Horsepower with this setup

[Full Size Jeeper]

AMC 401 bored 30
Edelbrock heads
Comp Cams cam 10-203-4 also known as the 270H-10
10.6 to 1 compression
MSD DIST.
Holley Sniper EFI
Long tube headers
Melodon deep sump oil pan
Edelbrock Air Gap Intake

Anyone have any idea what could be expected out of this setup. I'am looking for 375 HP. but not sure if that is realistic or not. I see a few guys on here with a lot of experience building these engines. Also,DAMN THESE THINGS ARE NOT CHEAP TO BUILD.

[wiley-moeracing]

you should be in the neighborhood

[SC/397]

Page 1 (JC401) similar build with maybe a hotter cam.

http://rebsamcandjeep.proboards.com/thread/144/dyno-time

[Full Size Jeeper]

Thanks

[rang-a-stang]

Also,DAMN THESE THINGS ARE NOT CHEAP TO BUILD.

No kidding! i'm $1300 into my machine shop and haven't even dropped my heads off yet. I can only imagine what you've spent!

[Full Size Jeeper]

Here is my bill from the machine shop, I don't have a break down of what any of the services or parts cost, just a total. The only thing on the bill that i purchased was the ARP rod bolts. All other parts are included in the total.

[Full Size Jeeper]

Al is at the end of his career, he is still doing machine work, building engines and has a nice Dyno room he uses weekly. It's just him now and he does what he wants when he wants. I don't think he has a date when he will retire, but he is pushing 70 so we will see. My dad sold Al's dad SNAP-ON-TOOLS back in the seventies and I have been seeing Al at the race track since I was a ten year old kid. He moved his shop down the street from my restaurant about 19 years ago and we hit it off talking about my dad and his dad and of course racing, whenever he would eat at the restaurant.(which was 3 to 5 days a week) Glad he helped me with this engine.

[Full Size Jeeper]

Here is the total.

[wiley-moeracing]

your getting off cheap, good machine work is not cheap

[rang-a-stang]

your getting off cheap, good machine work is not cheap

Concur!!!
I am $1295 for machine work alone (clean/hot tank block, bore/hone, balance, polish, install rods on pistons, blueprint rods, ARP rod blots, install cam bearings, and freeze plugs). Notice my machine shop did not provide any hardware in that list and I am not decking my block either. I provided the cam bearings ($35), main bearings ($60), rod bearings ($80), pistons/pins/rings ($400). I also still have to buy my cam/timing set/lifters/valve springs ($335) gaskets ($50), etc. So my short will be significantly more than yours. You will have higher compression, I will be balanced and have a milder cam.

As a wise man once said: DAMN THESE THINGS ARE NOT CHEAP TO BUILD.
Then again, even if this was a small block chevy (cheapest V8 I can think of to build), it would only be, maybe $200 less.

[SC/397]

The machining costs to rebuild a engine is the same regardless of brand.
As far as parts go, to compare costs of a sbf or sbc to a AMC engine will never be accurate due to volume alone. The better comparison would to cost parts against a Pontiac or Buick engine of the same years.
I am just thankful that we can get more parts for the AMC engines now than we could 30 years ago.
BTW - I just paid my machinist $1,500.00 for all of the machine work on a 390 which is very reasonable for all of the work that he did.

[gpcl16]

If y'all think AMC engines are expensive to build, try building an International V8. I'm doing some side work and re-building a 392 for a friend right now and just picked up everything from the machine shop. Parts and labor were $3,500 . and that's not including a bunch of other parts I've needed to track down. All told this thing is gonna cost my friend about $5,200 just in parts and machine shop labor. Thats not including the labor I'm charging to R+R the engine and do the actual engine build.

I was also involved in a Buick Nailhead build many years ago working at a shop that was just insane. I think the customer spent over $10,000

On the other end of the spectrum, I built my 360 4 years ago for under $1,500, but I had access to an engine machine shop at the time and did all the machine work (bore, hone, pistons, valve grind, etc) except turning the crank myself.