Alright guys last summer was paint and this summer I am seriously considering putting in a 454. It would come out of an 80's RV of some kind, I'm going to look at the mess tommorrow but the motor is only supposed to have 38,000 miles on it. The casting numbers are 361959. Can anyone tell me a little about this motor. I have heard of tall decks and short decks and motor mount issues etc. What I really want to know is if this would be a good motor to stuff in my 5th gen. I plan on just putting it in and running it as is. My little 305 is on its last legs and something needs to be done and a big block sounded like a good idea. As always thanks for the ideas, opinions, and info.

Hello!
1973-1985 car and truck block 454
Best I can do.
Craig

1973-76 motor i believe. i am in the process of swapping one into my 84 e/c right now. you will need hooker # 2241 headers & use the sb motor mounts & short style valve covers to make it clear the a /c if you have a/c. good time to upgrade the cooling system as well. lgr rad. & elec fans. now get ready for other members to rip us up about this & warn you about the rear end. good luck. carl

its a 75-85 truck block 2 bolt main

or

73-76 car

they used the same casting numbers... whats the head numbers? if they are oval port its probably a car block but if they are rectangular then its a truck block(trucks never came with oval port heads from factory)

what would you like to know about it?

anyone know what kind of power this thing came stock with? I figure the rear end will hold up because I'm not trying to hook up, it will just be a burn out machine

thats a very rough call without having head numbers but rough guess is 325hp, 375-400 tq?

very rough guess with no info lol couldve been even down to 265 rated hp... lotsa lotsa variables. if you drop just alil money into you can get 450-500tq/350-400hp without even breaking a sweat.

its a 4 bolt main! 1977

If you have a posi rear end, it should be OK for the power level of the motor. If it is an open differential, the one-tire-fire burnout is very hard on the carrier and will most likely fail. Remember, you are also adding weight to the nose with a big block so suspension upgrades should also be considered. Sounds like a good swap though. Good luck.

I have a posi with 242 gears, I plan on running a 200 4R and letting the low end torque deal with the low rpms should be quite a sight in first gear lol Can anyone for sure say 2 bolt or 4 bolt I've heard both Thanks

I think there two ways to tell if its 2 bolt or 4 bolt, 1st,ck the side (oil filter side) and look for a !/2 inch pipe pluge.if you have a 1/2 in.,then its a 4 bolt mains.the 2nd way,is to pull the oil pan..:poke:
:cali:

Thats a good way to wake up your ride, my 80 caballero went from Buick V6 to 468 full roller motor---cant tell you how much fun that is when you light it up.

As far as 2 or 4 bolt main if your not going to send it down the 1/4 mile you can go a long way with the motor on a 2 bolt. If it has oval port heads you can make them flow with way more than youll ever need for the street. Mine are ported big time(oval) with 2.19/1.88 valves and gave it great numbers on flow bench, dont remember numbers right off but they were good. Dont worry about it just go for it.

Other things to be mindful of going to bbc--use BeCool type radiat with elec fan, biggest cfm you can find. Use Stewart water pump( now that original owner is back), you can eliminate the ugly by pass hose by drilling out the t-stat like they do, does the same thing.

Motor mounts--dont use solid mounts, they will work fine but causes major headach with getting headers in. Same is true with oil pan, I used moroso street/strip with kicked out sides, if you arent concerned with ground clearence use stock pan. Again, this pan will give you major issues getting headers in.

Hooker super comp headers are the only way to go for this. They tell you they are for stock motor mounts and stock oil pan--see above. Although these headers are in 5 pieces the steering column may give you clearence issues. I used Borgensen componets and its close. You might consider having the headers coated---HPC---as other things get a little close to the heat tubes. Remember HPC is the one that started all this, have them coated inside as well.

Firewall----ac/heater stuff, dont know how you plan to go but tall valve covers may be issue. I trashed mine and filled in the big hole. Electrical system will need to be modified, I run truck off of a 7 circuit aux painless panel, but I dont have radio, heat ac, wipers, defrost etc. but something to think about.

Tranny--I used modified 400, Dennys drive shaft, Chris Allision Fab 9 with 3.70 posi, wilwood disc on rear. That will fry any tire you want to put on, just roll the inner fender lip. Tranny mount but read threads from other guys for this, not a big issue.

Exhaust--use Tourque Tech out of GA. they fit and can be full length or what ever you want system wise.

Front suspension--use Hotkis bbc coil springs, they will drop frt. end about inch/half but will work w/bbc. Extra weight will bang right side headers on pavement, you dont want to do that after you have them coated, it looks real ugly and it pisses you offwhen you do it. Change springs before you drop bbc in.

Hope this helps, send me pm is you have any other ??
Phil

The 80's rv / truck 454 is going to have the peanut port heads, and some very dismal power ratings. The LE-8 that was the 454 of the trucks in most of the 80's had a whopping 210 - 230HP and was all done around 3800-4000rpm. Now that you think your disappointed,, the torque from idle to 4000 will plant your butt in the seat like your looking for. On the street, torque is king. Forget about the HP ratings.

