i would like to put a 70's or 80s truck 454 bbc into my chevelle.. my question is can i make decent power using the stock heads and stock a crankshaft?? i plan on replacing the camshaft( the lumpier the better) i want that realllly rough idle, performance intake manifold- 750 cfm carb, possibly pistons to increase the compression.. with mild porting work to the head.. im preety sure the engine im talking about is the tall deck version with the longer stroke... but is it possible to get 350-400 hp with 500 -600ft-lbs of torque with the stock ported heads and the combo i described??? thanks in advance for any replies

It's my understanding ...that all 454 blocks were "standard" height. It seems that, tall's were 366 and 427 truck motors. Be sure to verify the specs of your heads using casting #'s, via www.mortec.com. I also have similar plans for my 454. The small "236" heads are not desirable for a good performance build, so I'll probably end up with a pair of 781's or 049's. Do a "454" search, in this section. You should be able to find answers, to your questions. It's a common subject.

Early, closed chambered heads like the -206's that are down around 96.7 to 98 cc chamber volume will definately help raise your really low CR as will using .020" thick, steel shim headgaskets.

A motor like you are talking about is supposeded to be 8.5 to 1 but generally more like 7.9/8.0 or so due to not being put together on the spec's tight side from the factory!

As always, cc ALL BB heads so you will know their chamber sizes!!

pdq67

i would like to put a 70's or 80s truck 454 bbc into my chevelle.. my question is can i make decent power using the stock heads and stock a crankshaft?? i plan on replacing the camshaft( the lumpier the better) i want that realllly rough idle, performance intake manifold- 750 cfm carb, possibly pistons to increase the compression.. with mild porting work to the head.. im preety sure the engine im talking about is the tall deck version with the longer stroke... but is it possible to get 350-400 hp with 500 -600ft-lbs of torque with the stock ported heads and the combo i described??? thanks in advance for any replies

As mentioned,there are no 454 tall deck motors.
If the shortblock is still tight I would opt for a pair of closed chamber heads (101 CC's) to up the compression and park one of the new Voodoo cams in there.
Something in the 230ish @ .050 on a 110 LSA...
you will make more torque/HP than your tires will know what to do with :D

There were no tall deck 454's...Brimac is right, they are only 427 or 366 engines. Trucks being bigger trucks, not pick ups....maybe dump trucks, busses, etc. Just pick up a regular 454 from a car or pickup. That will do fine for what you want. The compression ration will be low, likely only 8/1 or so. Check the casing numbers on the heads, if it ends in 781, which is a very common one, that's a good head to start with. The trouble is that the chambers are large, so to get a decent compression ratio, you will have to go with a piston change, using a dome type piston. And if you're going to do that, you might as well have the engine gone over by a machine shop. It doesnt come cheap when you start a performance engine, but you'll want to do it right. Your power requirements are very easy to reach with a big block, but it has to be built right. A stock crank (probably cast) is fine for lots of power, as are the stock heads, as long as they are large oval ports, like the 781's (dont use the peanut ports mentioned, 236's). Two bolt block is plenty strong enough. You can have the larger valves installed when you have the heads done, but if you're not building a race car, the stock size valves (2.06/1.72) will probably do fine. You mentioned a rough idle...dont make the mistake of going crazy with the cam. Mark my words, you will be very very unhappy with the performance. You cant have both worlds. A very nasty idle will impress your friends, but the car will fall on it's face in everyday driving. Check with the guys here, do some research on cam choices and engine combos, and choose carefully. A tighter lobe seperation angle (for example, going to a 108 or 106 vs a 110 or 112) will give a rougher idle if that's what you have to have, but you will sacrifice a bit in your power range...will still pull good, but it will peak and drop off more quickly. For a street car, you want a broad power range. But that wont hurt you too bad. Just keep the duration and lift reasonable, especially if your compression ratio is in the 9/1 range...you cant do too much cam. Talk to a few cam companys before you buy anything. When you figure out what you will do with the rest of the engine, like pistons, heads, transmission, gears, etc...then you can pick out a cam to go with the rest of it. Start searching, and good luck. You came to the right place for help. Keep us posted.

thanks for the great replies.. i was really happy i dont have to worry about the tall deck height with the engine im looking for.. im looking to build this on a tight budget.. ill be searching the u-pull it yards near me($125 complete engine) im hoping for a block that i can get by with just honing, replace bearings, dome pistons, performance cam and intake.. ill say my limit is gonna be $1000 over time.. hopefully less though.. wish me luck!!

Good luck buying one for that kind of money b/c I figure a good core motor is worth a lot more than that.

pdq67

the u-pull it yard near me is cheap.. 125 for them to pull the engine 75 if i do it... so i can get it cheap.. i just have to work for it to make sure its decent.. pull the pan and head to inspect it first before i pull ot out of the truck..

$125 sounds hella cheap to me. I got mine for $1200 with a trans, and i thought that was a helluva deal! It was a turnkey setup though.

I'm planning of just changing the intake and throwing in a voodoo cam in there and be done with it. I just have to sell my turbo 400 and pickup an M20, and swap it all in.

Anybody wanna trade a freshly rebuilt th400 for an m20???

I've seen posts where "someone got lucky" and found a 454 core for $100-200, ..... but don't count on it, although it could happen. I recently paid $350 (w/truck 4 speed), for a "peanut headed" motor, out of a burned dually. It's a worn original engine.. needing a performance rebuild, ... and some decent heads. $400-$600 for such animals, in my area.