early 80's Chevy 454 how much horsepower? Is this a good deal?

Hi there guys, I got a run on a complete running chevy 454 with a brand new turbo 400 trans for $740.

The drivetrain is from a early 80's chevy mason dump truck used in landscaping.

Anyone happen to know how much horsepower these things put out?
and does this seem like a decent deal?

Looking at putting it in my 64 belair, (the only other motor i have avalible would be a 62' 283)

Thanks for your help!
Jason

 

First, is it a standard or tall deck? My guess is that 2 1/2 ton and heavier trucks had the tall deck. Second, Truck heads had the restrictive "peanut ports". Use these as a door stop. If it's a standard-deck 454 and the trans is indeed fresh then try to talk him down a little.

 

In the Southland..........

standard deck height 454's bring over $500...........just for cores.
All the drag racers have depleted the supply......
The 400 Turbo is worth $100 and up......

Tall deck BBC have 440 thousands ( .440 ) higher deck..............to make room for the extra oil control ring on the piston. Look at the distance between the top of the block and the water pump........it is easily seen..........if you look .....or have a standard deck block to compare to.

Randy

 

Cool, thanks for all your help guys, are the tall decks (if this is one that is) any less desirable then a shirt deck? if so why?

I figure i can just clean and paint this motor up and dump it in the car as is becuase it runs good and i need nothing and then find better heads later down the road and stuff. Vs the 283 i have access to that i need to get a carb,intake, cam etc etc for...

So what are we looking at for stock horsepower on one of these? about 250?
i figure its a good start and a better choice for a big belair!

Thanks,
Jason

 

that would be a good buy where i live. but i would make sure it's not a 366.

 

Cubic inches is cubic inches.It would be a whole lot more tourque,and HP,than a 283. Might have to beef up the suspension. It would make me happy. Sparky

 

i definitly wont have to lower the front end,

 

If the engine is a tall deck, you may find yourself with some hood to air cleaner clearance issues. The standard deck BBC in my '61 wagon is a tight fit, as is.

 

the big truck tall deck engines (366 and 427) are not what you want for a car, a quick way to spot one is the double thermostat.

If it's a 454, and you can hear it run and it's not smoking or rattling, then it's probably worth the $$$.

Post some numbers (cast and stamped on the block) from the engine if you can....

Even the peanut port truck motors really wake up with just a cam and headers.

 

I'm pretty sure that the tall deck big-blocks were .400" taller than the standard decks.

10.2" as compared to 9.8".

 

i have a bowtie tall deck block in my vette with a stroker crank makes tons of power but it was big money to build.

 

i always heard that late model 454's were turds. i have only driven one in a dually and it wouldnt pull a greasy string from a cats ****. i think it was a thing more or less that they had to tune them down in order to meet emissions. i would think at least a cam would be in order. but you have to wonder, how good of a shape do you see most companies keep their fleet/service vehicles in? not many ive seen.

but then again ive always been a dodge guy so i might be biased.

 

I have a 1980 chevy dually crew with a 454 what a dog it is doing all it can my plan is get me a 3/4 ton 67-72 long bed pu and put the engine and trans in it free of smog in calif. and then since it has an edelbrock intake and rv cam get some good breathing heads and since my boy start work today at a muffler shop get some header and free flowing exhaust. First things first go to find a cheap long be 3/4 ton pu. Any other suggestion on increasing performance would be great. the engine now has about 55,000 mostly hard working miles. Ed ke6bnl

 

A new TH 400 might be worth that by itself, but with the 454 i think thats a good deal. I may be wrong, but I beleive the block is the same as the 454's used in the early 70's. With a proper buildup you could have a real fire breather on your hands.

 

a stock short deck with small port heads, headers and a decent intake is probably only gonna put out 320-350 hp but will have close to 500 ft-lbs of torque. a lot more grunt than a 283

of course if you wanna build it up the sky is the limit. 450-500 streetable horsepower is only $1500-2000 away once you got a good core to work with