I just found out the motor in my new project is not quite what the seller said it was. Long story short, he just stuck in a stock 454 and hooked it up to sell. Here is the scoop. GM LE-8 Series Build date Jan 8, 1980 454ci 225hp Here are the mods so far. Edelbrock Performer intake Holley Street Avenger Carb (780cfm?) No belt drive, electric closed loop cooling system Fender well headers MSD 7AL2 CDI/MS box using the stock HEI Mag pickup Holley Black electric fuel pump 5.28 gears in a 9" I only want a mild motor for mostly street use but dont want to embarrass myself on Nostalgia Drag weekends. What kind of HP do you guys think I am making at the moment? Can this motor be built (cam etc.) or should I just ditch the block and throw in a bigger base HP longblock?
I didnt really see any power adders there... I would say 250-275hp... But with that rear end it will feel like a whole lot from a dig... And top speed will be fairly low... If you decide you wanna get rid of it, let me know, Im building a car hauler and it would be nice for it.
Whats it gonna take to get to 300hp? Would a cam swap do it if I got it custom ground to spec? I know the "peanut" heads are whats holding the motor back but its a driver so I dont want to take the motor down to the short block just yet. Maybe a full build in a year or so. I know if I tear it down, with a newborn in the house, I may never get it back together!
I would say the right cam would make that motor perfect for what you wanna do with it... I personally would do a head swap/ valve work, head swaps arent that big of a deal...
L-88 type cam will wake up the motor small or big port heads. early big valve heads with small chambers will help, but hurt your pocket.
the peanut heads give you more pulling power down low but limit your higher rpm breathing ( about 4500-4750 tops ) . and the 5:29 gears , I hope your running a 32" or taller tire , as we would trap 125 @7200 with them in the 1/4 so your looking about 90 mph @5000 late model 7.4 vortech head s bump the compression and the air flow up but are now kind of hard to find .
That stock short block can easily take 400-425HP. Find some "swap meet" oval port heads with the pre-smog open chambers, keep the cam around .525 lift give or take, duration in the 220s @ .050, dial in the jetting to max it out with what you already have. That should net an easy and respectable 400+ HP. You want to keep RPMs to no more than 6K and not a steady diet of it at that. Drop the gear to 4.10 or limit your track passes to 1/8mi runs.
Race it as it is. You will not embarrass yourself. You stated driver, do you mean street car or that it's together and racing? I would swap the rear gears to 4:10 - 3:70 range especially if it sees street time. The good thing with the small heads is that it will not over rev. The more rpm the more chance it will break. With a little one in the house there is always a money shortage. Remember most drag racing is bracket. You need to be consistent.
I think those really deep gears are going to be more of a drawback than an advantage. Your motor, with the stock cam, is going to top out at about 4500, maybe 5,000 rpms. You are going to run out of motor before you get to the end of the track. That cam is going to hold you back. I would put some 4.10's to 4.30's in there, put in a good hydraulic cam, get some different heads to get the compression up a little, and then you will have a better running motor. You have the cubes, now you just need the rpms and compression. What convertor are you running ? A loose one will allow you to get the rpms up a little on launch and get you moving faster. Don
Great info guys. The car was set up for 1/8 mile with a 427 revving to 6k rpm. The only street use it will see will be local (under 50mph) and trailered to the track. Good to know the block is salvagable and I will stick k with the heads for now. Lets hear those cam suggestions! Don, no converter, Muncie M22 (close ratio). Need a new clutch also...suggestions?
Mcloed on the clutch, generally. Though if you want to save some money get a "Zoom" clutch set. I've got on in my 429 OT Mustang, set up with 5.13's and a toploader. Hasn't given me any trouble at all. Mike
Don't write off those peanut port heads. John Longenfelter used to build 502's in the 90's with those heads that made unreal torque! The secret is to have a competent head porter port the intake runners to match a standard passenger car oval port intake gasket,add larger valves,and have a blast. The machine work will cost you a bit,but in my opinion they would work really well when done up with the mods I described. With a more aggressive intake,a cam with about 240 degree duration @.050" lift,that thing should really stomp! Scott Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I ran a .60 over 454 with Merlin Oval Port heads, which made 10.5:1 compression and a Comp Cams 280H which was supposedly 500 hp from Speedomotive. However, I ran a 6 speed with a 3:27 first gear and 3:42's in the rear.
I called the original builder of the car and he suggested that if I was happy with the street performance of the car, take the easy way out and throw a 100 shot on it for the track. That would be the easiest route.
100 shot minimum. That mill should be able to easily handle a 150-175 shot with good gas and the timing backed off to manage it. 200hp shot wouldn't be unreasonable if it's set up right. Definitely change that gear, though. You've got WAY too much gear. On nitrous, a 3.91 gear might be just the ticket depending on tire size. All motor, you'd probably be best in the 4.10 range-rick
Comp cams 280h cam, with 1973(or so) 049 heads, an edlbrock performer and an 850 holley will yield about 415 horsepower, go with the bigger valves and some porting, and you can gain another 15-20. Hot Rod did this build in 1989. There is a lot of new technology to gain more horsepower, and enough "how to build a big block Chevy" articles in just about any car magazine to find a cheap combo that works." A good low end motor won't need the low rear gears, and a set of 3.23's to 3.73's will help mph if your not spinning so high.
Picked up an NX wet kit last night with purge valve and 100hp jets. Going to have to drill and tap a carb spacer to get the Shark nozzle up away from the plenum divider.
Well! not an L88 profile, but I have a 280/290 dur 501/527 lift Lunati on the way and a gear drive on hand. Need to pull the clutch and get a Zoom on order. organic or Kevlar?
Spoke with one of the all time engine greats, Joe Mondello, decades ago about nitrous. He told me it was a great way to add power without worrying about valve sizes, porting, cam specs, etc etc. Just fill the bottle, have fun, repeat. Great advice. I installed a 125 horse cheater system from NOS on a small block ford, and I am telling you he was right. There is no better bang for the buck. "If at first you don't succeed, you're not Chuck Norris"
The Jalopy Journal
