I bought a '69 Corvette coupe 4 speed. It's black but we're taking it back to LeMans blue. It's pretty much all in parts but it does have the numbers matching 350. I can get a 454 block and heads for $450. The original is the 300 hp but during a rebuild I can bump that up a lot. Do the 350 or the 454?

It needs a full exhaust and I'm thinking about factory side pipes.

 

Which heads for the 454? And would you build that up as well? Big block heads are way more expensive than small block.
everyone’s different but I’d rather have a built high performance small block than a turd stock big block.

 

If you go with the 454 here is a thread that talks about the different things you’ll need converting from a small block to a big block.

 

I agree with you on this one. Big blocks are cool and all, but if you really want to drive it all the time I think a High Performance Small block is the way to go.

 

Life is too short to settle, big block all the way!

 

LS swap. There's a reason that 454 is "only" $450-.

Save the original engine in a corner of the garage.

 

For all their glory, today's technology means the classical 427 looses a lot of brownie points for being cast iron. If you go for the 427, I'd really recommend aluminum heads if your budget can swing the deal. The aluminum heads alone will take 100 lbs off of the nose of the car. Also, keep in mind that with today's technology cranks and rods, that 427 block can easily go to 454+ cubic inches and still be internally balanced; i.e. can use the stock 427 flywheel and vibration damper. Good luck. Either choice is a good choice.

 

Im in the same boat....did all sorts of upgrades to my 327, eventually making 430HP, it was fun at really high rpm....7200rpm. I built a 427 with light weight flywheel and balncer so it revs quicker...more fun than the 327 at low rpm and all the pep all the way to my rev limiter at 6300.....I bet I can get the 427 to 7000 but I dont want to risk it unless I can see the numbers on a DYNO.

I say 350 in the corner, 454 block, find a 396/ 427 forged crank and build the engine to 427 specs with new forged pistons and rods all balanced internally. You can get parts easily and you dont have to worry about the balancing the flywheel to the crank. If you go with a 15 lb 4 speed flywheel it will have all the rev fun of the small block. As for the heads dont bother with cast iron ...even if you pay big money to port, enlarge the valves and set them up for viton seals and bigger springs they will still weigh 100lbs each. Save up the $2500 and buy 270 RaceRite Brodix heads with a 113 or 115 combustion chamber to keep your compression up or get a bigger domed piston. I run around with 11:1 with a dome and 115 chambers on 93 octane pump gas with no pinging.... Or go with AFR 265 heads...you can get 600 hp with either head without much effort. You can idle along at 1500 rpm and if you get a 5 speed run a lower rear gear if you want neck breaking launches. You can run anything from a 3.08 gear up to a 4.11. I run 4.11s with my 5 speed but you may want a 3.55 or a 3.70 rear if you just want to be a street light king with a 4 speed and no long highway runs

 

It's easy enough to get 450-500 hp out of a small block today. Plus you'll save a lot of weight up front.

 

Stick with the small block. Way too many issues converting to a BB. The SB will handle better and stop faster , in all a better balanced car.

U can approach the SB balance if u spend the cash for all of the aluminum BB components. Speed costs money, how fast u wanna go?

 

None of thats true....a big block with aluminum heads, water pump, intake, and headers is not much heavier that stock, all cast small block. The only difference is the brackets and pulleys, everything eles is the same includingvthe radiator on later cars.

Handling and stopping power are about the same....i am running VBP monospring up front and didnt touch the tune

 

The only true part is big block heads are more expensive andvthe rest is slightly more expensive

 

Totally agree. There is nothing like the torque of a big block. Of course, I skipped right past 454 and went for an internally balanced 496 (.060" over, 1/4" stroker). Idles at 850 and pulls to 6500 rpm.

Here is my dyno chart from 10 years ago (rear wheel through a T-56 Magnum and 3.73 12 bolt rear). Yes that is over 400 ft lbs of torque at the rear wheels from 3000 to 5300 rpm.

 

Been watching this one thinking, I'll stay out of this.
It's your car and your money. You should really do what makes you happy.
I'll say this however, over the years many, many times spectators have asked me, "Is it a Big Block" when I say no, I get that Ooohhh that seems to decline like the oh is running out of air, ya know what I mean?
The spectators want it to be a big block and when it is not there is no longer any interest whatsoever.
They of course don't have to feed it. They don't wish to drive it. And the vast majority of them could look straight at my 350 and if I told them it was a big block, they would believe me! (No ****).
I of course do have to feed it. Petrol is well over 2 dollars a litre nowadays, (well over 8 bucks a Gallon).
I do get to drive it. And yes you can shed weight on a big block. But I shed weight on a small block making mine even lighter still. And many of us do!
400 Ft Lbs of torque sounds great out of that big block. Yes indeed!
But most of us are getting that out of a modified small block!
So, your car , your money.
Just chasing down the accessory brackets for a big block would turn me off.
Your Car Mate. If you love Big Blocks, nothing else will ever scratch that itch! If you really want a LS Swap with all that goes with that? Then go.
Don't listen to any of us!

 

A pro built 400 cubic inch small block will give you 500 hp and torque all day long with 91 octane pump gas at under 5,800 rpm.......$10K........want more ?

Seriously ?

Well, you can get 700+ hp from a 434 cubic inch engine for another $7K on 94 octane, but it's not gonna last for long before rebuild time because you'll need 7,000+ rpm to do so.

Whereas $15-16K gets you a 540 cubic inch low rpm aluminium head big block that will last forever, and reliably pump out 700 hp on 91 octane all day long at 5,800 rpm.

 

Ha! Do you have a trusted source for these engines?

Here's a professionally built (twice!) 406 engine. $18K+ "invested", sold for $5K, nothing to show for it.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...is-winter.html

OP: If you want a running engine in your car for $450-, make sure you start with a running engine from another car. Or the engine you already have can likely get you 400 HP with top-end mods.

 

Shafiroff, Steve Schmidt, Vortec Pro (Mark Jones)........these three should get you started if you don't like BPE.

 

Small or big block, hedman makes headers that the stock side exhaust can be modified to bolt to. I used both. They needed some massaging to clear some interference issues.

I used hifloperformance.com C2 chambered exhaust with C3 tips...i bought the 2.5 inch wild version....pretty loud...they can make them in a quiet version but only 2.25 inch