OK I think I have **** canned that BB idea. Went to a car show tonight and there were two big block early C3s there. One was stock and one had headers/intake etc. Both of them had very little room but the stock one looked just as it should. Fit snug but like a glove. The other one...It had big tube headers and they are very close to everything. ESPECIALLY on the AC side. He didn't have AC on his and he had a ghetto type hood scoop. It doesn't look like any of my stuff will work. Shroud is different, fan is different and all of the pulleys and brackets are different. Even the AC hose on the compressor are different because the compressor on a BB sits almost in the right fenderwell. To me it seems like the headers would super heat the engine compartment and passenger compartment even worse the small block headers. Just seems like a big hassel and I don't want to modify my car that much for it to work. SOOOO I guess I am back on my small block theory. New Chevy High Performance has some nice 383 combos that make over 500hp. Interesting read. Back to square one.

 

then you will allways wonder what it would have een like to have a big block. good luck either way you go a stout built 383 can be lots of fun. I know mine was 425 hp. but it is still not a BB

 

Ya thinking about that 550hp 496' had me droolin but... I think a 500/510 383" would be a better choice for me. Lookin at AFR's site. They have some combos there that make these numbers that are relatively mild. Peak power by 6k. Strong low-mid lift flow numbers. Tons of low end tq. Plus I can disguise it as a stocker LT1 to keep the purists happy.

 

Okay let me spew out a few numbers here.

Yes you will have to get all the correct brackets for the Big Block as well as pulleys.

Yes you should change your front springs as well but not a must have.

Yes it is a bit more work.

But you can find a 454CI that needs to be rebuilt for a decent cost and for about $3000.oo or so in that Big Block you can have over 500 HP as well as TQ and also be reliable and easy to deal with on the street.

Yes a small block you get to keep all the stuff you have now and move it over.

Yes it is easier to yank and replace.

It will cost you almost double to make the same HP from the small block as you would the big block and it will not run as smooth to make the same HP.


The BIG ONE IS you can not say you have what well I have a BIG BLOCK.

 

I am glad I found this site. I am also putting a 496 that I am building from the ground up in my 74. This is my first BB and I was feeling discouraged because it is a big project and was considering going back and fixing my 350, which is dead. After reading everybodys post I have a new resolve and decided to go ahead with the 496. Because there is nothing like a big block, especially when it is matched with a nice set of chrome side pipes.

thanks

 

You can forget about the SB AC engine brackets fitting on to a BB, never happen. However BB Chevelle stuff should fit and bolt right up.

 

let me guess the green attack progressed into a rat attack. I have
been thinking the same thing, if he is going to go for an L88 hood
why waste money on a small block.

 

Ive never seen a post from someone yanking a SB for big one and saying they weren't happy with the results.

 

If you start to change your mind again go work on someones big block for a day.This chassis was designed originally for a small block.

 

It’s a personal choice, I am bias I’ve put a big block in everything that I’ve played with. I am in the final stages of the conversion and would not have changed anything. There is just nothing like walking up to a vette at a car show and seeing a big block sitting in the engine bay.

Neal

 

I love those high HP BB`s. If they did`nt come that way, I make sure most of my toys have at least one and sometimes even two of those 600HP animals. And these are the real deals

 

Ok mr flat tappit iron cross you have done me in with the boat I have
to have another big block now. Guess all my small block stuff will just
have to keep resting in peace. damn you iron cross.

 

Damn that fu-cker looks dangerous.......I like it.


I just talked to a buddy of mine. He built a 496" , scat crank and rods, an Ultradyne hyd flat tappet with around .590 lift, Oval Dart heads, performer RPM and a 750 DP, 10.5-1 comp, sucker made 605hp/650tq on pump gas..Relatively mild and BIG HP. Damn I want that kind of power. Hell I would settle with 550/550.

 

why did he mess it up with a hydraulic cam

 

I wouldn't say 605hp is messed up.. I don't care how it got it. Problem is, he put it in a 66 SS Chevelle and it will never see the track..

 

I love doing this, figured it would cause some excitement. And yes, the SOB was worse handling and more evil than my AA/fuel roadster. But I figured if one L88 was good, then two L88`s were twice as good. And I didn`t forget all you SB guys because I used a SB to start the big guys. Na,. just kidding.

 

Hydraulic cams belong in engines with Quadra-flops or as ajrothm
calls them Q-junk. this is why chevy put hydraulic cams with quaudra-
flops on there non performance engines, they did not really want the
engine to perform. Solid cam= more power even at mild rpm levels.

 

what's the weight difference between BB and a SB? considering both with the same level of quality parts (alu heads/etc).
also, what's the most respectable BB engine builder in USA? not a race one, but a strip/street with a nice loompy idle and just under 700 hp, with under 11.00 compression ratio? thanks/Giu

 

ajrothm…Yeah you may get 500hp out of a SB 383, but that is DEVELOPED hp (must get RPMs way up). It will NEVER match the trq BB’s make…PERIOD! A BB will get you more trq and hp (like you want) at a lower RPM, saving eng life. More mods…yeah, but at this point, you don’t want to wonder what if?! Plus, if you shop right, you can get the eng built and get the parts for the mods on your $6k – 7k budget. I WISH THERE WAS A WAY FOR YOU TO DRIVE A C3 WITH THE 383 YOU MENTIONED, THEN DRIVE A MILDLY BUILT 454…OR BETTER YET A 496! This post would have been over and you’d be working on those few mods for your BB!!!

Chilli…Sounds like an awesome build. Def go w/ electr fan(s). Havnt had the eng dyno’d yet. Those #’s I mentioned on my 496 at this point was calculated on paper by the guys that buit it. Still have the stock half shafts and 3.08 gears.

Gator79…Honestly, the 40 series Flowmasters sound sweet but are to loud inside the car for me. Thinkin bout goin with the Super 40s or the Delta series to reduce sound inside.

 

The 496" I want is a new GenVI block, aluminum dart heads, rpm air gap, roller cam, hypertect. pistons, forged I-beam rods and a Cast steel crank. All assembled and dyno tuned is $6400+shipping/crate+carbuerator. If I buy the carb from the builder, its a custom built 850dp and its $505. The a pulley and bracket kit is another $300. Ofcourse there is atleast another $200 in misc. BS so... About $7500 total. Lastly about $500 for a L88 hood plus paint costs. $8k is a lot of loot for a poor boy. For that money though I wish it had forged pistons and crank. Lloyd at T&L says they are not needed at that HP level on a BB unless its going to get sprayed. Believe me...still kicking the idea around. I am going to hold out a little longer, pay off some stuff and save up. Maybe by next summer I can do something. My stock motor still running well though so..not going to pull it yet. I have to do the interior this winter..there goes $1500.


The BB tq is what I really want, then maybe I can live with the 3.08s and still be able to cruise on the highways below 3k rpms at 70-75mph yet run some numbers at the strip.

BTW, my dad is possibly going to buy a 69', 427, 4bbl, 4spd car that is completely restored in cali in a week or two. Then I might get to drive a BB.