Ford 400 performance

what is the best performance setup for a ford 400 ?

That depends on how the motor is going to be used. The 400 is basically a smog era pulling motor.

the motor is going to be used in a 4x4 winter driving truck/mud truck.

Then you’re wanting torque, you might check truck forums see what folks use there.

my friend has the same motor in his truck and I believe he has an edelbrock performer intake and 650 holley 4bbl carb. not sure what other mod he has on it.

The 400 would be acceptable for that type of use. The intake and carb helps a bit but if you’re looking for more of a kick in the engine then you start getting into the camshaft and cylinder head work part of things. This means larger valves, porting, and of course - money.

If you want some good info on Ford engines then I suggest buying a copy of “How To Build Max Peformance Ford Engines On A Budget” by George Reid. It’s published by cartechbooks.com and is well worth the 20 or so dollars price tag.
It’s very cleanly written, great specification charts, many clear detailed pics, etc.

The 400 is one engine they don’t really dwell on very much though as it’s not a popular engine for modifying. The book may give you some ideas though.

Piece of crap for mdos…forget it unless you have forever and want to do nothing else but chase drivabilty problems.

The 351M/400M are best used a boat anchors. They had the uncanny ability to combine small block power and big block fuel economy. With that said the 400M can be made into a respectable torque monster with some moderate head work, a slighter hotter cam, and an aftermarket intake manifold. The problem is that you can build a 351W or 460 for less money that will outperform it in every way.

the motor is for more of a mud toy than a winter drivin’ truck really. and I don’t have any other motors layin’ around and I ain’t got alot of money either. thats why the motor is coming from a scrap yard truck.