Big Block Chevy guys! I have some questions??

I've got a 454 on the stand I bought and have never heard run...361959 block, 781 heads with roller rockers, edelbrock streemaster 2-0 intake
how can I determine what cam is in it? shouldnt there be part #'s on the end of the cam?
is this intake any good for a street engine? (going to put the engine in my ot '65 SS Impala)

 

There still has not been an explanation on the different generation blocks and what differences you can find between them.

 

There are big differences in the size, shape, and location of the core holes in the big-block's deck surfaces. Mark IV blocks have round holes between the cylinders; GEN V and GEN VI production blocks have irregularly shaped holes and additional openings ahead of the front cylinders. If you bolt Mark IV cylinder heads onto a GEN V block, there's a chance that the coolant will leak into the lifter valley. There is not enough material on the deck to seal the early-model heads properly.
The lifter bosses in GEN V & VI blocks are taller than the bosses in earlier versions. The GEN V & VI bosses are machined flat on top for the guides used with roller lifters.
Mark IV blocks have a mounting boss for a mechanical fuel pump. Gen V's don't, GEN VI H.O. 454 and L19 replacement blocks do.
GEN V and GEN VI blocks have rigid cast-aluminum rocker covers that resist oil leaks more effectively than the stamped-steel covers on Mark IV engines. GEN VI big-blocks use a cast-aluminum front cover with an integral pointer in place of the stamped-steel cover found on Mark IV and GEN V engines. The cast cover uses an O-ring seal instead of a gasket.
The oil-filter pad on a Mark IV block (left) is recessed from the oil-pan rail. The filter pad on GEN V and GEN VI blocks (right) is flush, and the pan rail has threaded holes for oil-cooler lines.
The biggest difference between Mark IV and GEN V-VI big-blocks is the rear crankshaft seal. The Mark IV uses a two-piece seal, the switch to a one-piece seal in the 1991 GEN V big-block required major changes in the rear main-bearing cap, crankshaft, oil pump, oil pan, and flywheel, so none of those parts interchange as well.

 

Thanks!!!!!!!

 

So for the sake of simplicity of me wanting to have a hyd roller cam and Automatic O/D trans, it would probably be the best to find a 97-99 3/4 ton truck/suburban engine and trans from a wrecking yard. That being said could I buy a regular BBC 4 barrel manifold and bolt it on?

 

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Here is a article Hot Rod magazine did on camshafts.It is interesting with a lot of good info if you are running a flat tappet cam...

Steve

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engine/flat_tappet_cam_tech/oil_summary.html

 

Those engines will have the "peanut" ports as described earlier. Though a regular oval port intake will physically bolt on, the port mismatch is fairly severe. So far as I know, the only aftermarket "peanut" port intake manifold that is currently available is the Weiand 8122.

You could also use a truck intake from about '73 on, keeping in mind that A) it will have the spreadbore flange for a Quadrajet, and B) the rpm range is from idle to about 3000-3200. It will be very difficult to make 400 hp with it, although it will make a lot of torque.

 

What if I got some aftermarket oval port heads (procomp) would I then be able to use a regular oval port intakes.

 

HOT ROD (or was it car Craft) just did an article a month or two ago on a budget Big Block build up using the Peanut port heads and a regular manifold and made over 500 HP (IIRC) and stated that the peanut heads can make good torque for a street motor. It's worth reading

 

Yes, with the usual checking/port matching etc.

Disclaimer- I am totally opposed to using Pro Comp parts in any application whatever, due to their business practices and poor quality control...so I am biased.

That out of the way...

1) If you choose Pro Comp heads, I would opt for bare castings and have a reputable machine shop install valves, retainers, springs, and locks of your choice, with their valve job. The parts that Pro Comp uses are of questionable quality- I've seen this with my own eyes and have other evidence from other builders. As one acquaintance says, don't trust anything of theirs in your engine if it actually moves.

1a) You may very well find that, by the time you do this, that the cost of the Pro Comp heads and the ***orted pieces/machine work will approach or equal the cost of heads from Edelbrock or Trick Flow. You may also find that, unless you have the Pro Comps ported by a decent cylinder head guy, that the Trick Flows and certain Edelbrock heads, in "as-cast" form, will significantly outperform the Pro Comps.

Note: I mentioned those two brands because they make certain heads that are aimed at the same market/level as Pro Comp heads. There are others, like Brodix, that do as well, but their heads are somewhat higher in cost.

2) Whichever head you choose, make certain that it will work with Mk. IV, Gen V & MK VI blocks. Most aftermarket castings will, but certain early ones may not. As someone noted earlier, there are major cooling p***age differences between the block designs. There have been various work-arounds to solve the mismatches...special bushings, gaskets, etc. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't...depends on casting shift & machine work. Note also that Bow Tie blocks have some quirks as well, in case you run across one.

3) You will undoubtedly get references from others who say their Pro Comp BBC heads work great. My response is simply this: I'm glad for them (no sarcasm intended). They are a viable choice in some cases...as another engine builder says, they work well for street rods (polished) or cases where the owner wants aluminum heads just to say he has aluminum heads. From a strictly performance standpoint (that is, performance with reliability), they are rarely the best choice, dollar for dollar.

