454 Paperweight
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 414
Likes: 55
From: Humboldt county Ca
454 Paperweight
I have a chance to pick up a Summit 454 with 5000 miles on it for $600. The numbers show it to be a 96-up, 4 bolt block, Gen VI. The heads are iron vortec, 98-up, 100 cc. No intake or carb but otherwise complete. The engine was in a truck and running when the seller bought it and he said it sounded good. This would be a project to eventually replace the 350 in my '75, auto. It appears to be one of the reman engines that Summit sells from what I can deduce on their site.
I don't mind yanking the motor apart and checking everything before I stick it in the car and I've got plenty of time to do that.
My only worry is being stuck with a 454 paperweight if the motor has internal problems. My 600 dollar cheapie could turn nasty on me real fast if that's the case.
Thoughts?
I don't mind yanking the motor apart and checking everything before I stick it in the car and I've got plenty of time to do that.
My only worry is being stuck with a 454 paperweight if the motor has internal problems. My 600 dollar cheapie could turn nasty on me real fast if that's the case.
Thoughts?
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,652
Likes: 49
From: Bridgewater nj
The biggest headache would be water in the oil but if that checks out have everything magnafluxed to make sure there are no cracks. Big block are pretty tuff but sleeving a cylinder or decking the block is not to expensive. From what I understand those motors are slugs unless you spend the money on heads to build good HP.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 9,993
Likes: 1,136
From: League City Tx
Peanut port heads on that BB...
Tear it down, inspect it, if its in good shape, slap it back together and throw it in...
If it needs boring, put some 10-1 mini dome pistons in it to help build compression, then slap a set of some old 049 or 781 oval ports on it and you have a 500hp build right there for cheap.. Throw a decent HYD flat tappet cam or better yet a solid flat tappet cam in it and an RPM air gap intake.
11 sec car easy..
Tear it down, inspect it, if its in good shape, slap it back together and throw it in...
If it needs boring, put some 10-1 mini dome pistons in it to help build compression, then slap a set of some old 049 or 781 oval ports on it and you have a 500hp build right there for cheap.. Throw a decent HYD flat tappet cam or better yet a solid flat tappet cam in it and an RPM air gap intake.
11 sec car easy..
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!
Joe Kucinski
Drifting
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,353
Likes: 44
From: Calgary Alberta
Had a 3/4 ton suburban that had one of those 454s in it, or very similar at least. They are indeed sluggish boat anchors if left alone, but it doesn't take much to make them into absolute monsters I don't think. Even the one I had in stock trim but a torque machine, could hit a hill on the highway at 120km/h with a load and the thing wouldn't even downshift half the time because it didn't need to.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 414
Likes: 55
From: Humboldt county Ca
Maybe the heads aren't what I think. The breakdown for #12560241 comes back from the web as "closed chamber, 100cc, Vortec for 1998 and up.
The rest is pretty much what I figured. I won't be back home 'till 1st of April. I'll grab it if he hasn't dumped it by then.
Thanks for all the replies!
Stump
The rest is pretty much what I figured. I won't be back home 'till 1st of April. I'll grab it if he hasn't dumped it by then.
Thanks for all the replies!
Stump