I strolled by the junkyard today and happen to run across a 77 gmc 2500 2wd with what appears to be a big block. The valve covers are wide and short. The engine is still a faded sky blue color.
The trans looks like its a t400. Out the door w/no accessories the engine is $160 bucks which i think is a deal. Should i get this motor? Its a truck eng from a 77' so i'm know sure if this a worthy engine. If i get this motor should i also get the trans? Can someone fill me in on the specs for this motor, compression ratio, hp, etc.. really appreciate ur input, i plan on getting this tomarrow

I would recommend looking at the casting numbers on the heads and block. Pull a valve cover off and tell us those.

Adam

buy it no matter what the specs are...its gonna be a low compression (8:1ish) but well worth building

Dang i should of looked at the casting numbers, well i had no tools since
i just stopped by on my way home from BMW dealer training so i really couldnt do anything. But this should be better than the 81' z28 motor i'm getting ready to dump in my car. I could build this in the meantime. I still cant find any specs for this on the web

After you get the #'s, go to www.mortec.com and see what they mean.

Like Brett said, go to the mortec site and print out the big block pages. Then take that with you tomorrow to see what it is. Most likely it's a 454 with low compression. Heads could be anywhere from 781's to some peanut port jobbers, but for $160 I say grab it.

As far as the tranny, if you need one grab it if you need it. Do you have tranny already and if so what kind?

buy the motor trans and all the accesories on the engine as they will work. i have the same setup in my 66 only it has a little more comp now.

Like Brett said, go to the mortec site and print out the big block pages. Then take that with you tomorrow to see what it is. Most likely it's a 454 with low compression. Heads could be anywhere from 781's to some peanut port jobbers, but for $160 I say grab it.

As far as the tranny, if you need one grab it if you need it. Do you have tranny already and if so what kind?

I have my stock Turbo 350 that i rebuilt while I was going to school under
the supervision of my instructor who was in the trans bussiness for over 20 years. I still havent even put oil in it and it was rebuilt like 3 years ago. Just wondering if i need the 400 or will my 350 do fine?

After you get the #'s, go to www.mortec.com (http://www.mortec.com) and see what they mean.


thank you, i'll have this info with me tomarrow:yes:

buy the motor trans and all the accesories on the engine as they will work. i have the same setup in my 66 only it has a little more comp now.

Did you swap the heads?

I have my stock Turbo 350 that i rebuilt while I was going to school under
the supervision of my instructor who was in the trans bussiness for over 20 years. I still havent even put oil in it and it was rebuilt like 3 years ago. Just wondering if i need the 400 or will my 350 do fine?

Kind of depends on what power level you're after, but a beefed up 350 will do fine behind a 450ish HP 454.

that motor is worth about $700 around here as a rebuildable core, and the trans is worth $250 as a rebuildable core.
so, yeah- buy it.

alright guys, just finished gathering my tools for tomarrow along with my overalls and some tiedown straps. Hopefully this engine has some oval port heads which is a possibility from looking at the charts. We'll see tomarrow and i'll post my findings asap.:thumbsup:

for $160, if all you can use off it for a performance build is the oil pan and front accessory brackets, you are still getting a good deal.
hell, i could probably haul it in for scrap for that much.

Id say grab it that is a very good deal, any help telling me where in pasadena your getting that engine..

I'd take the pullies & stuff too. that 'little' stuff can get expensive in a hurry

Id say grab it that is a very good deal, any help telling me where in pasadena your getting that engine..

Probably not until after he pulls it.:D

I have my stock Turbo 350 that i rebuilt while I was going to school under
the supervision of my instructor who was in the trans bussiness for over 20 years. I still havent even put oil in it and it was rebuilt like 3 years ago. Just wondering if i need the 400 or will my 350 do fine?


even though your not using it i would highly suggest putting oil in it for it will built up condensation over time and rust internally

ask me how i know

Alright guys I got my 454!:hurray: However its just amazing what can happen if you dont jump on something when you see it. When I left the day before, the engine was still completely sealed and still had all the accessorys on it including the air pump. The trans was also still attached and had a nice undisturbed coat of grease on it. When i showed up to pick it yesterday, i was so pissed to find a big block valve cover towards the rear of the truck. I quickly rush to the front and check to see if it was still there. It was but it appears as some junkyard rats already had their way with it. They removed all the head bolts and as if they were going to take the heads but they didnt. They also removed the oil pan and removed the oil pump and left it there. So pissed off I then proceed to pull this trans case to aside and look to see if the T400 is still there...ITs not:mad: I step back to realize the case i moved out the way was the T400. They completely gutted the trans and then left it there. Why the F^&$ do people do this? ALright I vented... Out the door i payed $156 and if take a core i get $35 bucks back. As for the engine i looked it up yesterday and its a 75-76 454 block. The heads are indeed the big round oval port and are 120cc according to the chart. I dont have the nums on me right now but thats i remember. If i recall i think the last 3 digits were 236 or something like that. SO anyone have some input on these heads? Are they good for making some power or is the CC chamber to big?

even though your not using it i would highly suggest putting oil in it for it will built up condensation over time and rust internally

ask me how i know


I think i'm a little late for that:D

It was but it appears as some junkyard rats already had their way with it. They removed all the head bolts and as if they were going to take the heads but they didnt. They also removed the oil pan and removed the oil pump and left it there. ...Why the F^&$ do people do this?

Hope it works out well...

Personally, I'd be a little worried, if someone pulled the pan and oil pump, but left it all there, maybe there was a reason? Maybe they noticed something and figured it wasn't worth the $160...

Or, maybe they didn't have the time/tools to take the engine, BUT by partially dismantling it, they might figure other people might not take it either, and they can come back later... People see a disassembled engine, and they might not bother with it. Oil pan off, heads bolts removed, they wonder why, and walk on...


