If it helps a big block is two inches longer than a small block but the extra length is at the front past the motor mount location. Keeping the same trans a bbc will mount up where a sbc was as long as you have room up front.
Deuces, the expression you were looking for was 'in like Flynn'. It relates to Errol Flynn the actor who had a reputation for being 'in' quite a lot. Unfortunately for him his name rhymed with it and it stuck.
If you have a $ budget of 2000. Then stroking is out. Crank-kit, balancing, ect. So are GOOD after market head's. So is a high-rev (head's that can really flow, roller cam, ect.) motor is out. That leave's a MATCHED moderate cam to the realistic RPM power band. Matched to what driveline and vehicle weight. To get it moving quickly and a much longer life span. RULER Jeff Smith at Car Craft magazine has done a bunch of different combo's w/ the BBC the last few year's. Stay away from the early 396 head's. P.S. WHO is the dweeb that keep's rating most thread's w/ one star nearly everyday? Yer nut's in a vise....'till ya learn.
Hmmm. Jeff Smith...wasnt he the guy that spent $12,000 on a 383 back in the eighties that BARELY cracked 12s in a chevelle??? Sorry, rhetorical question there...
What is your point? What does the '80's have to do w/ my post? Satire? Glib? Stand-up? 'Sorry'? Hmmmm...
alright I got the head casting number it is 346236, peanut ports, so it looks like I will be searching for some new heads, hopefully I can find some closed chamber rectangle ports locally, damn my luck
Intake, carbs, and a cam will eat up your budget I think. I'd do a cam, valve springs, single plan intake a 750 double pumper and go from there. I like RPM's but not sure if your engine can take 6200 but that's fun.
If your going to run a Stick you had Better save some Money for a ****ter Sheild & Block Plate I ran a BB Hi-Per in my Race Car for 6 years of course it was Bluprinted with a Single 4 Barel Carb the Heads were worth a Fortune in early 74 I made the high 9 second in the Quarter mile Just my 3.5 cents
Good luck, With the muscle car restorers now looking for them, they're kinda like finding hens teeth......and decent one's usually bring their weight in gold. If I were you, I'd still look for the 781s or 049s. Cheapest way out and you can make them work ok. And you can find an oval port Team G at the swap meets a lot cheaper than a tunnel ram setup. Now that I think about it, I had an old single plane Torquer/750 on the "junk" engine I had in my 34 International when it went 7.25 in the 1/8th. Larry T
I would pick up a set of the closed chamber, oval port 396 heads, #702, #390, #802 ect. Now be forewarned, this is not "Jeff Smith approved" and you wont be one of the "cool guys", but these castings are dirt cheap, and if you use your brain instead of your chequebook, they will make a ton of power. Put 2.19 intakes and 1.88 exhausts in them, do the pockets, and just clean up the rest of the port. Drop a head gasket on them, then open up the chamber around the intake valve out to the gasket, sweeping back towards the plug, tapering your cut out as you approach the plug from the intake valve side. Use caution as you get close to the plug, there is a water jacket just to the left of the plug if you are looking at the head with the plug side facing downwards, so you dont want to remove alot of material right adjacent to the plug. What you are trying to do is get a chamber shape similar to the open chamber head from about 7 oclock around the rest of the intake valve, tapering out as you approach the plug. Then open up the chamber around the exhaust valve and you are good to go. I have made real good power (REAL good, like 650hp with a roller and dominator) with these heads done this way, and the basic castings are dirt cheap, as far as BB chevy stuff goes anyway, because Jeff Smith and Car Craft have been telling guys for years that these heads are doorstops, and everyone knows that you have to do what the magazines tell you. And Larry is right about the Team G, radius the tops of the runners with a cartridge roll as they enter the plenum, and clean it up a little and it is an EXCELLENT oval port intake. I used the dominator version with a 2 circuit 1050. Just cause Jeff Smith will hate it.
Building a big block will eat through your $1500-2000 budget quickly. Double that would be more reasonable. BBC parts are expensive even for stock replacement stuff. Once you get into performance stuff your wallet will take a few hits. Not trying to discourage you, just warn you. That being said, there is nothing like having a torquey BBC under your foot. Big fun coming off the line.
