have a pile of bbc that i hope to turn into an engine. i have a complete 454 with a bad block ( was run out of oil and had coolant in the oil pan) also have 396 block and bare heads that needs to be cleaned up. what direction should i take with the parts i have? how much interchange is there with the 454 parts into the 396 block? probably a simple question for a chevy guy, but i have been a long time ford guy and am looking at a big block to go into a nova now that i figured out that bbc and sbc have the same bell housing... that was a smart move for the chevy guys, oops, did i admit that...
396 stock bore is 4.094", stroke is 3.76", 454 stock bore is 4.250", stroke is 4.00" Find out what's wrong with the 454 first. Inspect carefully, get the block magnafluxed, look for spun bearings (rod and main). If it's rebuildable, that would be the way to go. The 396 block probably does not have clearance for the longer stroke without doing some grinding. The rods will interchange, so will the heads and other stuff up top. Early 396 engines used a different cam and cam bearings, the cam has a groove on the back of it, other than that most parts are the same...except the crank and pistons.
Go with the 454! Rat Motors are such pigs of motors and an iron headed BBC will add at least 200 extra lbs. exactly where it's NOT needed . . . . .over the front wheels. So make it worthwhile and go with the extra cubes. I've had every BBC combination you can imagine, including real L-88 427's and big inch 540's, but one of my favorites was a pump gas 468 (454 + .060) from a '74 Suburban that was ***embled from parts that others like to throw away . . . . . . cast iron crankshaft, 2-bolt block, 3/8 rods and oval port heads. That motor would crank out 11.40's @ 117 MPH just run, after run, after run.
If you use a 454 crank in a 396, doesnt that yield a 427 cu.in. Motor? I'm not sure, but thought I read that elsewhere.
Interesting, but pistons for that ******* combination are probably $$$$$$$$ Take the block to your local machine shop. For ~$50 they can tell you if it's good or bad.
No, but a 396 crank in a 454 will give you a 427, and that would be the ideal choice I think. Higher winding, yet big bore, so it will be the perfect BBC! And since you've got all the right parts it wont cost any special pistons or rods, crank, etc.
Alot of early 396 blocks will bore to 4.25" same as a 454 or 427 and if you have the early steel 396 crank that is lighter than a steel 427 crank you could be into a real rever for cheap
I ran a 454 in my last rod, i loved it. It was a truck motor, so not a ton of HP but it had gobs of torque! It was a EFI/smog/pos when i got it, i stripped all that and threw on a 396 intake and a Edelbrock 4bbl. Great motor. Even got decent fuel mileage, im talking close to 15mpg. The only down side is the weight. Makes steering a *****, unless your in motion.
Have the 454 checked and if it's good go with it..... There is no subs***ution for cubic inches.......
started to tear into the 454 today... # 6 piston grenaded... piston in several pieces same for connecting rod... # 7 piston pretty unhappy... proximity is a *****... lots of popped lifters and bent pushrods... cam is in a couple pieces... i guess oil is pretty important for engine life, damn those plastic oil lines... or i guess thanks because i got the engine for letting dude borrow a shop crane and engine stand... so, now i am down to taking the block to the engine guy to see if there is anything he can do for it. if not, then i will look at what to do with the 396 block...
From personal experience I would not do this. Even an early 396 block will not safely take a .125 overbore.
find a regular wood pencil, see if it fits between the water jackets (take out one of the center, side freeze plugs to do this). If it fits, don't try to bore it to 4.25"
I like the 427 idea myself.. Large port heads and a performer rpm intake with a 850 Holley should make it scream..
The problem with the 427 idea is that the condition of the two engines is backwards for it...from what I can tell, he has a bare 396 block with no crank, and a broke 454 block.
I wouldn't bore a 396 to 427 specs, even if it will allow it. Going that far will create issues with overheating, and although it might be OK for a drag car, you don't need the headache on a street car. I've got a friend who went .060" on a 396 years ago, and has probably 60,000 miles on it today with no issues. .060 will put you around 410-415 CI I believe and that would be a good option if the 454 block is toast.
The only problem with putting the 454 crank in the 396 block would be matching up the rods and pistons. Nothing astronomical, I think the 454 rods with some custom pistons might do the trick. Stock bore 396 with a 4" stroke crank = 421.2 CUI 0.030 bore 396 with a 4" stroke crank = 427.4 CUI Could be a torquey sob if done right. I think the cost of the pistons would kill your budget however. The late 80's Chevy trucks, mostly the 454SS trucks had very good blocks and a high percentage of them are four bolt mains. If you were to build a high RPM screamer or a nutso turbo or blower motor, these are great places to start.
-------------------- Yeah, but you'd need custom pistons to make it work. If worse comes to worse and the 454 block is boned, it'd be far cheaper to get another 4.250-inch bore 427 or 454 block than it would be to buy special pistons to use the 454 crank in a 396 block. Mart3406 ====================
All the 396 blocks I've owned were pre-eyebrowed at the factory. And they used the same heads on the 396 and 454, both large and small valve styles.
If you have rectangle port heads, go with the big bore short stroke 427+ combo. I run a 479 (4.500 X 3.76 with 6.500 rods) in my race car and it is a wonderfully flexible combo. Still has gobs of torque and will rev past 7000 all day with good valve springs. I've spun it 7800 with no ill effects. If you've got a few bucks, go to a +.250 long (6.385") rod combo. You can run less ignition timing and free up even more torque.
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