Project LS7 454 (pics)
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,532
Likes: 14
From: Dallas-Fort Worth TX
Thanks.....
I had an idea of the combo after talking to 427hotrod and several others with BB builds. Tracdogg2 narrowed down the combo for me when it came to the parts and designed a set up that would work with my trans, Torque C and rear gears. The block was bored .030, decked/blue printed etc.
Solid roller Cam/lifters/roller rockers .640/.655 lift, 290 Oval port Afr heads, forged pistons 10.25:1 CR. Planning on 3 inch dual exhaust.
I have 5 gallons of 107 octane just for the initial start up.
I had an idea of the combo after talking to 427hotrod and several others with BB builds. Tracdogg2 narrowed down the combo for me when it came to the parts and designed a set up that would work with my trans, Torque C and rear gears. The block was bored .030, decked/blue printed etc.
Solid roller Cam/lifters/roller rockers .640/.655 lift, 290 Oval port Afr heads, forged pistons 10.25:1 CR. Planning on 3 inch dual exhaust.
I have 5 gallons of 107 octane just for the initial start up.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 5,000
Likes: 1
From: Minneapolis, Mn USA
Love them big chrome valve covers!!
Looking at your pics, I notice its looks pretty tight against the brake booster area. If you go hydroboost, you'll gain clearance on the valve covers and have a brake pedal power to match the go pedal power.
Looking at your pics, I notice its looks pretty tight against the brake booster area. If you go hydroboost, you'll gain clearance on the valve covers and have a brake pedal power to match the go pedal power.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 5,557
Likes: 9
From: Oquirrh Mountains
St. Jude Donor '09
AFR 290's 
You've got smart guys advising you; those are PERFECT for your build.
The metallic orange is a nice touch too. Will this be or is it the color of your car? Post up some more when you get a chance.
You've got smart guys advising you; those are PERFECT for your build.The metallic orange is a nice touch too. Will this be or is it the color of your car? Post up some more when you get a chance.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 34,453
Likes: 665
From: Republic of Texas
Yes, its all Iron.
As much as I would like to keep the original set up, highest octane gas I have found at the pump is 93.
Hopefully, some magic can be worked with a 10:1 compression, matched with a good cam, lifters, reworked heads, and intake/carb. I think 500 hp is realistic. I will just have to wait and see what works best.
I welcome any tips/advice from the seasoned engine guru's....
Thanks for looking......
As much as I would like to keep the original set up, highest octane gas I have found at the pump is 93.
Hopefully, some magic can be worked with a 10:1 compression, matched with a good cam, lifters, reworked heads, and intake/carb. I think 500 hp is realistic. I will just have to wait and see what works best.
I welcome any tips/advice from the seasoned engine guru's....
Thanks for looking......
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 9,993
Likes: 1,136
From: League City Tx
Sh*t 600hp will be a piece of cake.....that car is gonna be nasty. Just make sure you get the converter right. It will make or break the car's performance. That's a 10 sec ride sittin there with the right exhaust/converter....
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Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,532
Likes: 14
From: Dallas-Fort Worth TX
Alan, any issues running your plug wires underneath the headers and around the side of the heads in order to keep them out of site? I got some long plug wires to work with.
Do you have them attached to any type of looms at all?
Benlurkin, the actual block color is Copper. It looks real nice in the light.
Few more pics of the outside. She was filthy, so I hosed her off, removed lots of dust/dirt.
Layed the hood on, its not fitted or painted yet. Found a transmission line leak up by the radiator. Looks like the steel tubing has a little hole in it. I will need to patch that up.
Still several items to finish before I am done. Still working on it......
Thanks,
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Do you have them attached to any type of looms at all?
Benlurkin, the actual block color is Copper. It looks real nice in the light.
Few more pics of the outside. She was filthy, so I hosed her off, removed lots of dust/dirt.
Layed the hood on, its not fitted or painted yet. Found a transmission line leak up by the radiator. Looks like the steel tubing has a little hole in it. I will need to patch that up.
Still several items to finish before I am done. Still working on it......
Thanks,
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Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,057
Likes: 99
From: Southeast, Tennessee
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '26
Well, I'm certainly not seasoned at building engines, but I've spent my share of earned income on racing engines, Hi Perf street engines and everything in between over the years. Some will agree, and some won't. Everyone has an opinion.. Here is mine,
10:1 compression still seems a little steep for todays dish soap, errr, pump gas.. Some will say otherwise, but never forget the old saying that "detonation needs to be avoided at all costs" Think of a sledgehammer hitting the top of your pistons!!