Meh, I started to reply when this thread began, and decided not to bother, but after a bit of reading, I thought I'd chime in. It really wouldn't be prudent to use the rectangle port heads, unless you plan on stroking it to 496, and want to see 7,000+ RPM. Youre going to kill the low end torque with those huge runners, especially if you build a 427. Go with the oval ports as falcongeorge recommended. If you want to throw some popups in it, I'd go with the open chamber oval ports. Youre looking at around $1,200+ for a set of good factory rectangle ports, that don't need rebuilt. $800+ for rebuilder's. Not saying The huge rectangle port heads are bad, infact I plan on sticking a set under my Jackson injection intake on a 496 I'm building with a lightened Callies crank, because I dont like aluminum heads, and thats what most of the aftermarket are nowdays, but aftermarket rectangle port heads will perform better than the factory rectangle, due to better design.
You're gonna need more than $1500-$2000 just to buy gas for it! Hope your drivetrain can handle the torque.
If you only have $1,500-2,000,use what you have or get a set of oval port open chamber heads. You don't need a lot of compression or a rectangular port to make alot of horsepower and 700 plus is easily attainable.
huh, didn't notice that on the rect port mild street 454 I threw together about 10 years ago.....in fact it ran pretty good. Either way on the heads. If you can afford aftermarket heads then they'd probably make more power. They won't look like old heads, but that may not matter to you. Or it might. You can make the old factory oval port heads work, you can make the old factory rectangular port heads work. They really aren't that much different. It's just that the rectangular port heads are what the factory hi perf engines had, and most of the neat intakes were made for them.
That ain't no joke, I spend about $3.00 just to run to the gas station a few blocks away to pick up a pack of smokes. Just thought I'd mention something else as far as the budget, I recently freshened up a 468 (bored 454) in my O/T vehicle. Mild cam, rings, bearings, gaskets, oil pump..etc, I had around $500.00+ spent, thats not having any machine work done to the block. It just has a stock intake, and the ****py peanut port heads, but it doesn't run too bad. It'll burn the tires through an intersection, though it wont turn much over 5,000 RPM.
no idea if you want to race or drive on the street... but I'll 3rd the oval port recommendation by falcongeorge. I have been messing with big block chevys for a long time and have heard a lot of ******** from the peanut gallery. There is nothing wrong with oval ports.... you could get the larger 2.19/1.88 valves and port them for improved flow... or just run them as is.
I would agree with this. Its probably do-able, but you will REALLY have to watch yourself. You will need to think in terms of all used parts, and shopping very carefully, as you are going to need most of your budget for machine work. And no frills. The plus is, there are a TON of good used BB chevy parts out there, but you have to know your stuff well enough not to be buying un-usable worn out junk.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ All of this points out one thing. It's hard to mess up a big block to the point that it won't pin you back in the seat. (G) Larry T
yes, I would agree with this, the magazines have been shouting this bs about square port heads from the rooftops for a long time, I wouldnt think twice about using rect. port heads on a street motor, but my idea of a "street" motor might differ a little from others on here. Dont get me wrong, I am not steering this guy to re-working a set of closed chamber oval ports because I think the square port heads wont work, but because a set of decent square ports is gonna bite a BIG hole in his budget, and the heads I am suggesting are cheap as dirt.
That's an important consideration. I have a pair of iron big port heads I got really cheap (I got them separately as two single heads), but it has been a long time, and I'm not surprised that they're getting expensive. When I got mine, no one wanted them.
If your budget is 1500 why blow half of it changing the 454 to a 427 when the only advantage is that a few mouthbreathers will think it is cooler but you will be down 26 cubic inches? It doesn't make good economic sense when that same money could be spent on cam, valve springs and other go fast pieces.
I just finished rebuilding and breaking in my 454 last week. I spent $1200 on machine work plus $300 for the engine and $125 for some 049 oval port heads. There is a $1500 budget gone in a hurry! Good luck with your build and hit CL for BB heads, intakes, etc. You might score some cheapies and better keep within your budget.
Getting a set of 781's fitted with bigger valves and rebuilt will cost near 700 - 800 bucks here. You could make a bunch of torque with your peanut ports but will not see any rpm's out of them or much over 500 hp without porting and bigger valves. I would make sure your bottom end is sound with bearings, rings, bolts and fresh cross hatch pattern in the cylinders. Now of course that is if it doesn't need bored. Look for a good used intake and carb of 750-850 cfm, and a good set of used oval ports that someone maybe taking off in favor of aluminum. Now match your cam to your heads and compression and it should be a stout street beast. If you got any racing buddies chances are they may know where most of these ingredients are. Look around on craigslist and e-bay to start getting ideas of what these cost too.
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