I have seen where people have hidden obviously GOOD parts beneath some junk a few cars away, I even watched some guys do it before... Feeling mischievious at the time, I waited until they walked away, and hid the parts somewhere else :D...

Just thought I update this thread and show what I did with that the junkyard 454..As AOF right now its been running for about 6 days and have put about 100 miles on it so far with no issues. It seems like its lacking some power but I think thats due to my crappy 10 dollar timing gun and the old q-jet carb my friend let me have that I dont even know what it is...

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j99/daminature/augustpics098.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j99/daminature/augustpics097-1.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j99/daminature/augustpics096.jpg

Congrats getting it in and running!:hurray:

I'm sure you will get the tuning issues straightened out soon.:yes:

definitely grab that thing. as for the tranny, I run a th350 with no problems, here in the next year I'm gonna run a big fogger shot through it and I called the guy that helped me build it and he said as long as I change my converter to one with ballooning plates i won't hurt anything.

i didn't realize how old this thread was

The engine looks great. What all did you do to the innerds?
Is that your Monte that it's in?
Squido

The engine looks great. What all did you do to the innerds?
Is that your Monte that it's in?
Squido


Thanks guys, this motor all is stock inside. the pistons, rings, and bearings all looked like they were in good shape so I just cleaned all the gunk out and coolant sludge that forms and reassembled back together with new head gaskets, oil pump, and a even completely toredown the heads and removed all the carbon and replaced the valve seals. I have another BB that i want to do some work on so I fiqure I make this motor sound and just paint it... I guess I got lucky the heads and block werent cracked:D

stock cam and lifters or new stuff?

Now that is a cool super budget build up. $156 engine, $20 worth of engine paint, some fiddling around, and now you've got a bigblock chevy in your ride.

That is a good story. It only gets better from here. Way to go.

Down on power...
Get rid of that edelbrock RPM intake, replace it with a reg performer, The stock factory cam on these engines has peak tq. at 2500 rpm, BIG mismatch.
same with the carb, put an eddy 1406 on it, and leave it alone unless you change the cam!
if you have the stock dist body, get a moroso curve kit, 12 degrees at idle,34 degrees total at 2800 rpm. THEN connect the dist vac can to manifold vac port. NOT above the blades.
the th 350 has a lower 1st gear than a 400, and has less rotating mass, more better for the street.
set the valve lash at 1/4 past zero.
run a stant 160 super stat.
you will quite suprised at how this junk yard dog can run, but its still gonna be all in at 4500, these were trqrs, not race engines.

looking good! what kind of headders did u use? i see they are not hitting the steering link! but mighty close....

Alfred, Thanks for coming back with an update!

Get rid of that edelbrock RPM intake, replace it with a reg performer, The stock factory cam on these engines has peak tq. at 2500 rpm, BIG mismatch.
Look again! It is a regular Performer 2-0 not the RPM.

stock cam and lifters or new stuff?
Yeah stock cam and lifters, I was thinking of doing a lunati voodoo cam but I decided to get it running to see what happens first

Now that is a cool super budget build up. $156 engine, $20 worth of engine paint, some fiddling around, and now you've got a bigblock chevy in your ride.

That is a good story. It only gets better from here. Way to go.

I wish it had only been $156, took a lil more money but still cheap;)

Down on power...
Get rid of that edelbrock RPM intake, replace it with a reg performer, The stock factory cam on these engines has peak tq. at 2500 rpm, BIG mismatch.
same with the carb, put an eddy 1406 on it, and leave it alone unless you change the cam!
if you have the stock dist body, get a moroso curve kit, 12 degrees at idle,34 degrees total at 2800 rpm. THEN connect the dist vac can to manifold vac port. NOT above the blades.
the th 350 has a lower 1st gear than a 400, and has less rotating mass, more better for the street.
set the valve lash at 1/4 past zero.
run a stant 160 super stat.
you will quite suprised at how this junk yard dog can run, but its still gonna be all in at 4500, these were trqrs, not race engines.

Thanks for the advice, I'll be changin some stuff around soon once I get some more money

looking good! what kind of headders did u use? i see they are not hitting the steering link! but mighty close....

Those are the Hookers Comp headers with 2inch primaries and 3.5inch collector

My $300 '75 C/K/10/20 or whatever 454 core P/U engine is a "TSC" and it had good -781 heads on it along w/ I figure a 7.9 to 1 CR.

It's now my 496 b/c it had a bad crank in it!!

I have new .100" overbore flat-top KB hyper pistons up on the shelf that have never been touched by my bare hands to make it a 475"er, but then the dreaded, "More power, Scottie" bug bit me and I went 496.

pdq67

My $300 '75 C/K/10/20 or whatever 454 core P/U engine is a "TSC" and it had good -781 heads on it along w/ I figure a 7.9 to 1 CR.

It's now my 496 b/c it had a bad crank in it!!

I have new .100" overbore flat-top KB hyper pistons up on the shelf that have never been touched by my bare hands to make it a 475"er, but then the dreaded, "More power, Scottie" bug bit me and I went 496.

pdq67

Hmm..I do have the other 454 sitting there that I want to build....how much are we talking:)

Check into Speed-O-Motive, PAW and Ohio Crankshaft for cheap 496 rotating assemblies!

I would buy one w/ at least 1/4" longer rods UNBALANCED, mock it up to see if it fits OK like should ALWAYS be done, then send everything off to be checked by a good Shop and then balanced. AND go!!

I'm thinking like $12 to $1400 for a forged 496 rotating assembly now?? And a cast rotating assembly will be cheaper and should still do fine under 6,000 rpm, imho!!

pdq67