[Robitussin]

Hi everyone, this is my first post--YESS.

We have a Nomad that is in great shape as far as rust goes, the whole thing is covered in it and we have a 454ci out of a 1974 burban that runs that I would love to put in her and I'll be going over as many posts as I can in this section to do some learnin'. The ultimate goal is to have a GREAT running gas burner, make power from 1,000 rpm to 5,500ish rpm, make some noise, get some kind of economy, and make me happy.
My question is this, what should I look out for? Things like heads, cams, casting numbers, blinkerfluid, etc.

Any help, direction to go in, or just a shopping list of goodies and possibly explinations will be cherrished and implemented in some way. Thanks All

 

[cliffs1970]

Hi everyone, this is my first post--YESS.

The ultimate goal is to have a GREAT running gas burner, make power from 1,000 rpm to 5,500ish rpm, make some noise, get some kind of economy, and make me happy.


Any help, direction to go in, or just a shopping list of goodies and possibly explinations will be cherrished and implemented in some way. Thanks All

economy gas burner? in a 454? The bone stock 454 should work well with some headers and o/d tranny.

 

[Guest]

What year Nomad is it?

'55, '56'/ or '57??

Anyway, whatever!!

If it was mine, I would keep it VERY close to stock which means SB power only!!

I say this b/c the old, Tri-5's had to have some engine bay modifications done to them so that they could swallow a BB if I remember right?

pdq67

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[Cam]

The 57's could take a big block without clearancing the firewall, but the 55 & 56 models needed a bit of massaging. The later 4-door Nomads (58-61) offered the W-motor as an option.

I wonder if our friend is talking about a '68 - '72 Chevelle Nomad wagon?

Where are my manners, welcome Robitussin :waving:

 

[Robitussin]

Thanks all

Hey, thank you guys for the help and the welcome. I understand that the fuel economy will be lower than a rat's belly under a tractor but I at least want to make it between gas stations and at best I'd like to expect 10 or so on a towtruck on a good day.

 

[Whittaker]

I used to have a .030, 9:1, 454 in my 66 with a 700R4 and 3.55 gears and with an Edelbrock carb going to Nashville we got around 14 at best, going down a long hill, with a tailwind, while drafting on a semi.

I did not have any luck keeping a 700R4 alive behind my BB. It chewed up parts and spit them out.

I did buy one from Pheonix Performance Transmissions http://www.phoenixtrans.com/ to put in my wagon behind the 408 SB. It has held up very well so far. They built a good one.

Some guys use a 200 4R with good luck.

The overdrive trans will get you closer to your goal. If the short block was in great shape you could add a set of closed chamber heads to bump the compression up. Add a better cam and let her run.