You have a great set of heads and a bullet proof block, crank and rods. IMHO 9:1 compression forged slugs, a nice dual plane intake, a custom hydraulic roller cam, lifters and matching springs. Forget the solid lifters for the street.. You'll be knocking on the door of a realistic 450hp. (That's all fine and good, but it's torque that you're looking for on the street) Once you've got 500+ lb ft of torque, then it's time to think about getting it to the pavement effeciently.
Your tranny is going to need an ATI, or other brand reworked valvebody and internals. You will need a different converter as well. Don't order a converter until you know what your cam specs are along with other criteria. ATI will help you with that..Don't just order one from Jegs or Summit.. (I've always received superior parts, service and tech help from ATI down in Maryland) Don't hesitate to call them when you're ready. You don't need a racing transmission but you'll want to pay attention to the parts that go into yours so it will live! Not to mention utilize all that the new motor has to offer.
If the rearend has a lot of miles on it, you might want to take a peek inside. It might also need some work!! A set if 3:36 gears are fun on the street.
Translation: Get your checkbook out!!
10:1 compression still seems a little steep for todays dish soap, errr, pump gas.. Some will say otherwise, but never forget the old saying that "detonation needs to be avoided at all costs" Think of a sledgehammer hitting the top of your pistons!!
You have a great set of heads and a bullet proof block, crank and rods. IMHO 9:1 compression forged slugs, a nice dual plane intake, a custom hydraulic roller cam, lifters and matching springs. Forget the solid lifters for the street.. You'll be knocking on the door of a realistic 450hp. (That's all fine and good, but it's torque that you're looking for on the street) Once you've got 500+ lb ft of torque, then it's time to think about getting it to the pavement effeciently.
Your tranny is going to need an ATI, or other brand reworked valvebody and internals. You will need a different converter as well. Don't order a converter until you know what your cam specs are along with other criteria. ATI will help you with that..Don't just order one from Jegs or Summit.. (I've always received superior parts, service and tech help from ATI down in Maryland) Don't hesitate to call them when you're ready. You don't need a racing transmission but you'll want to pay attention to the parts that go into yours so it will live! Not to mention utilize all that the new motor has to offer.
If the rearend has a lot of miles on it, you might want to take a peek inside. It might also need some work!! A set if 3:36 gears are fun on the street.
Translation: Get your checkbook out!!
i'm in the process of building a 383 stroker in my 78 pace car. i've been the 454 route (72 el camino, but that's another story), and with a comp cam and high performance heads (ported and polished, etc), it will make about 9.4:1 compression (intentionally) so i can keep it on the street and run it on 93 pump gas. unfortunately, it's not like the old days when gas was both cheap and real. while you might be down a bit in horsepower, you might want to consider it to save money, save your engine, and still enjoy it all.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 9,993
Likes: 1,136
From: League City Tx
No issues with the wires running behind the heads and under the headers...I just use tie wraps to tie them back away from the headers....Tied to motor mounts, starter harness, pivot ball bolt....anything really that keeps em pulled into the block... I like it much better then running them over the top of the VCs.
Your car looks real cool....
Your car looks real cool....
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 13,015
Likes: 2,260
From: Corsicana, Tx
2020 C2 of the Year - Modified Winner
2020 Corvette of the Year (performance mods)
C2 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
2017 C2 of Year Finalist
Getting soooooooo close! Waiting to hear it rumble clean across Dallas area all the way out to my house!!
JIM
JIM
Pro
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 737
Likes: 3
From: Pennington NJ
That is quite a cam Mako... Huge amount of lift, not sure if that will even idle.
Solid Lift cam vs Solid roller cam, seems to have its advantages based on what I read thus far about valve/lash adjustment. If I only had to adjust every 2000-3000 miles, then I would seriously consider it. I have probably put less than 1500 miles in the last year on my car. But I do plan to drive it much more once I am done with her transformation.
I tried to call CompCams today but got nothing but busy signals. 4 different times. What gives?
I do not want to sound foolish, but I really lust after a fat rough lopey idle. Who does'nt right... Haa, its funny, they have descriptions on the Compcam website. Some say lopey , rough, choppy... Haa I thought those were all the same....
But, I do want quality, that is most important. I want the cam to be happy and perform well in the engine, just cruising around, and then of course went I put my foot into it , I want women and children to be frightened.
Tim, sounds good, I bet with that octane she smells nice...
I guess till I talk to my macheinst/builder or compcams, I will not know what power loss I will suffer by going to a maintenance free hydraulic cam/lifter set up.
454HO-
The pic of the intake is a TMR2, I think that's it. It's designed for rect port heads. Its old school from what I read. Its a single plane.
The carb is a Holley 750 vac secondary. This is what was on it before. I was told it ran well. I guess detonation/low octane gas probably caused that piston to go south.