 

Lingenfelter made 600 hp with peanut ports, some years back, though they had to do some major work to get there. Depending on the build, they are a quite viable choice. I wouldn't discard them. I've seen attempts to "perfectly" match them to a std. oval port manifold, though, and it's a helluva lot of material to remove. Whether the mismatch is a real issue or not is a case-by-case thing, I think, and sometimes it wouldn't really be a serious problem.

 

Squirrel---real close to the recipe we used on my .060 over 454. Very streetable.

 

There are some nice heads from Edelbrock lately. I was thumbing through their new catalog the otherday. I was only looking at those procomps because they are dirt cheap and I have all the machines to set them up on my own. No doubt I would rather buy edelbrock if I could afford them.

 

Do a google before you buy Pro Comp heads ...

 

Im not buying anything yet. Just learning.

 

It is difficult to get over .500 lift on a flat tappet cam without increasing the duration or overlap because the ramp angle of the lobes is too steep.
The peanut and oval port heads have smaller valves than the rectangular port heads[ 2.06" intake & 1.72 exhaust].

Mk 4 blocks [ sometimes called Gen IV ] are the standard 60's and 70's block with 2 piece rear main seal, The Gen V block has a 1 piece rear main so the crank is also different

If you wanted to build a killer stump pulling steetable engine keep the peanut ports, but get a machine shop to "throat" the heads and install 2.19" intake & 1.88" exhaust valves [ make sure the do a good valve seat job ]
Get the highest lift but shortest duration cam available [ a roller of about the 230-240 @ 050 range]
The ports don't really start flowing until the valve is 050" off the seat [ thats why the large valves,and seat job help ], with a high lift cam the max lift is only for a very short period so you want the head to flow from .050 open to .050 closed [ the peanut ports have good air velocity ]
The most difficult problem with peanut ports is manifold selection [ I have epoxied inserts into manifolds before and port matched them, the inserts cannot physically fall into the port ] the carb should be 750 CFM minimum

You should easily get 550 ft/lbs @ approx 3500-3800 doing this [ thats 370-400hp in that range ] with peanut ports the torque will drop off quickly after 5500 RPM [ 450 ft/lbs @ 5500 is still 471HP ]

note: I build a similar style engine with L88 heads [ welding up the ports to make them smaller, but using 2.30"intake valves ] I used a 254 @ .050 solid roller cam, stock GM alloy intake [ L88 ] and a 1000 CFM holley
Torque was 659 ft/lbs at 3600 but stayed flat [ish] to about 6000 RPM [ 535 ft/lbs and 612 HP @ 6000 ] The motor was as "flat as a turd" after 7000 RPM
This was used in a Vintage Road-Racing Corvette where factory head/block/manifold castings were required, it was very tractable engine [and very forgiving to driver errors ]

 

I agree with homespun about pro-comp, haven't heard many good opinions of the company.

 

get ya a bone stock 502 and put down over 500 ponies on pump gas

 

I have a very mild build 454 in my 53 Cadillac . The block is a 73 2 bolt main and oval port heads. It has a edelbrock c-396 intake and 750 edelbrock carb. The cam is a blue racer cam with 490 lift . Full length headers with 3 inch collector and 2 1/2 inch exhaust. hei distributor and 8 mm spark plug wires. Turbo 400 ****** and 3.42 rear. Super easy to drive just the mileage ****s. 8-10 mpg. Having a BBC is not about fuel mileage

 

I read some of the articles that y'all suggested this weekend. I was quite impressed with some of the results had with the peanut port heads. Seems like they would work well in my application and may work even better with some work like larger valves and bowl porting. If Im lucky enough to step up to aluminum heads the Edelbrock E street heads would be a nice addition. I think one of the issues im going to face is low compression if i find any engine out of a 90's truck or Sub. I guess I could get some better pistons but then the whole cost of the build starts going up.

Did the Gen 5 blocks come with towers in the lifter valley to bolt the roller lifter hold down spyder to?

 

You can get some of the new heads with smaller combustion chambers.

 

I dig the original lookin caddy with the BBC! ^^^ Total sleeper!!!

 

I bet the "peanut port" heads would work well on a 396.

 

Possibly in certain cases...but the earlier ones that would work with Mark IV blocks all have very large chambers which would absolutely kill the compression ratio on a 396/402, (as in under 8:1) unless you used the TRW large dome pistons, which are both expensive and very heavy....and also tend to cause combustion issues.

The late L29 Vortec BBC head has a small chamber (99 cc) with good, modern port & chamber designs, and would work very well for a small CI BBC, but it only works on Gen V & VI blocks (again, water p***age issues). The port is not really a "peanut" port as such, but it's often cl***ified that way.


On a different note, you might look at the aluminum oval port GM Performance heads, which will work on any generation BBC...you can often find new complete heads for less than Edelbrock or TFS heads, and they are a nice head for street engines.

 

bump,

Ok its been almost a year, but I know there is more good information out there....

 

Do you still have questions? if so, ask

 

I'll tell ya what, I've got this and some performer rpm heads laying around. You build it, see if you like it, then send it back...lol

 

I'd love to build another one of these years..

 

I never did like the valve covers on those... Way to new for my tastes...

 

What kind of work is involved with putting a retrofit roller cam in a 70s 454. Im interested in an inexpensive way to run a hyd roller.