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Avg 540 cost

10K views 94 replies 35 participants last post by  69-CHVL 
#1 ·
Was browsing ads, seen various parts for these looks pricy yet I see crate 540s for under 10 online.

What blocks are these guys using, whats a decent one run seem to be more and more popular.
 
#3 ·
Was browsing ads, seen various parts for these looks pricy yet I see crate 540s for under 10 online.

I dont see how you can do one for that price and make any money but I suppose some of these places work on quantity. Maybe with some "no-name" heads etc.



The last one I did was for a boat. It was a Merlin block and Heads. Crower rotating parts. Hydraulic roller. It was about 25K carbs to oil pan. It had a B&M 420 blower setup on it. That was probably 15 years ago.
 
#4 ·
Sure it cant be cheap..ol skippy white had one up for 8 maybe 10? Dont know how they do it
What about longevity, notice most have to run a ton of duration so it doesnt choke too soon, would a HR puke real soon?
Like my sb.....idea of an 18 deg motor is appealing but a lot of the guys Im meeting all have big blocks I hear the speech a lot lol
MAybe I should take a ride in one.

What about cooling issues? All except one BB I had heating was a problem.
 
#5 ·
I rode with Rowdy in Vegas, he may have been before your time here, with his 66 Mike Lewis 540 Chevelle. Sold my 454, and gave away all of my SBC stuff.:D
 
#6 ·
Dart Big M is what I looked into.....too many $$$ for me. So its a cheap LS / nitrous build.....
 
#10 ·
He had an article written in Car Craft(IIRC), and surprised the writers that were at an event. He drove in, took some stuff out of the car checked tire pressure, went to the line, and ran 10.60s,(IIRC again) then drove home when it was done. As much as a daily driver as you can get also, kids to school, etc.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Good friend of mine has a Vortecpro 555 in his 68 with just over 800hp. Wow is it fun to ride in. Getting power to the ground is the challenge. He has been upgrading the suspension and is soon to get a new trans. He just did drag week with it with zero issues. I believe he was around the 14k mark.
It has a dart block and AFR heads
 
#12 ·
I harken back to racer1320’s philosophy of simple and straightforward to run 10s which was always highly desirable to me. That’s wicked quick. Then I think why would you need (not want) anything more than that, especially on the street?

I’d love to throw open my hood on a street car that has a stamped metal OE air cleaner assembly on it with no headers and and an orange painted intake with no aftermarket parts displayed anywhere and be able to run 10.xx. I’d hate to have a $15,000 plus engine boasting 750 plus HP that did not run appreciable numbers.
 
#14 ·
I have a 540 and got mine back in 1994 (bowtie block) but had to piece it together back then. I think from pan to carb they can range from say $10K to up to say $17K depending (could go higher just trying to stick within a norm and iron block - aluminum block add $4K) on extra goodies like better rods, crank, fully ported heads and stuff like that. Shafroff website can probably give you an idea as they have a poo-poo platter set up. That being said it does not stop there. You don't throw a 540 in a car and think you are all done. Not sure what you have now but you need at least 2 inch headers, a 3 inch exhaust, a regular torque converter is not going to like the 700 foot pounds of torque nor is the transmission, rear end, u-joints and drive shaft. Depending on the manifold you also may need a hood. Cooling system may also need to be looked into. So if you have average parts that were made more for stock 350-400 hp then you could spend another $10k getting all that situated. Oh yes, some mentioned above tires and suspension - the G60-14/15 polyglass tires wont work well on a motor like this.
 
#16 ·
Only asking out of curiosiity surely couldnt afford it! If I did I know better than to get some ebay bargain.
Theres a silver 66 Camino and 71? Chevelle with a 565 I was foaming at the mouth over got me thinking (again) lol

You guys just using tall gears/T400 or would a built 200r hold up?Cant imagine this T56 lasting long even wtih a viper input shaft. Besides Id probably overcam it and take reliability out as usual.
 
#17 ·
I have a 3.73 12 bolt with a lot of stuff done to it and a built Turbo 400 with a GV overdrive. I think the 200r might be a stretch especially if you hook up. The tq is the problem here. If you did a stick, you probably might want to look at some type of TR6060 (stronger version of T-56) with a dual clutch set up.
 
#20 ·
The BP link, doesnt say what block. China copy perhaps?

Boy what Id give to have 15-20k to do one right. My problem is leaving it drivebale cant get the big cam thing out of my system lol.
not knocking SW but I wouldnt trust one of those to be leaning on them a lot. Who buys a 6-700hp engine then babies it, or worse yet if you have to worry when that tach is swining whats the point? Did that once with a PAW shortblock didnt enjoy the car sure wasnt worth the few hundred I saved.

Buddy has a 454 block he keeps trying to push on me just "not there" $/time wise.
Its not the power# so much its that low end tq and thundering exh note its unmistakable.
If all it did was burnouts thought from being overpowered I wouldnt want it.


Guy at last weeks show had a tubbed 63 nova with a tired but stout 434 just tapping the throttle sent him up in smoke. But it still sounded like a SB. Honest 9 sec runnner though!
 
#21 ·
Bad manners will be tolerated:D
 
#23 ·
I'm a scrounger. Block came from Scoggins Dickey on BLack Friday Clearance, Dart Heads were new in the box off Ebay from a seller that had decided to go to a 335 intake runner (IIRC). Bought those major components $.60 on the dollar. Pistons were Mahle, bought those on a special deal offer Mahle was running. I had $3000 in savings those components alone. I got away cheap, cost of the engine was around 7000-7500. Yes, the trans took a beating, documented on this board, Vince and I were out for what we used to call the dyno run (about 1/2 mile long 6% grade hill coming off a 1/4 mile flat area). Perfect for testing fuel system and converter. Wasn't 100 yards into WOT and trans input shaft decided to self destruct the forward drum. Add enough power, the weak links surface fast.
 
#25 ·
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Muscle car Coupé
I have about 14k wrapped up in my 557ci BB. (Dart Big M block and AFR heads) that does does not include carb, pulley's and brackets, and Lemons Headers. Have another $4500 in trans, dual clutch and flywheel. had to upgrade cooling system, driveshaft and U-joints not to mention suspension and tires. These big cube engines are no joke, lots of fun. (I'm only a 9:72 to 1 compression engine)
 
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