Thanks for all the info...
Solid Lift cam vs Solid roller cam, seems to have its advantages based on what I read thus far about valve/lash adjustment. If I only had to adjust every 2000-3000 miles, then I would seriously consider it. I have probably put less than 1500 miles in the last year on my car. But I do plan to drive it much more once I am done with her transformation.
I tried to call CompCams today but got nothing but busy signals. 4 different times. What gives?
I do not want to sound foolish, but I really lust after a fat rough lopey idle. Who does'nt right... Haa, its funny, they have descriptions on the Compcam website. Some say lopey , rough, choppy... Haa I thought those were all the same....
But, I do want quality, that is most important. I want the cam to be happy and perform well in the engine, just cruising around, and then of course went I put my foot into it , I want women and children to be frightened.
Tim, sounds good, I bet with that octane she smells nice...
I guess till I talk to my macheinst/builder or compcams, I will not know what power loss I will suffer by going to a maintenance free hydraulic cam/lifter set up.
454HO-
The pic of the intake is a TMR2, I think that's it. It's designed for rect port heads. Its old school from what I read. Its a single plane.
The carb is a Holley 750 vac secondary. This is what was on it before. I was told it ran well. I guess detonation/low octane gas probably caused that piston to go south.
Thanks for all the info...
. Post a video when you get it running, its going to be a fiend!Will
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 12,142
Likes: 54
From: Taylor Michigan
to run your plug wires below the headers and behind the block the wise plug boot would be a 90 degree style as a straight will not work for underneath wires......it does keep the engine compartment nice and clean looking without wires all over the valve covers and works quite well, but i`m sure you already knew that.....
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,532
Likes: 14
From: Dallas-Fort Worth TX
Few more updates. Might as well keep em coming.
Worked on the fuel line. Nothing is easy........
Anyway,
I got the braided hose and all AN connections to go along with it.
I had to set up my fuel pump first and have the inlet and outlet ports in the right spot in order to get the lines in place. This was not easy. Only positioned it 4-5 times before I figured out the best angle. Had to put the header on to ensure I was not to close to any of the tubes.
Professor Mistake is my most popular instructor.
Next issue was fitting the AN connections on to the braided hose.
The wrapping with tape, hack saw, dremel tool, cable cutter, did not work for me. Looked terrible when I finished.
Figured I would share this method that worked best for me with everyone. I take no credit for it though, since I stole it off of youtube.
1. Big ol sharp chisel
2. No tape
3. Big hammer
4. Piece of solid steel- (old piece of rail road track steel)
5. Piece of copper or brass to protect the blade on the chisel
6. Concrete driveway
7. Safety glasses
Made a perfect cut with one or two whacks with the hammer.
Next trick is to put the AN fitting in a vice and work the hose in with a small screwdriver.
Then keep in the vice to tighten down the connections. ( I used a lite grease on all the connectors)
This was all new to me and ended up being the best method. Struggling by hand to work these things in did not work either.
Fuel line is finished with the regulator. I will plan to run a return line in the near future.
Lars recommendation.
Thanks for all the traffic and comments.
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Worked on the fuel line. Nothing is easy........
Anyway,
I got the braided hose and all AN connections to go along with it.
I had to set up my fuel pump first and have the inlet and outlet ports in the right spot in order to get the lines in place. This was not easy. Only positioned it 4-5 times before I figured out the best angle. Had to put the header on to ensure I was not to close to any of the tubes.
Professor Mistake is my most popular instructor.
Next issue was fitting the AN connections on to the braided hose.
The wrapping with tape, hack saw, dremel tool, cable cutter, did not work for me. Looked terrible when I finished.
Figured I would share this method that worked best for me with everyone. I take no credit for it though, since I stole it off of youtube.
1. Big ol sharp chisel
2. No tape
3. Big hammer
4. Piece of solid steel- (old piece of rail road track steel)
5. Piece of copper or brass to protect the blade on the chisel
6. Concrete driveway
7. Safety glasses
Made a perfect cut with one or two whacks with the hammer.
Next trick is to put the AN fitting in a vice and work the hose in with a small screwdriver.
Then keep in the vice to tighten down the connections. ( I used a lite grease on all the connectors)
This was all new to me and ended up being the best method. Struggling by hand to work these things in did not work either.
Fuel line is finished with the regulator. I will plan to run a return line in the near future.
Lars recommendation.
Thanks for all the traffic and comments.
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Racer
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 351
Likes: 48
From: Penn Yan NY
Few more updates. Might as well keep em coming.
Worked on the fuel line. Nothing is easy........
Anyway,
I got the braided hose and all AN connections to go along with it.
