When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I just had my 454 rebuilt. Nothing exotic other than slightly domed pistons; new cam, all new valve train with bronze guides, reworked seats, bearings, balancing, etc. The heads, block, intake, and the rest are stock components. I believe the machining was top-notch and done by someone who truly cared about putting together a solid performing, reliable engine. Complete cost with break-in and dyno ran just shy of $6,000. .........
I also know of a friend who just got my old vette oval port 2 bolt 454 rebuilt, by a very good machine shop, he brought in all the basic parts. Only thing that got purchased was an intake manifold. Bill was around $5200. Align bored, heads redone, bored .030, new pistons medium sized hydraulic street cam, etc. No dyno, Run enough to break in the cam. Roughly 430-450HP.
I am actually building a 383 now that would blow away the previous 355 $/HP number. It will get Dart heads, bigger Howards cam, Mahle forged pistons. Got the 4 bolt block for free. Getting it cleaned up and .030" over as I type. Goin fast for low cabbage.
I just got a copy of my 427 sb build sheet and looked at it from my motor that was built 12 years ago. $10k with no intake or efi. I bought the valve covers, oil pan and water pump separate as well as I recall. The efi setup was ridiculously expensive as I went to great effort to keep it under the stock hood. Motown ported, 1450 cfm throttle body, custom fuel rails, two different sets of injectors etc. I got it running good, but never did get fine tuned till I moved and the car went into storage. I'm working on it now...
Dart Little M block with the block decked and align honed by the machine shop even though it was new
Scat forged crank
AFR 210 cnc ported heads that had just come out at the time
Scat I beam rods 7/16" bolts
Mahle forged pistons
Comp cams solid roller cam
Comp cams retrofit solid roller lifters
Stud girdles
double roller timing chain. Cloyes I think? It was a good one
billet Timing chain cover with the cam button
ARP bolts throughout
Last edited by Corvettedave02; Jun 23, 2020 at 08:18 PM.
I also know of a friend who just got my old vette oval port 2 bolt 454 rebuilt, by a very good machine shop, he brought in all the basic parts. Only thing that got purchased was an intake manifold. Bill was around $5200. Align bored, heads redone, bored .030, new pistons medium sized hydraulic street cam, etc. No dyno, Run enough to break in the cam. Roughly 430-450HP.
I elected to hold the compression down to 9.0:1. Mine came in just shy of 400hp @ 4700rpm and 486 torques @ 3600.
(Thank you for your advice and guidance - especially with the cam.)
I built a 60 over 454 for around $12,000.
The block cost me $50.
Machine work was $ 2000
AFR heads and Elebrock intake ported $3200
Roller straub cam , lifters and rockers arms $1319
Ram clutch $1200
Powermaster starter $208
ARP Bolts $400
Wiseco pistons $390
Scat rods $300
Stewart water pump $240
Oil pan and pump $205
Balancer $125
Pulleys $310
Valve covers $40
Headers $500
Gaskets $200
I am probably forgetting some odds and ends, but that is the major stuff.
From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
Originally Posted by stingr69
I am actually building a 383 now that would blow away the previous 355 $/HP number. It will get Dart heads, bigger Howards cam, Mahle forged pistons. Got the 4 bolt block for free. Getting it cleaned up and .030" over as I type. Goin fast for low cabbage.
Absolutely nothing wrong with that.
I'm known for my parsimony, and I only spend the amount of money that the function/performance objective requires. And no more.
From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
Originally Posted by Sigforty
I built a 60 over 454 for around $12,000.
The block cost me $50.
Machine work was $ 2000
AFR heads and Elebrock intake ported $3200
Roller straub cam , lifters and rockers arms $1319
Ram clutch $1200
Powermaster starter $208
ARP Bolts $400
Wiseco pistons $390
Scat rods $300
Stewart water pump $240
Oil pan and pump $205
Balancer $125
Pulleys $310
Valve covers $40
Headers $500
Gaskets $200
I am probably forgetting some odds and ends, but that is the major stuff.
Those are nice looking headers. What brand are those?
For the big block guys look up Mark at vortecpro.com. That guy is a master with making power with those and iron heads.
Many of his crate engines are under 10k and make outstanding power...they hold up too.
Id like to do a low buck 383 or 400, use some ported chinese heads and a solid flat tappet just to see what happens....if it blew who cares
Sure it could be done for a couple thousand. Most guys do their dream motor at least once and splurge. Looking back coulda done a nice big block.
