[johnsma22]

First of all, to the board. I went with the 87cc E-heads for my 400 project only because I plan on swapping all my goodies onto a 455 next year. 72cc heads would not be a good idea on a 455 for the street on pump gas. However, if you are planning on staying with your 400, you can, and should go with the 72cc E-heads. They will yield a CR of about 10:1 or so, depending on whether you have the block bored or zero decked. The aluminum heads allow you to run a higher CR than iron heads, due to aluminums ability to shed heat more quickly than cast iron. Also, I bought my heads bare and had my builder select and install the proper valves, seals and springs specifically for my application. They were also ported. You don't nesessarily have to go that route. The E-heads are quite good right out of the box.

On the subject of cams, there are varied opinions as to brand and grinds here. I have never heard anything bad about Edelbrocks cams, in fact, I have not really heard anything at all about Edelbrocks cams! That speaks volumes in and of itself. I run a custom ground Comp Cams hydraulic roller. It was a little on the expensive side but it was worth it to me. It was recommended to me by my builder for my application. 224/230 @ .050" duration .525"/.565" lift with 1.5 ratio Harland sharp roller rockers. A duration and lift somewhere in that ball park would be good for your E-headed 400. I'm sure you will get some more info and suggestions on cams from others more knowledgable than myself, but the numbers should be pretty close to what I have.

I also run a port matched Edelbrock Performer RPM manifold on my 400 with a 750 Speed Demon carb w/ manual secondaries. A lot of guys here love the factory Q-jet. A properly prepared Q-jet, from what I hear, is pretty hard to beat, in the performance and economy department. I already had bought my Demon when I learned this fact, so I decided just to run with the Demon for now. It runs real strong with no hesitations or bogs whatsoever. I don't really have that much experience with carbs, so again, others more knowledgable that I will chime in and help you out. Do a search for Cliff Ruggles, he is the resident Q-jet guru around here and could build you a Q-jet that would perfectly match your needs. From what I have read, he is a great guy and you would not be sorry.

One thing I can tell you about carbs is that the Edelbrock AFB clones are not too well thought of here. From personal experience, I hated mine. I had several good carb tuners try with out success to get it to run right throughout the entire rpm range. It seemed like if we got it dialed in for a good idle, acceleration and WOT suffered and when we got it to run well at WOT it would not idle properly. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think so.

As far as the Dougs headers go, I don't think you can go wrong with that choice. I chose to run H.O Ram Air manifolds due to problems associated with fitment on 2nd gen 4 speed firebirds. I don't feel that I gave up a whole lot doing so though. I don't think you will have fitment issues with headers on your GTO.

So the moral of my LONGWINDED story, and I think most would agree, is to not put all your eggs in one Edelbrock basket. Take your time, ask some more questions and spend your money wisely, the first time.

You have definitely come to right place. There are more knowledgable, passionate, Pontiac fanatics here than anywhere else on the planet. Good luck and have fun with this! Like the above post says, shop around for some good Pontiac shops. Here is a link to Butler Performance, one of the best. http://www.jbp-pontiac.com/services.html
They are a great bunch of guys and will gladly take the time to answer all your questions.


Also here is a link to my website so you can hear what your 400 might just wound like when you are done! Take a listen also to the video titled "old motor", it is what my stock 400 sounded like before the rebuild.
http://homepage.mac.com/johnsma22/iMovieTheater33.html

John