454 Big Block Chevy Build

[Rat77]

Idk what they have for budget oriented aluminum heads but I’d try to fit them in a budget. Aluminum heads are lighter but more importantly will allow you run a little higher compression on pump gas.

I’m sold haha,yea I would like to run pump gas, and have good compression!!thanks for that

 

[Mark Jones]

Its the 1 1/4 valve springs with the stamped rockers.

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[Wumbo]

ill look into it, thanks a lot .

do you have a 454 too?

A couple in stands, a 468 in the truck, and building a 650 hp 496 for my Camaro.

496 has Dart Pro1 heads with Del West titanium valves.

 

[Wumbo]

Never under estimate the peanut port head, 585 HP 467 with 9.3 compression 228 @ .050 hyd cam, stamped steel rockers, performer RPM intake. Example:

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And it looks like the set above have had work...................

He really is the exception to the rule. I've read a bunch of his stuff over on the Chevelle forum. I think he is doing quite a bit of port work to get those numbers.

Most people dont jump into porting heads, and so they have to pay the people who do.

If you are paying someone to port them, why not just spend the money on a pair of aftermarket aluminum heads that will outflow them right out of the box, save weight, and handle more compression without detonation.

 

[Rat77]

There will be a casting number on top of the heads that will tell you what they are. The pistons should be attached to the rods still, and they should have a number stamped on them for where they go... it does matter if you are reusing the original stuff. If it was bored, then the original pistons wont work as it will be a 4.25" bore PLUS whatever it was bored too.. i.e bored .030 over will now have a 4.28" bore. If they just honed it, you can reuse what you have. I got a Gen VI 454 from a 1997 K2500 Suburban with 288,000 miles and had is cleaned and inspected. They had to bore it 0.020" to clean up the bores and then got new speedpro 0.020 pistons. The pistons were installed on the original rods and then the entire assembly with new harmonic balancer and OEM flywheel were balanced. The block was decked and then new bearings, gaskets, seals, water pump, pushrods, lifters, and timing set all came in to around $2200 out the door. I paid $600 for the heads to get fully rebuilt and then $140 for a custom regrind of my OEM roller cam.

Pics will help with a lot of this. Pics of the block, bores, mains, pistons, rods, whatever you have already.

here are the pistons,I didn’t know the pistons have stamped numbers on them. Are they reusable?

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[Kim Burke]

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You may be disappointed if a daily driver is the goal. You’re building a fire breathing, gas GUZZLING, oil burning, son of a bitch planning on gas under $3/gal. Better put some thought into OD trans too. You will be nickels difference in cost of an LS swap w/ better mileage and longevity. Only my opinion, from 15K miles on a rebuilt BBC (dyno’d 425hp) daily driver.

 

[Bextreme04]

here are the pistons,I didn’t know the pistons have stamped numbers on them. Are they reusable?

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Best bang for your buck would be keep the peanut port heads that appear to be reworked and in good shape, get a new cam and lifter kit for the intended use of the engine(street/strip, towing/rv, etc...), keep the rods and get new pistons that will get you the CR you want. Those old dished pistons are probably going to have you down in the 8.0-8.5:1 range max... you probably want to be in the 9.0-9.5:1 range for maximum efficiency/power without knock.

You'll need a machine shop to press the rods onto the new pistons. I would recommend you take the block, heads, and rotating assembly in to a reputable machine shop and have them check everything out. If the machine work on the block was done right and the hone is good, then you can just get new pistons to get the right compression ratio and have them mount them on the old rods and balance the whole rotating assembly with a new harmonic balancer as well. The only reason to get new heads would be if you are intending to use the motor for something other than "truck" use where you want to get high horsepower at the top of the RPM range rather than lots of torque at low RPM.

I would expect block/head inspection, new pistons, balancing, and new harmonic balancer would probably only set you back $500-$750 max... New heads are going to be $2000 and you'll still need to do all the same stuff mentioned above.

