made ..... i am giving the 400 block to the boss for her birthday on may 5th !!! she can grow dahlias out of all 8 pots !!! in her fancy big Dahlia garden, fitzys seen it 

frosty and Fitzy.... do you really want me to use a 1963 389 block in the 68 ? it has no meat for the starter to mount to !!! 

and i so like the look of tin indians 400 stroker kit , it half the price of the same butler one !!!

two lane .... whats your thoughts on using Dwights 389 1963 block ? 

It’s a 15h motor 

I love when y'all get all technical!  Makes me want to knock the dust of the ol brain and actually do some thinking. 

Kiwi - my thought on using the 389 was simply cost. You already own it! A 400 or better block would be nice for sure. Just being a bit pragmatic here is all. Your car, your wallet!

Ah Fitzy! Why start now? You and Kiwi have republicans to keep!

Edited March 24, 20251 yr by Frosty

50 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Kiwi - my thought on using the 389 was simply cost. You already own it! A 400 or better block would be nice for sure. Just being a bit pragmatic here is all. Your car, your wallet!

Your sounding like my boss there frosty !!

3 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Your sounding like my boss there frosty !!

Sorry mate! I will try not to let that happen again.

By all means, buy a Butler crate engine with 500-600 HP. It will bolt right in!!!! 

10 hours ago, Frosty said:

Sorry mate! I will try not to let that happen again.

By all means, buy a Butler crate engine with 500-600 HP. It will bolt right in!!!! 

Much better attitude 

Need some more help here guys ..

soooo

as a guy does … I scored a edelbrock dual  plane of the net … and I get talking to this guy from my old home town of Feilding… he’s got a 66 gto engine in bits for sale ….

a 389 xe block ….

with its factory heads ….

093 closed chamber 68 cc with 1.9 and 1.6 

is it worth considering ? 

Oh and it’s crank …

Well those heads were used on both the 389 and 421 in 1966. So the 389 was rated at 360 HP and the 421 was rated at 376 HP. Compression was 10.5:1 for the 389 and 10.75:1 for the 421. SO these are decent heads. Perhaps you will punch that 389 out to a 421 or 428?

 

Also think about how cool it would be to say you have a 421/428 in your Lemans? You could also follow Justa's example and run tri-power on it too.

6 hours ago, Frosty said:

Well those heads were used on both the 389 and 421 in 1966. So the 389 was rated at 360 HP and the 421 was rated at 376 HP. Compression was 10.5:1 for the 389 and 10.75:1 for the 421. SO these are decent heads. Perhaps you will punch that 389 out to a 421 or 428?

 

Also think about how cool it would be to say you have a 421/428 in your Lemans? You could also follow Justa's example and run tri-power on it too.

the guy wants 900 notes for the block, heads n crank. which i thought was fair considering they will need to be fully rebuilt/ bored.

I would agree with you on that mate! It sounds like a fair price to me.

Kiwi..

Four Key Questions....

1..Has the block been Over Bored or is it Standard bore..???

2..Have the Cylinder Heads ever been Cut  before..??

3..Is the Seller 100% sure that the Block and heads are Not Cracked anywhere..??

4..Have the Crankshaft Journals ever been turned down..Or are they still Standard size..??

Edited March 25, 20251 yr by TWO LANE BLACK TOP

On 3/23/2025 at 11:48 PM, Frosty said:

Two Lane - could this rough edge also result in cracking? After sonic testing I would think magnafluxing would be in order to see if there are any cracks in the block. Any cracks found would render the block useless. I think Fitzy is on to something re-using Dwight’s 389.

Yes it is very possible that the damaged edge Could Result in Residual cracking in the Block...

Yes...After Sonic testing..If the Block has met the Initial Parameters they're looking for..Then it will be Magnafluxed...If the Block Doesn't meet the Initial Parameters (after sonic testing) they're looking For.. As a Matter of Economic Viability...They will Not Proceed any farther...And Look for Another more Suitable Block... 

 

1 hour ago, TWO LANE BLACK TOP said:

Kiwi..

Four Key Questions....

1..Has the block been Over Bored or is it Standard bore..???

2..Have the Cylinder Heads ever been Cut  before..??

3..Is the Seller 100% sure that the Block and heads are Not Cracked anywhere..??

4..Have the Crankshaft Journals ever been turned down..Or are they still Standard size..??

Lookin at the crank, it needs to be cut down, ALOT, as twolane questioned, has it been turned down before?  Magnaflux would be my next move on the heads at least.  What does the cylinders look like?  Any ridge at the top?

1 hour ago, TWO LANE BLACK TOP said:

Kiwi..

Four Key Questions....

1..Has the block been Over Bored or is it Standard bore..???

2..Have the Cylinder Heads ever been Cut  before..??

3..Is the Seller 100% sure that the Block and heads are Not Cracked anywhere..??

4..Have the Crankshaft Journals ever been turned down..Or are they still Standard size..??

1 block is standard and requires boring to 40 thou

2 stock untouched heads 

3 he has offered to give me my money back if any of it is cracked and cant be used.... which is kind of him 

4 he cliams the motor is un touched, but doesnt know its history, he bought it complete with a 400 trans ... which is also for sale.... he wants $800 for it 

whats you gut feeling Two lane ? worth a go ? 

At this stage, i am writing off that dammaged 400 block, it trash 

boring a good block will be way better than having to sleeve 8 bores aye Two lane ! 

News flash !!! The machine shop says the 400 is ok !! They want to test it and then we can move to the milling stage … but 

I recon I will grab that 389 block n heads 

🍻

cheers guys we are at beach hop  I will post pics once we have removed all the beers from the fridge 🤪🍻

tomorrow 

13 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

 

cheers guys we are at beach hop  I will post pics once we have removed all the beers from the fridge 🤪🍻

I love a happy ending! 

Edited March 26, 20251 yr by Frosty

a pair of 4x 3H heads  popped up today for $250 nzd ... so what did i do 

A man can never have enough heads 

 

Edited April 8, 20251 yr by 64 kiwi boni

Up to you but you might want to grab them.

4X 3H heads were on 73-74 400s, 2.11/1.96 intake/exhaust valves, 98.21 cc chambers.

Edited April 8, 20251 yr by Frosty

7 hours ago, Frosty said:

Up to you but you might want to grab them.

4X 3H heads were on 73-74 400s, 2.11/1.96 intake/exhaust valves, 98.21 cc chambers.

i have mate 

i note they have screw in studs too !

Edited April 8, 20251 yr by 64 kiwi boni

news update !!!

the 400 block has past crack testing and the machine shop want to know what crank, rods and pistons i am using  and the will sleeve all bores back to stock 

Two lane , whats your thoughts on a 4.5 stroker kit, zero the flat tops to the deck and look at using/ modifying the 4x heads i have ? 

the machine shop will want to do the sleeving and milling all in one hit so they are going to want to have the pistons on hand before they go any further.

This is MOST Excellent News!! I always love to hear when old automotive iron avoids the scrap heap and lives to run another day!!

Rick

9 hours ago, B52bombardier1 said:

This is MOST Excellent News!! I always love to hear when old automotive iron avoids the scrap heap and lives to run another day!!

Rick

Now is the time to really talk with two lane and get a recipe for this build now we know we have a viable block !

Two lane  !