I had to set up my fuel pump first and have the inlet and outlet ports in the right spot in order to get the lines in place. This was not easy. Only positioned it 4-5 times before I figured out the best angle. Had to put the header on to ensure I was not to close to any of the tubes.
Professor Mistake is my most popular instructor.
Next issue was fitting the AN connections on to the braided hose.
The wrapping with tape, hack saw, dremel tool, cable cutter, did not work for me. Looked terrible when I finished.
Figured I would share this method that worked best for me with everyone. I take no credit for it though, since I stole it off of youtube.
1. Big ol sharp chisel
2. No tape
3. Big hammer
4. Piece of solid steel- (old piece of rail road track steel)
5. Piece of copper or brass to protect the blade on the chisel
6. Concrete driveway
7. Safety glasses
Made a perfect cut with one or two whacks with the hammer.
Next trick is to put the AN fitting in a vice and work the hose in with a small screwdriver.
Then keep in the vice to tighten down the connections. ( I used a lite grease on all the connectors)
This was all new to me and ended up being the best method. Struggling by hand to work these things in did not work either.
Fuel line is finished with the regulator. I will plan to run a return line in the near future.
Lars recommendation.
Thanks for all the traffic and comments.
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Worked on the fuel line. Nothing is easy........
Anyway,
I got the braided hose and all AN connections to go along with it.
I had to set up my fuel pump first and have the inlet and outlet ports in the right spot in order to get the lines in place. This was not easy. Only positioned it 4-5 times before I figured out the best angle. Had to put the header on to ensure I was not to close to any of the tubes.
Professor Mistake is my most popular instructor.
Next issue was fitting the AN connections on to the braided hose.
The wrapping with tape, hack saw, dremel tool, cable cutter, did not work for me. Looked terrible when I finished.
Figured I would share this method that worked best for me with everyone. I take no credit for it though, since I stole it off of youtube.
1. Big ol sharp chisel
2. No tape
3. Big hammer
4. Piece of solid steel- (old piece of rail road track steel)
5. Piece of copper or brass to protect the blade on the chisel
6. Concrete driveway
7. Safety glasses
Made a perfect cut with one or two whacks with the hammer.
Next trick is to put the AN fitting in a vice and work the hose in with a small screwdriver.
Then keep in the vice to tighten down the connections. ( I used a lite grease on all the connectors)
This was all new to me and ended up being the best method. Struggling by hand to work these things in did not work either.
Fuel line is finished with the regulator. I will plan to run a return line in the near future.
Lars recommendation.
Thanks for all the traffic and comments.
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[/IMG] Looks good Rob!! Keep posting pics, I need to get into this section more often. I bought a C6 Z06 and haven't been in here much at all since..
Racer
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 434
Likes: 0
From: Triangle Area NC
Were you able to keep the inline Holley fuel filters in the inlets of the carbs with that AN plumbing ?
Looking great!
I'm working on my 73 454 ... it's an LS5 block with oval port heads, but with larger valves fitted, flowed etc, 10.5 :1 Edelbrock RPM, 770 Street Avenger, Howard Cam, etc etc.
If you figure out how to fit that hood, let me know as mine fits about the same :-)
Looking great!
I'm working on my 73 454 ... it's an LS5 block with oval port heads, but with larger valves fitted, flowed etc, 10.5 :1 Edelbrock RPM, 770 Street Avenger, Howard Cam, etc etc.
If you figure out how to fit that hood, let me know as mine fits about the same :-)
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,532
Likes: 14
From: Dallas-Fort Worth TX
My carb does not have filters. I have seen pics of these, but I do not have them. I have a inline filter about a foot away from the carb.
Issue today is the driver side header with one of the tubes bumping up against the steering box.... Looks like I see a dent in its future. I had heard I might have to do this, I was hoping I would not have to.
The hood is down the list, but I am working my ways towards it.
Issue today is the driver side header with one of the tubes bumping up against the steering box.... Looks like I see a dent in its future. I had heard I might have to do this, I was hoping I would not have to.
The hood is down the list, but I am working my ways towards it.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,532
Likes: 14
From: Dallas-Fort Worth TX
[COLOR="Purple"]Well I finally got it running. Here are a few videos of the results. Need to tune the carb now. I have not driven it, just idle time.
I am not the best camera person so beware. That is me moving the camera all around.
Make sure you turn the volume all the way UP!!!...
Thanks,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVh8qVJd2sE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdZ5eYH4RuI
I am not the best camera person so beware. That is me moving the camera all around.
Make sure you turn the volume all the way UP!!!...
Thanks,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVh8qVJd2sE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdZ5eYH4RuI