Personally I would get the motor stuff straightened out and built to get the compression ratio I want and then call up a reputable cam company to get a cam for my engine specs and intended use. Delta Camshaft can custom grind you a cam for whatever you want, comp cams and many others can sell you whatever you need right off the shelf I'm sure.

 

[Rat77]

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You may be disappointed if a daily driver is the goal. You’re building a fire breathing, gas GUZZLING, oil burning, son of a bitch planning on gas under $3/gal. Better put some thought into OD trans too. You will be nickels difference in cost of an LS swap w/ better mileage and longevity. Only my opinion, from 15K miles on a rebuilt BBC (dyno’d 425hp) daily driver.

Sweet motor, man I was looking into LS too but at the moment (budget wise) 454 is a bit cheaper and I just want this truck on the road again . what's your motor in? and any clips on the motor running ?I would like to hear it appreciate the feedback

 

[Rat77]

Best bang for your buck would be keep the peanut port heads that appear to be reworked and in good shape, get a new cam and lifter kit for the intended use of the engine(street/strip, towing/rv, etc...), keep the rods and get new pistons that will get you the CR you want. Those old dished pistons are probably going to have you down in the 8.0-8.5:1 range max... you probably want to be in the 9.0-9.5:1 range for maximum efficiency/power without knock.

You'll need a machine shop to press the rods onto the new pistons. I would recommend you take the block, heads, and rotating assembly in to a reputable machine shop and have them check everything out. If the machine work on the block was done right and the hone is good, then you can just get new pistons to get the right compression ratio and have them mount them on the old rods and balance the whole rotating assembly with a new harmonic balancer as well. The only reason to get new heads would be if you are intending to use the motor for something other than "truck" use where you want to get high horsepower at the top of the RPM range rather than lots of torque at low RPM.

I would expect block/head inspection, new pistons, balancing, and new harmonic balancer would probably only set you back $500-$750 max... New heads are going to be $2000 and you'll still need to do all the same stuff mentioned above.

Personally I would get the motor stuff straightened out and built to get the compression ratio I want and then call up a reputable cam company to get a cam for my engine specs and intended use. Delta Camshaft can custom grind you a cam for whatever you want, comp cams and many others can sell you whatever you need right off the shelf I'm sure.

got it!!! so much help now I feel like I can get started on this build! first I gotta find a good machine shop around me now!

 

[yevgenievich]

I would second the brodix heads or if stock modern, could use l29 style oval ports. Close chambers for bump in compression. 430hp, 530tq on stock gm 8.0l

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[Mark Jones]

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You may be disappointed if a daily driver is the goal. You’re building a fire breathing, gas GUZZLING, oil burning, son of a bitch planning on gas under $3/gal. Better put some thought into OD trans too. You will be nickels difference in cost of an LS swap w/ better mileage and longevity. Only my opinion, from 15K miles on a rebuilt BBC (dyno’d 425hp) daily driver.

Peanut port right there............

 

[Craig Nedrow]

Been running a motorhome 454 for almost a year. here is the build, and the parts used. Motor has all original parts, but hone, new rings and bearings as all the clearances were well within spec. It is used as a farm truck, tow trailer, haul, and yeah just for fun. It is fast enough for me, does burn outs at will, runs on crappy gas with 36 degrees of advance and does not knock or overheat. With the price of gas continually going up, and this trend will continue, it will be an issue for you down the road.
here is the build link start at post #11
https://www.gmsquarebody.com/threads/1973-k20-350-to-454-swap.29840/

 

[Kim Burke]

Sweet motor, man I was looking into LS too but at the moment (budget wise) 454 is a bit cheaper and I just want this truck on the road again . what's your motor in? and any clips on the motor running ?I would like to hear it appreciate the feedback

Just woke it up from a winter nap.

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[Rat77]

Just woke it up from a winter nap.

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But she still purrs like that tiger!!

 

[Kim Burke]

But she still purrs like that tiger!!

yeah, but it was a struggle. I’m going to have to get the choke hooked up. Arizona was a non choke environment. In fact, without a choke, startup was no problem. Indiana in the spring is a different story.