Hvymtlc5

Why is the 427 a better or "preferred" engine than the 454?

Is it because of the shorter stroke that it can rev higher/quicker and produce more HP? Can't I just stick a 427 crank in a 454 and make it 427? If this is stupid question don't laugh too much. I got a 74 454 block with 427 heads now and have been thinking about it.

Fevre

I think it depends on what you are going to use the car for, if a race only car then maybe the 427 is the way to go but if you want a car that jumps off the line or when hitting the gas at low rpm's then the extra torq the 454 provides might be the way to go.

PRNDL

In what way do you find the 427 is preferred to the 454? The 427 preceeded the 454 and there seems to be a halo effect from the L88s of 67-69. I know there are many that will carefully weigh the benefits/shortcomings of the two displacements but I would bet that most would be hardpressed to tell the difference without the air cleaner decals! 27 cubic inches?

Corey_68

If both engine are equal (same heads, cam, intake, carb, etc) the 454 will make roughly 25hp/ 25tq more than the 427. A 427 and 454 share the same bore, only the stroke is different. So yes you can swap crank to shorten the stroke, but you will be giving up cubic inches as well as power. Both are EXCELLENT engines but give the the cubic inches everyime. A built 454 will have no problem reving to 7,000rpms, don't think b/c of the longer stroke it ca't rev.

gsfgf

In everyday driving, torque is better anyway.

sray454

Please note that you can't simply swap crankshafts. The 427 crank is internally balanced whereas the 454 is externally balanced. They take different balancers and I believe different flywheels too.

Paul L

I don't have an informed opinion, just a comment. A similar argument was advanced when the 327 became a 350. There might be some truth in the short stroke theory/fact(?) but I will leave it to others to make judgements based their experiences.

norvalwilhelm

I thought this post would turn into a debate but everyone agrees the 454 is preferred on the street for it's increased torque. I wouldn't even settle for a 454 anymore. If something happens to mine I will settle for no less then 502 and possible a 540. Even the 454 eventually becomes too tame.
As for revving I regularly took mine to 7500.

03ki11er

It doesn't matter, four cylinder with a turbo will own any big block any day! Turbo's will never die, never!

Fevre

Was watching tuner transformer last night and they where doing a ricer build up. Once they got the 4 banger eng done with a supercharger they fired it up and where like "ya, awesome!" while I was thinking my sewing maching sounds tougher.

NHvette

You're joking about the 4 banger, right ?
You can put five turbos on there, and never meet the low end
torque of a BB.

Oh - are talking about a 4cylinder in a CRX or a vette ?
A BB CRX would also kick the 4cyl turbo version down the strip.

Ironcross

Thats not always true! As someone will always be around to top that statement. Chrysler had a 2.2 turbo named GLH, which meant "goes like hell". All it could do is beat another 4 cyl. No substitute for inches.

terrible_buddhist

the 'prefered engine' thing comes from how the engines were in their stock form.

the 427 came with compression ratios ranging from 10.25 to 11 to 1, and had higher horsepower numbers. When emissions started creaping in they designed the 454 and gave it lower compression numbers, which in turn lowered the HP. All things equal, the only substitute for cubic inches are cubic feet.

joe73vette

I remember when the 454 first came out, it was considered a truck/station wagon motor or an emissions motor. The 427 was a derivitave of the LeMans/Nascar motor, slightly tamed for the street. You could get a steel crank in a 427, too, which everyone in the day "knew" was required for any real horsepower. Now we are smarter, of course, and realize torque rules the street and there's no replacement for displacement. Same thing for the 400 small block, initially poo-poo'd, but now highly desired. Joe

MEAN72

The only thing that beats cubic inches are rectangular dollars. Stay with the cubes and modify from there.

GDaina

427 and 454 is teh same block.. GM notched the bottom of the cyl to clear the longer stroke and then gave a new casting number and part number.

Regarding cranks, Scat, Eagle make internal balanced cranks in 4, 4.25 inch strokes.

Jay M

I had romantic feelings about my 427. It just seems right for the car. It's a part of American history!

But my engine builder told that cubic inches = torque, and torque is what you feel. It was a cheap way to make significat power in a street car.

So I am keeping the 427 numbers on the hood, and enjoying 468ci under it

~Jay

Mike Smith

Jay -

Which stroker crank and rods did you use? Did the block have to be modified to accept the crank?

Gordonm

I would not even consider building a 427 BB. Now you can get that many cubes in a SB. A 502 would be the smallest BB I would build. 540 and up will start costing cubic dollars.

Hvymtlc5

You all got my attention. 7000 rpm out of the 454 is more than I care to build. I'll stick with what I have (454) and work from there. Thanks for the open minded opinions and advice.