87 K10 Big Block Swap

[conny8412]

Hey All,

Decided to go a little cheaper route with my big block swap and buy my buddies 454 (2 bolt main) off him. This motor is in excellent condition, less then 6 years old and probably 1/2k miles on it. It is out of his restored 86 k30. My question is, i hear 2 bolt mains are a little tougher to build up and reach the HP/TQ #'s you could easily reach with a 4 bolt. Is this true? I first thought about stroking it out and building a 496, but im going to stick with the 454 i think. Im looking to reach the 600HP/600TQ goal. With that being said, i want a TRUCK motor, not a high revving muscle car motor. I want all my TQ at a lower rpm. Are these numbers possible with this motor? Does anyone have a good idea for setup (heads, cam, crank, intake, etc.) that would help me reach these numbers? I am a fan of Lunatti cams and AFR heads, but as we all know, AFR's are outrageous. Is there another aluminum head that i can reach these #'s with? I appreciate the help!

 

[bucket]

Budget and Big Block just don't go hand in hand. Unless you take a chance on getting everything used from the swap meets or have a machinist that works for free, there won't be anything budget about it. The smog era 454 was low compression and used 'peanut' port heads. So for your power goals with aluminum heads, plan on tearing it all down and replacing the pistons and rings at minimum (we all know that when we tear into something, we find more things that need done), spending 2-3K on a set of heads, 6-800 on a roller cam and lifters (flat tappet is NOT a good idea, especially in a BBC), on top of everything else you would already need like intake, headers, carb, gaskets, etc. It all comes out to big bucks.

I'm having trouble keeping it "budget" for my 454 build and I don't have the goals you do. Although I can say from my frustrating little build, stay away from a gen 5 454, it's only worth building if it's free!! I wouldn't be afraid of a 2-bolt main block though.

 

[conny8412]

Awesome information man! I shouldve included the fact that i will have headers, radiator, carb already. So im thinking, Aluminum heads (any suggestions other then AFR?), pistons/rings, lifters, cam, intake and maybe a few other things. His motor is complete and i will be receiving it that way. He is having a brand new 496 built.

 

[bucket]

Awesome information man! I shouldve included the fact that i will have headers, radiator, carb already. So im thinking, Aluminum heads (any suggestions other then AFR?), pistons/rings, lifters, cam, intake and maybe a few other things. His motor is complete and i will be receiving it that way. He is having a brand new 496 built.

I haven't looked at heads too much because it's out of my budget. I have considered Edelbrock Performer heads, they have an angle milled version to get the compression up a little with stock pistons. Beyond that I've just been figuring out a combo of valvetrain that will let me run a decent cam with my peanut port heads. Summit does have a pretty sweet deal on a roller cam/lifter package from Howard's Cams.

 

[conny8412]

Ill have to look into that

 

[nvrenuf]

I'm curious, what's your budget amount for building a 600hp/600tq motor?

 

[conny8412]

No specific Number. Im getting the complete 454 for a decent price to begin with. Im not expecting to spend a grand and be done. I know what it entails, but if im into the motor pretty cheap to begin with, then it should help make the overall $$ a little cheaper. Thats why im looking for ideas on aluminum heads. I know those will atleast be a grand but i dont know much about brands other than AFR which are 2k+. I know its an investment and im prepared for that. In the end, itll be cheaper then buying a big block crate so its the easiest of the 2 options for me...

 

[bucket]

BBC heads cost twice as much as SBC heads, I don't think there's much out there for less than 2K.

 

[nvrenuf]

You're definitely headed for the deep end of the pool. My current motor project is a 9.4 comp, roller 454 with OE 781 iron heads and I'm at about $4500+ ( I don't expect to be over 425hp/550tq).

To get 600/600 and be reliable, you're going to have really step up on the fancy parts. A roller cam would be best ($1k) plus aluminum heads will put you all over $3k and that's without any bottom end work/upgrades.

You might also consider going ahead with the 496 idea, you can get a cast stroker crank from Scat.

 

[conny8412]

You're definitely headed for the deep end of the pool. My current motor project is a 9.4 comp, roller 454 with OE 781 iron heads and I'm at about $4500+ ( I don't expect to be over 425hp/550tq).

To get 600/600 and be reliable, you're going to have really step up on the fancy parts. A roller cam would be best ($1k) plus aluminum heads will put you all over $3k and that's without any bottom end work/upgrades.

You might also consider going ahead with the 496 idea, you can get a cast stroker crank from Scat.

Thanks for your input. I guess I'm just trying to gather the best ideas possible and move forward from there. If a 600/600 setup is going to be a ton more $$ then let's say a 500/550 setup, then I'm not so sure I want to go that high. 100HP sounds like a huge difference but I don't think it'd be as bad as I think it'd be...
Decisions decisions...

 

[bucket]

I'm keeping it simple (I guess) and trying for 400hp and gobs of torque by sticking with my peanut port heads. Besides aftermarket, I'm stuck with those heads because I've got a gen 5 block.

Being that you don't have a gen 5, you're not stuck with the peanut ports. You can bolt on a set better iron oval port heads and not be limited as much. You still need to do the usual things like cleaning/magnaflux/valve job and probably have the valve guides machined down for more lift clearance, but it will be far cheaper than aluminum heads. With a good hydro roller cam and matching valve springs, a bit of compression , a little more stall speed (if auto), you will be making enough power to have some fun.

That brings up the next issue. A trans that is up to the task and axle upgrades. A stock half ton rear axle will not hold up with lots of power and large tires.

 

[conny8412]

I'm keeping it simple (I guess) and trying for 400hp and gobs of torque by sticking with my peanut port heads. Besides aftermarket, I'm stuck with those heads because I've got a gen 5 block.

Being that you don't have a gen 5, you're not stuck with the peanut ports. You can bolt on a set better iron oval port heads and not be limited as much. You still need to do the usual things like cleaning/magnaflux/valve job and probably have the valve guides machined down for more lift clearance, but it will be far cheaper than aluminum heads. With a good hydro roller cam and matching valve springs, a bit of compression , a little more stall speed (if auto), you will be making enough power to have some fun.

That brings up the next issue. A trans that is up to the task and axle upgrades. A stock half ton rear axle will not hold up with lots of power and large tires.

For sure! Already have a 14bff set up locally off a 94 2500. Assuming ill have to move spring perches and regear and then bolt up. Still searching for a Dana 60 front. I'm going to run 5.13 gears like I have now.

I currently have a built 700r4 in the truck with a 3000 stall. With the 1 ton axle swap, I'm assuming ill need to upgrade driveshafts as well?

 

[bucket]

Front shaft will work fine. Rear shaft will need the rear yoke changed to run a bigger u-joint, or use a conversion u-joint with your current shaft. Napa Precision u-joint #447.