I have decided to build a 454 instead of a 383 and would like to know what you big block guys think of this build up, I would like to get around 550hp out of it. I will beputting this in my 81 camaro, I only drive the car on weekends and plan on taking it to the drag strip. I will also be adding a 6 or 8 pt roll bar.
454
Weiand stealth intake and 850cfm double pumper
Dart Iron Eagle 308cc rec. port heads
Wiseco forged pistons 10.6:1 w/119cc chambers
Comp Cams 294s solid lifter cam
adv duration 294/294, .050 dur 248/248, lift .595/.595, 110 lobe spread
Comp Cams pro-magnum rocker arms
Hooker competition headers
Dual 3in. exhaust
M22 4 speed and 4.10: gears

I am planning on a polishing the combustion chambers and cleaing up the ports on the heads.
Would 10.6:1 cr be too high with the 294s and iron heads on 93 octane pump gas and 160 deg thermostat?

 

I think you have a pretty good combo planned there. The heads will need some clean up work so that's a good investment. You can run 10.6 on iron heads, but spend the $$ to get either block decked or use thin steel shim headgaskets to get total quench distance to .035-.040 including gasket thickness. This is critical to making pump gas stuff run with high compression.

I'm not a big fan of the 294S cam. I'm sure we can find you a better cam. Thats a good baseline deal, but you can do much better these days.

Do you already have the M-22? Those suckers are reasonable strong, but that 2.20 first gear isn't going to be a rocket out of the hole with 4.10's and a heavy car. For what an M-22 costs these days, you can go to a Super T-10 with better ratios, a killer Tremec deal or even look at a Richmond deal with less rear gear.

If you haven't got an engine yet..you might check with Shane (Bence 13-13) here on the Forum. He was trying to sell his 454. It is a proven engine that ran very strong, already has a 294s cam etc. I believe he was pretty reasonable on price too. He's thinking of a 540"+ deal these days!


JIM

 

The 454 is the way to go. It will be a good street engine, but to get 550 HP your going to need a lot more compression.

 

What suggest for a solid flat tappet camshaft?

I already have the Munci, but I may be able to swap it for my brother's extra super T-10, unfortunately a tremec or richmond is not in my budget.

I don't have an engine yet. I am planning on doing the build up over the next 12 months as I get extra money

 

Pretty close to my setup, but i went with 4.11's and a wide ratio M22 (the new "supercase" trans), an L-88 open plenum intake/855 DP ZL-1 carb, a crane 134691 with isky solids with the oiling holes on the faces (both cam and lifters cryo'd), rect port alum heads w/ 10.7 static comp. 180 thermo


like Hot Rod said, the close ratio muncie ain't the hot setup for 0-140 runs..... and check out this crane cam. he talked me into it :-)

oh, and you'll need a strong rotating assembly for this RPM range. I went with 4 bolt/ARP studded mains, 4340 crank/H-beam rods, SRP pistions.

 

i don't agree........ i've seen several pump gas 550 HP 454's with ~10.1- static.

if fact, check out: (it's a mildly cammed/moderate RPM 454 ) http://www.compcams.com/information/...CC0901-001.asp



[Modified by 66427-450, 4:29 PM 2/5/2004]

 

Nice article, thanks.
I still disagree, yes a 454 block, but did you notice the bore size? 4.370 is not exactly a 454, more like 489 and that sucker was put together with some high dollar pieces, you could actually get some more HP with higher compression. But then you need racing gas. For all motor it`s still good HP, but it`s not a 454! :thumbs:

 

You really can make 550hp with less than 11.0 compression in a 454 pretty easily. Thats only 1.2 (or so)hp er cube which is attainable with proper parts selection.

If you do it all right you can run even more compression with the iron heads. I had an honest 11.2 in the last version of my 427, and even used a relatively small street roller cam (195 psi cranking comression) and got by on pump gas just fine.

That 'ole Crane was actually discontinued for awhile but I swear for a street deal, that one and the one just above it (if you like it a little stouter) are good simple solid performers. Crane brought them back a few years ago and they are still good. They don't look wild on paper, but in actual practice of running almost 20 different cams through the same motor over a long perid of time, I can tell you I still like them for the power, reliabilty ( no wear issues, don't need killer springs etc) and streetability.

You might also contact Lunati and ask for Harold. He used to own Ultradyne, and he has some killer solid lifter flat tappets that will make great power. He knows his stuff.

You need to be looking in the low .600 lift range, with probably somewhere in the 255-260*@,050 range. The LSA can be a nice comfortable 110 LSA for decent manners. 112 will smooth it a little more and 106-108 will make it pretty hairy. The 108's make great power overall, but street manners really suffer the tighter you go.

If you're starting from scratch..you might look into a 4.250 stroker crank. They are pretty cheap these days and will really help a street car be fun!

I'd still check with Shane...his was a sweet little motor you could build up on some more.


JIM


[Modified by 427Hotrod, 11:08 PM 2/5/2004]

 

Huh??? That's a pretty basic/inexpensive build actually (60 over 454, 2 bolt, cast crank, 3/8" bolt GM rods, heads right out of the box.........). and like I said, ~10:1 compression. Edelbrock also has a basic 454 on their website, under dyno results, that one is ~540HP, 9.6:1 compression.

Check it out :thumbs: :)


[Modified by 66427-450, 9:42 AM 2/6/2004]

 

thanks for the info I will call lunati and ask for Harold. I am now also considering the GM performance parts oval and rectangular port aluminum heads, do you guys have any experiance with these?

 

they're made by Edelbrock. E'brock uses 2.19" intakes in their BB heads, the GM/E'brocks have 2.25". while the 2.25's flow better on the bench, "i hear" in a 454 sized bore the 2.19's actually make more power/flow better.......(the 2.25's are to close to the cyl wall and flow less on 454's).

I think you'll be able the find the E'brocks cheaper out there also. Rect or Oval ?..... i studied that one as well.... depends on the RPM range you are "designing around", or where you want/need max power. Head selection is dependent on cam/valve gear, intake setup, bottom end strength, trans and rear gearing, etc. All the components need to be selected as a set... to work together..... in other words, to be balanced for max performace in the same RPM range (then gear the car to keep the engine in that range during your intended use). Remember Hi RPM engines can make big power, but cost much more $$$, and you can go very fast with a low (~3000-6000) RPM Big Block Chevy.

good luck......




[Modified by 66427-450, 2:04 PM 2/7/2004]

 

Ck with John B. (69 NOX rat)..he had a set of ported aluminum oval ports that made great power for sale too. He is also looking at a 540-600" deal now so had parts for sale. I think he has the shortblock or whole engine for sale too.

Just trying to save you some time and money!


JIM

 

Jim is right. I have my 454 +.030 for sale. 5500 miles on the short block. 1000 miles on the lifters, springs and valves. All high quality parts, 491 rwhp on the motor 625 rwhp with a small shot of nitrous. $5000.00 from carb to pan (excluding distributor) including the Fogger from the bottle forward.

less than 15 total 1/4 and 1/8th mile runs. 123.6 mph on the motor shifting into 5th the first time to the track through full exhaust and street tires.

If you are interested send me an email and I will get you a list of all the parts and head flow numbers, etc.

 

check your mail :seeya

 

I just had this auction end on Ebay, sold the Whipple to one guy but have everything else available for just $5200.

Auction # 2458075624 or
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMESUS%3AIT