I'm starting to build a 55 chevy p/u, and was planning on putting a big block in it. What do you guys think about a running 88 suburban w/ a 454 and a th400 for $800. I would have to take the whole thing and pull out what I think I may need. Any advice would be appreciated.
$800 for a running big block w/ 400 turbo is a killer deal!...plus, you have parts left over to resell, why haven't you bought it yet?! An '88 will have fuel injection on it....
Doesn't sound like a bad deal to me... They don't make a whole lot of power but I don't know what your after... The TBI is easy to hook up or you can throw an intake and carb on it if you wanted.
Just learned about it 20 mins ago. Sounded like a great deal to me too. Plus, the 55 I am building is in a million pieces and I know there will probably be a lot of stuff on the suburban I can use, i.e. radiator, wiring, condensor, evap, power steering pump and box....Thanks for the $.02, just thought I'd run it by my feloow HAMBers before I bought it.
Just looking to get something in there to get it moving, then I can start tweeking it from there. It will be a good base to start from.
C10, Any thing about that year motor that would be a reason not to use it? If I changed the heads and intake, would it be something that put out dome good power? Any one else have any input to shy form this year 454?
They made 245 hp stock... With a good top end you should be able to make some power... They were know for piston slap when started cold.. Take a listen if it runs and make sure its not too bad... I don't think your gonna get hurt for $800.00...
It will work well if diong a head swap. Then you might want to do a small cam upgrade. Not huge compression, but the heads and cam are what keeps the hp so low.
Great engine but low low low compression. Best bang for your buck would be a super conservative rear gear and let torque do the talking.
My '91 3/4 ton has one, absolutely sweet motor, moves that 5000# bitch around fine, mine has an O.D., but that th400 was bullet proof.
sounds like a solid swap. we were gonna do the same swap on a buddies 63 impala wagon. price is right. is it 4x4? you can always part out the rest of the 'burb too.
The pistons are so dished you really need to change pistons if reasonable compression is what you're after. The stock heads, despite being "small" are quite huge and will support more power than street tires will hold. That's the catch 22 of these engines. Great for what they are, but if you want much more than a mild cam, intake & hedders then you really gotta take the whole damn thing apart for pistons, thus ruining the budget angle of a good runner. good luck
Those motors are good for 300+ thousand if taken care of. I've got the 350/700R4 out of an '89 going into my Dubble A, so yeah... you can get decent power stock, and decent fuel economy as well. $800? Where is it....
Lots of stuff you can part out of one of these, too, especially a southwestern solid truck (trust me, I own a rusty northeastern truck), PM me if you want an idea what you can sell off it.
i could only dream of a deal like that comin my way! do it and do yourself a favor if your not tryin to stay within the rules on the truck give it some ifs. i did the camaro clip with mine. everyone tells me "you surely wont be sorry."
Shifty--I don't recall the pistons in my '87 ro be so dished. Of course it was a quicky rebuild in the middle of the winter a few years back, so my memory could be clouded. I was just in a rush to get the truck back on the road. The only thing that sticks out in my memory is breaking a headbolt on assembly the night before Christmas Eve. That put me a few days behind...
Ah, you guys are talking my language. Thanks for all the good advice and info. As luck would have it, someone has already swapped out the front "sub-frame" for one with IFS. I'm not sure what it came off of, but it is similar to the front suspension on my 57 Bel Air. Not a big suspension guru. My 55 needs a complete power train anyway. I was gonna go with a SBC just to get it on the road, and my plan was to go with a BBC anyway. For the price I thought I'd just put the BBC in now. Like I have said earlier, I knew I;d get some good criticism and advice from my fellow HAMBers. I'll post some pics of the IFS and see if anyone can clue me in on what it may have come off of. Thanks everyone
Buy it, swap out the cam and call JET or Street & Performance to get it tweeked. The compression is low enough that you could put a SC on it and get another 50% power easy.
These motors work great. The lower power is due especially to the head design and yes,,,low compression. The biggest drawback of the tbi heads are the runners. They have very small chambers and a hump in them to create torque. I have raced TBI motors for years and have had a great time working with them. The original ECM cant handle a much more than 325 hp. I believe that a couple companies like Howell injections can recurve the factory ecm for more capability but for the few improvements it takes to get the motor there 325hp isn't too bad. You will probably need to get ahold of them or Turbo City to get the computer to run stand alone anyway. Either one of these companies can answer anything you can throw at them reguarding the swap. I vote very much yes. It'll make for very smooth power.
The Throttle bodies on the 454's were bigger than the 350's and are hard to find in the scrap yards. If you decide not to keep the electronics, very carefully remove the factory wiring harness and ECM. Do not cut any harness wires. Unbolt the ground lugs on the harness. Grab the Fuel Pump Harness. The ECM is behind the clove box. Save all the electronic modules also. You will be amazed at how much the TBI, ECM and harness will bring. The Turbo 400 has an electronic speed pick up so save this harness also. You can pull the magnectic pick up gear and replace it with a plastic worm type for mechcanical speedo. Good Luck with your project. Sounds like a great deal.
Right on power58!! I most likely will not keep the electronics, and will go with an intake and carb. It looks like not only am I gonna get a motor and trans for my project, but I might be able to make most of the $ back by selling a few things. Thanks for the info.
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