mike8035

Have a 1976 Vette 350 Auto Trans. Going to install 427 or 454 engine in car there was a 350 in it. Any thing i should know about before i by the engine?

cv67

Some history on the motor would be good
Most "hipo" motors you see selling used are nothing more than low compression stock shortblocks so ask questions
Try to find one complete with accessories if you can cuts costs a lot less nickel and diming.
Get the bigger motor if you can youll be happier. All that short stroke high revs talk...bah. Bigger is better on the street where torque is king!

7t9l82

it bolts in. accessory drive is something that must be dealt with but no big deal

mike8035

Great bigger is better i will run with that. Looking on eBay i could buy a complete 454 with 510 Hp for 6,000 looks good in the picture. Any thoughts on this?

Also since i have ripped the car apart any thoughts on replacing the bushings and tie rods and springs. I would assume that they are from 1976

hugie82

I did a 74 vette with a 427. It's not hard. The distributor, carb, alt, power steering pump all can be use but like most have said, you'll have to hunt down brackets from DrRebuild or other venders.
I saved a few bucks by using electric fans instead of spendind money on the shroud & fan.
A 4 core radiator is a must if you plan on using AC.
My suspension worked just fine with the extra weight but I did buy coil over HD shocks about a year later because my headers hung a little low.

68ausrat

Sump, make sure the sump will clear the steering ram, mine didn't and had to chase down a 427 corvette sum, not that easy from Australia. Lucky a bloke was changing to a different on (after market)

And hood clearance.

Radiator support panel, the brackets that hold the radiator at the bottom need to be changed if using a big block radiator. I think it is the passenger side needs to be moved out about 2"

This is in my 69 from 350auto to 454 4 speed.

One last thing,

There is no replacement for displacement

TheDucci

Some more info and more links:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...-block-c3.html

Easy Mike

Yes. You should know there is more to this swap than just the big block. If you have no actual knowledge of what was included in the big block packages 68-74, dig around until you find the information. Springs, brackets, sway bars, radiators and shrouds, etc.

roger3

Did it to my 76 and love it. 468 ci motor with 350 turbo tranny.

Spent $600 on pulleys and brackets from Zip.

Spent $900 for new dewitts radiator with elec fans.

Spent $1000 for sidepipes, headers (used) and heat shields.

Spent $400 for L88 hood.

Spent $4500 on used engine, then $2500 to fix it. For $7000 grand I could have bought a better combination engine with more hp and torque. Be careful what you buy.

Good luck

Roger

MotorHead

Someone was correct in the fact that the 4in. crank in 427ci small block will give you more torque than the 427ci big block and with the correct parts ( read expensive ) will rev just as fast up to 7500 RPM. I know this because I have one.

That is the way I would go, small block 427/434cu. A friend of mine has a big block '69 and it fills the engine compartment and makes it more difficult to work on. Don't mind big blocks at all but if I were to make the change I would make it worth it 555, 632 etc etc you can't get that kind of power from any small block N/A