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The 400 Ci Engines by the Big Three

Chrysler, Chevrolet, and ford all had variations of the 400 cu in motor. V-8 power was popular for over three generations until the gas crunch of the late 70s. At national express, we see a lot of history come through especially when shipping classic cars. Here’s a rundown on the most popular 400 cubic inch motors produced by the three American companies the pioneered them.

 

Chrysler

 

One of Chrysler’s greatest engines was the 400 cubic inch, 6.8 L V8. It was introduced in 1972. It had replaced a 383 motor that was part of the first generation Hemi line since 1958. However it still considered a beast series engine which made the bottom and about the same throughout its entire course since first coming out a 1958 and ending production in 1979. The bottom end of the engine saw a massive 4.342 bore, which happened to be the largest used in a projection V8 from Chrysler in The company’s history.This engine was also known as part of the “wedge” family of engines because of the wedge shaped combustion chambers used. The massive motor produced up to 410 hp, a monumental amount of power for this time. It was a popular motor found in the Dodge Charger Rallye.

 

General Motors

 

GM had its own version of the 400 motor but ot is considered a small block, and not a big block. Just by .1 Liters actually, if you want to be technical.

The 400 What is the largest version of the generation one small block measuring in at 6.6 L it made it Steve you in 1970 and was produced for a decade.  Shelby is 400 didn’t see the glamour the Chrysler’s did. But it was mostly a steppingstone towards making the 350 block into a 383. Tuners quickly learned The crankshaft was a perfect fit in the Chevy 350 engines and quickly became a quick way to pull some extra horsepower and cubic inches from that motor. The engine was found in many of it's popular muscle cars of the time, including the Ram Air II GTO.

 

Ford

 

Ford had created the 335 designation for their engine family which consisted of a group of motors that were produced for 13 years.  The most common variation of this motor was a 351 Cleveland.  When the 400 begin production, it was a taller version. this motor debuted put the 1971 model year it was intended to replace the 390 that was getting outdated.  The 400 was used in larger sedans and pick ups. Everybody good acceleration and more power. It was marketed as the 351 Cleveland big brother. The injury however, didn’t see much life. It had a major flaw that was never corrected. This flaw was that detonation occurred causing damage and loss of power with low octane fuel. The engine was letter de-stroked down to a 351 size but it was not the same as the Cleveland in configuration. For a while you saw it in everything from station-wagons to sedans, and the final members fo this 335 family fell out of production in 1982, last seen in the pickup line.

Carl has a decade of experience in the car shipping industry. He has worked in nearly every aspect of the transport business since 2014, taking charge of various roles in the company such as dispatching, sales, and customer service.

During those years, Carl amassed an invaluable amount of experience which has contributed to his writing of every article and and guide on NX since taking over content in 2015.