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454 big block daily driver

22K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  MinionII 
#1 ·
how much money are we talking about wen it comes to managing a 454 big block driven daily and wat would be some other choices
 
#3 ·
build an 8 to 1 motor that runs on 87...
Pretty good idea here, put it together with blower specs i.e., forged bottom end, wide LSA and such. It makes it easier to drive and when you get the money go for it.
 
#4 ·
82$ at the pump drive for about 160 miles kinda rediculous but for a 454 big block i might just pay for it lol doese any1 on here have a 454 daily driver and dont know much about engines but wat about this 8 to 1 motor how much power would that put out
 
#5 ·
I've seen an iron headed 454HO w/8.75:1 dyno 536 HP w/ a good cam and intake upgrade. The compression on those is usually closer to 8:1 than 9:1.
 
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#7 ·
I'm planning a 9:1 454 with a modest cam. Am gonna run the Summit 228/238 cam which has a 114 LSA...wide enough to make badrad happy. I'm gonna be spending chump-change to make the engine..... It should be strong as/possibly stronger than the 454HO at the track and the $3500 I saved not buying a crate motor will buy a lotta fuel! This engine should sip Regular Unlead. To ensure I run Regular UL I could always switch to the 238/248 cam with 114 LSA....solid lifter cam....\\
I should get better mileage with this than a hopped-up SBC or the Bronco I sold a few years back....
 
#12 ·
If you use an OD tranny,or a Doug Nash/Richmond Gear 4+1 5 speed, like I do,(3.28 1st gear,3.00:1 rear gear),you can reduce your RPM's at cruising speed on the highways.Last summer I averaged 16 mpg on a trip,and this included some city driving and a couple of high speed blasts on a deserted stretch of road.I got a best of 18 mpg,cruising at app. 70 mph.
Guy
 
#14 ·
Mild 454 (461) in a '69 Chevelle as a daily driver. Isky 270 cam, high-rise intake, headers, GM HEI, Edelbrock AVS 650 cfm carb. The heads are peanut port and the compression is 8-1. The gears in back are 2.73's.

The engine is built for torque and I suggest that for a daily driver. It'll put all your power between idle and 5000 rpm. I don't really care that the heads stop breathing above that as I'd have to go 140 mph to get that much rpm.

Just from "being out there" I sense it'll probably beat most anything except for a later Corvette or Cobra. Or, of course, a crazy, rumpity hot rod.

It's got about 375-400 horsepower, and tons of torque. Smooth idle and plenty of vacuum for power brakes. The hp could probably bump up by 25-35 by replacing the fan clutch with electric fans and maybe some underdrive pulleys. What does this car do in a 1/4 mile? Not sure, maybe 13's or low 14's. It goes 0-60 in less than 5 seconds.

Even at it's present state it's too much for a daily driver. I was going through the mountains and when the passing lane came up, the jerk in the Lexus in front of me wouldn't pull over to the left lane to let me by. I passed him on the right on a 6% incline going 95 mph and still had pedal to spare.

With a mix of street, highway, and stomping it every once in a while, I get between 10-11 mpg. Long highway drives will yield 14-15 mpg. If I granny it, it doesn't seem to get much better. The engine seems to like to be run aggressively.

Build it for torque for the fun and reliability of it.
 
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