Thanks for all the help guys, I'm going to go check it out around 3 this afternoon I'll keep everyone posted. The guy wants 600 for the RV that the motor is in, its supposed to run and drive and only have 38,000 miles. I think that's pretty fair, course I'll try and beat him up on the price does anyone else think that's in the ballpark? I figure the th400 behind it is worth 100 and the weight for the rv would get me 200 so I can get back half my investment if I have to pay the full 600. Any thoughts?

get it. pull motor & tranny & scrap the rest like you said. with the money you get back you can offset the cost of the headers. (new around 500) but pretty much necessary.

Keep the 400 trans and the shortblock...scrap the rest...buy new heads.

I seem to remember some tall blocks being used it trucks. (?)

DPOTTER, do your research on clearance problems w/ the BBC. You may get more than you ask for with the 5th gen chasis. Good luck, Dale

well guys I'd say its a good deal but the RV is at least 25 ft long and I don't have a place to put it while I was tearing out the motor so I guess it will have to go to someone else. Thanks for all the help I guess I'll have to keep looking

what springs should be used? from what car i mean?

sorry i dont remember the # from the springs but they were the heavy duty ones moog if i remember . if its on the spring i can get it for you if you want later. i havent put the bb in yet but can tell you that if i stand on the bumper the car dont move & i weigh 270. so the weight diff. i am not worried about. the car sits up nice up front & rides good.

I recently bought a 85 el camino with a 454 installed, the engine is a 1972. It is rated at 275 hp, but it has gobs of torque, and will light up the elke like a roman candle. I'm not sure what has been done to the engine, but it has all the power I need. It has a turbo 400 behind it. The car has bucket seats, and I just finished installing a lockar shifter, new carpet, some upholstery work. I installed a serpentine system under the hood with electric fans, Almost there, still working on cruise control and misc tlc......merc

Grab ya a good buick 455 bb , lotsa torque and good hp , and best of all after you change out intake and add headers your just about 20lbs heavier than the sbc thats in it.

I agree with the elcaminofactory (above), new heads will improve performance on that engine and the 400 will serve you well.

Though I like big blocks ,it is easier to find a sb 283,327, 350 or 400 to swap out the 305. If you decide to go the big block there is a bunch of upgrades that need to be done to have it done properly (as was mentioned previously) stiffer springers are needed to handle the extra couple hundred pounds of engine also. , A little advertised fact is lots of pre 1970 283s and 327s had more horsepower than the mid to late 70s 454 . This engine will need more than a set of heads to get some decent performance. You will need headers ,cam , intake ,carb etc etc , and if you are going that far better change the pistons , rings and bearings also

Truth of the matter is, a Big Block is approx 110 lbs heavier than a Small Block...if you use aluminum heads on the big block your now close to the weight of an all cast iron small block. Ever look for a usable 283, 327, or 400 lately...it's a lot easier to find a 454, out of a truck or RV. Although a lot of 454s are low horsepower, going with a different set of heads can dramatically increase horsepower and more importantly torque. I know of no 283s in any boneyards...you would have more luck stumbling over a 283 in the bushes, that fell out of the sky in Manitoba, than finding one in any boneyard I know of...these motors have either been all gobbled up, or melted down for quite some time now...along with most 327s and 400s.

guys, about how much hp. could you expect to gain from a intake/ carb. upgrade & a mild perf. cam.& headers on the 72, 454 motor? do you think it would be anything substantial?or are you talking 20-30 hp?

Hooker Super Comps alone would give you at least that much, but which heads you currently have would be the determining factor. I'm not sure if some of you guys are grasping the importance of using oval port vice rectangle port...the type of cylinder used is a big factor on creating horsepower/torque on a big block...probably even more so than a small block. The cubic inches are there...you just got to allow them to breathe.

well guys I'd say its a good deal but the RV is at least 25 ft long and I don't have a place to put it while I was tearing out the motor I would re-think this...a running 454 (all you want is the shortblock) and 400 trans with 38,000 miles for $600 bucks...who cares what damage is done to the RV removing the motor and trans...cutting torch and then off to the scrap yard with the rest of it...couple of hours work...the money you get for the scrap metal can be put towards new heads...is the RV aluminum or fiberglass body? If it's aluminum you might even be able to talk to the owner of a scrap yard and take it straight to them and have them torch the motor and trans out for you, as long as they get the rest of it. I know of scrap yards that would do it if I asked them.

what would you guys suspect to be gained from a intake & carb upgrade & a mild perf. cam on that motor?

hey guys im 23 and new to el caminos i always loved them, so an offer was thrown my way of an 1978 elky for free, only problems the guy took the fram of of it and used the suspension. so any way the elky came from midwest no rust couldnt belive it i live close to seattle so thats a rare find around here. only problem is part of the a pillar is in need of a little stretch or pull it was hit on right fender side so no biggy. i want to put a 454 in it and not carb, tbi or efi, im guessing tbi would be better but need help with what engine year and rear end to use and tranny for that matter i have a 96 chev 350 vortec and a five speed but with elky there is no hole for a manul tranny and not really any room for a clutch pedal, so that ill save for something else can anyone out there give me some advise on anything to do with a tbi 454 build oh its a complete frame off resto. the guy lost all interest in it and was going to chop it up so im bringing it back to life any web sites or anything will help thank you