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Barnett High Performance

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
34,919
1,124
outside your house
Hey fellas...just wondering if anyone has any reviews or info about these guys. They are extreeeeeeeemely tight lipped about their stroker kits. I'm specifically talking about their 400 kit stroked to 496. I've done some digging and talked to guys, the short block alone for this kit is $5500. It's bored out .080, which makes me question the wall strength...and is probably the reason most guys say you can only get 100,000 miles out of a build. I know guys who have gotten other kits from them and they seem like greeeeeeeeeat quality and are nasty. I've talked to the guys some and have had no problems getting in contact with them and dig their customer service. However, as I said, they dodge the questions as to what all is involved in the 496 build...that is, unless of course you're a customer. So anymore info or reviews about these guys would be greatly appreciated.
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
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Nope...not kiddin at all...and that would make the stroke somewhere around 4.75". And consider the 400 is originally a 4"x4" engine. So I'm thinking it's gotta be an aftermarket block. But like I said, I can't get ANY info from them.
 

UNRULEE

^LARGE carbon footprint^
Ummm................... just have the gf buy you one and then tell us the facts Ben.YelloThumbUp

















Seriously, I have no idea how they're pulling it off.
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
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Oh yeah...good call Lee...I totally forgot about the suga mama. I'll just ask for an even 10g's for the block, heads, top end, and throw some at the tranny. She should be able to swing that...haha.
 

UNRULEE

^LARGE carbon footprint^
You know I've never actually looked at what they have to offer. Looks like some sick powerplants. But they need to offer more info. Pretty vague on the internals.

I'd take a 427m with ported aluminum heads, just need to find that extra $4400 I have laying around.
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
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Pretty vague on the internals. .

And that's what I'm getting from everybody...I haven't seen any of their extreme street stuff...so I don't know what to expect. I even know two guys who were interested in the 496, and kept sending in questions about it...but Barnett ended up blocking them.
 

UNRULEE

^LARGE carbon footprint^
You'd think in the realtivly small world of 351m400 engines some one would know something.
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
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You'd think in the realtivly small world of 351m400 engines some one would know something.


Agreed...but how many of us 335 guys are left? Much less ones that can afford a $5500 short block.
 

UNRULEE

^LARGE carbon footprint^
Agreed...but how many of us 335 guys are left? Much less ones that can afford a $5500 short block.

True, but the fact that they actually won't answer questions and WILL block you from asking is very questionable to me.

Show me one of these monster "M's" in a video and I'll believe, till then, I dunno.
 

UNRULEE

^LARGE carbon footprint^
You don't see TMI hiding anything, as a matter of fact he's proud to show off his 434, and he should be!
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
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You don't see TMI hiding anything, as a matter of fact he's proud to show off his 434, and he should be!


Very Very true...as a matter of fact, he'll post start to finish customer builds on any site he's a part of. I think I may have to shoot of an email to the folks of Barnett, and see if they will become a member and see if he'll answer questions then...just like Tim does.
 

blackhat620

You Had to be There
1,687
150
Arizona
Hey fellas...just wondering if anyone has any reviews or info about these guys. They are extreeeeeeeemely tight lipped about their stroker kits. I'm specifically talking about their 400 kit stroked to 496. I've done some digging and talked to guys, the short block alone for this kit is $5500. It's bored out .080, which makes me question the wall strength...and is probably the reason most guys say you can only get 100,000 miles out of a build. I know guys who have gotten other kits from them and they seem like greeeeeeeeeat quality and are nasty. I've talked to the guys some and have had no problems getting in contact with them and dig their customer service. However, as I said, they dodge the questions as to what all is involved in the 496 build...that is, unless of course you're a customer. So anymore info or reviews about these guys would be greatly appreciated.

Nope...not kiddin at all...and that would make the stroke somewhere around 4.75". And consider the 400 is originally a 4"x4" engine. So I'm thinking it's gotta be an aftermarket block. But like I said, I can't get ANY info from them.

Well first off why would anybody want to make a 400 (btw the factory 400 was a stroker) into a 496. There are far to many 429/460 blocks around if you want more power and these are stronger and much more plentiful.

First off it is not going to happen with any OEM block, it will take a custom manufactured block to start with. Second the largest reasonably reliable (depending on your use) 400 stroker kits are 434's with a 4.060 bore & a custom 4.20 stroke crank. There are a few custom manufactured 351C blocks that can be bored to 4.20, so in theory a custom 351M/400 block could be made to handle a 4.20 bore.

For Barnett to achieve a 496 they would need a bore of 4.335 with a 4.20 stroke crank. Don't see the possibility of a 4.75 stroke crank, it just isn't going to fit within the engine. As far as Barnett's tight lipped attitude i would not do business with them for any amount of money.

An OEM 351M/400 block should not be bored beyond .030 for reliability and if all you care about is power, but understand the shortened life span & heating problems, these engines can be bored to .060, hence the 434 kits.

IMO if you want this engine for a daily driver, then do not bore it beyond .030. If it is just going to be an off road racer, then let your wallet be your guide, but this begs the question of why not just ditch the 400 and go big block for a lot less money. Not to mention a hell of a lot of power can be made with the addition of a blower, long before you have to engineer a completely custom rotating assembly and custom manufactured block.

Sorry but the 351M/400 was just not that great of an engine to be spending $10K+ on the build up of one.
 
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LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
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Thanks for the info...that did help clear some things up. As for the 400/460 debate, everyone has their preference and likes to be different in their own little ways. Everyone goes 460...and I prefer a realm of sticking what came in these trucks. And the more I got to thinking about it, somebody not willing to offer more info on a product, just didn't endear me to them. Thanks again for the technical assistance.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
TMI's stroker crank is 4.25''....and is not bored past .040''...and mine is getting a .030 overbore and will calculate out to 433.6 CID.
.
 
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73F100Shortbed

That's how we roll!
5,937
320
NJ
Not much info for you, but I wouldn't pay $5500 for something that the company won't give you any info on. I would think they would give you as much info as possible to get you to buy one.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
Not much info for you, but I wouldn't pay $5500 for something that the company won't give you any info on. I would think they would give you as much info as possible to get you to buy one.

I agree...something is fishy.
 

TexasNomad

FTFS Designated DRINKER!
And besides from what i've seen on the TMI site, you can get better numbers out of these engines then you can out of a 460 minus the weight.
Id personally go with some thing from TMI before I would go with this joker.

Did any one see the .80 over 302 on TMIs site?
and if he wont give you any info if your going to crap out 5grand I would say F you and hang up.
 

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