Small Block & Big Block Chevy Specific - New chevy big block 454!!!!!!!

hi i just recently bought a Chevy 454 big block engine in hopes of putting it into a 70 chevelle.
the guy i bought it from inform me that the engine came out of a mid 80's dually truck. Besides that i really don't know anything else about the engine, i have tried doing some research with the engine casting number but to no avail. On the actual block i noticed it had 7.4 liter. I was hoping if you guys would be kind enough to give me a little bit more information on the actual engine & maybe some advice on how i could transformed it from a low hp high torque engine to a respectable muscle car engine. The engine casting number i
believe is
"T0503UBA" or "T0503UB4"
i cant tell if the last digit is a letter or number. Thank you for your time, your patience, and your information.

http://www.mortec.com/bbc.htm

That really doesn't look like a typical casting number, usually they are 6 to 8 digits with no letters.

Casting # is at the back where the trans bolts to the engine on the drivers side, either way if its an 80's truck deal its got small "peanut port" heads which you may as well chuck in the dumpster.

The block should be good for a performance build, but it will have a cast crank and cast pistons around 8.5:1 compression. Hope this helps, find the actually casting #'s from the block and heads, then check Mortec and stated above and you'll know exactly what you have....

yep. the heads are gonna be shit...you'll want to bump up that compression ratio as well.

so i went back and checked out the the block and found this number on the back

140154451 and checked out the site, but now i cant tell the difference. Any help will be appreciated.

i also looked inside the pistons, and did not see any peanut shape.

14015443...454.......87-90...2 or 4-bolt, Mark IV, Truck, Motorhome

14015445...454.......78-90...2 or 4 bolt

14044807...454T..............4-bolt, Bowtie, MkIV, CNC prep, Tall deck, 4.25" bore or 4.495" bores

14096859...502...............4-bolt, Gen.V, HO

im sorry for my ignorance, but i barely know how to turn a car on,
can you please explain to me what a performance build is and what does 8.5:1 compression mean?

It would take far to long to explain it all, but start with a google search and check wikipedia it can teach you some basics......

Its one of these 2 sometime its hard to read casting #'s clearly
14015443...454.......87-90...2 or 4-bolt, Mark IV, Truck, Motorhome

14015445...454.......78-90...2 or 4 bolt

As far as the "peanut ports" this is due to the very small size not the shape of the ports, they are also called small oval ports.....

so if the engine is either of those 2, would i still have the potential of making it into a "performance engine"

my goal isent to take this car to the track and make it a dragster or anything like that, i just want to be able to lift the hood and have a respectable engine.

thanks for all your input guys.

I had a smog motor w/ peanut port heads and changed the cam to a Comp cam 281/281 561/561 solid cam and woke that motor right up.

throw the heads in the dumpster and give AFR a call and get a set of their aluminum heads theyre amazing

just like I said in our pm's, you can make this engine do whatever your heart desires. For your goals, you should have no problem hitting your goal of 500hp

just like I said in our pm's, you can make this engine do whatever your heart desires. For your goals, you should have no problem hitting your goal of 500hp

yeah bbc's have an endless amount of opportunities along the road!

cool thaks alot guys i really appreciate all the input. if you guys have any other suggestions or input on how i should go about this please tell me, im all ears!!!

go to summit racing and check on a top end kit if you want everything to be a nice driver since you say your not really knowledgable with motors. you can get a very good motor really cheap or for a little extra get a even more power. this will give you somewhere to start though.

Whats your budget I'll tell you exactly what you need and how to get the best bang for you buck!

im not sure, i dont really know how much engine stuff really cost,
i guess my budget is the cheapest way to get to 500 hp without nitrous.

and i finnaly found out what kind of block i have its a

UBA = 83 ,454 ,from C-20 & C-30 Truck , 230hp ,RPO code LE-8 ,w/Manual Trans , 4-Brl

There you go, it is a start. You can stroke the engine and make gobs of top end power, or simply bore it out and make a pump gas friendly street car that makes tons of torque.

Here is a thread I started on teamchevelle when I had the same situation. It should be all the info you need. You could also get some 049 or 781 cast iron heads and have them worked over and be able to push 500+ HP with all the other goodies.


http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132566

Good Luck
Shane

would you guys go with cast iron oval heads or allulinum heads? is there a big diffrence?

There you go, it is a start. You can stroke the engine and make gobs of top end power, or simply bore it out and make a pump gas friendly street car that makes tons of torque.

You would stroke it to get more topend? No thats wrong, stroking an engine is giving it a longer arm and increases torque more than HP in most cases. Increasing bore and using less stroke raises the HP level at higher RPM, C'mon man your a moderator these guys look to you for true and reliable information :nod:

Here is a thread I started on teamchevelle when I had the same situation. It should be all the info you need. You could also get some 049 or 781 cast iron heads and have them worked over and be able to push 500+ HP with all the other goodies.


http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132566

Good Luck
Shane

im reaaaaaallllllllyyyyyyy confused now
what you suggest i should do?
overkill how would you design this block?

would you guys go with cast iron oval heads or allulinum heads? is there a big diffrence?
Weight and cost being the major difference, you can make good power with either. If you can find a set of 049 iron heads w/ 2.19"/1.88" valves and some mild port work you can well eclipse the 500hp mark with a decent cam and intake combo.

Like I said what is your budget for this project, w/o a figure this is basically just spinning your wheels....

Im curious to see what heads are suggested, im thinking of diff ones for my BBC too

You would stroke it to get more topend? No thats wrong, stroking an engine is giving it a longer arm and increases torque more than HP in most cases. Increasing bore and using less stroke raises the HP level at higher RPM, C'mon man your a moderator these guys look to you for true and reliable information :nod:

Stroking the engine and spending the extra money on the top end parts and larger cam will make big end power. I did not mean stroking the engine alone.

To bore the motor just replacing the worn pistons and giving the cylinder walls a fresh start for a stock to mild rebuild and keep the big block low end torque with stock heads.

im guessing my engine is around 2 to 3 thousand dollars.

im sorry i mean my budgit

Well, it will depend on the brand of parts, where you get them from and the machine shop you use, all of this can be a difference in thousands alone.

what cam did you end up using on your 454?

http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com/performance_parts/index.html?item=1332
Lunati Hydraulic roller camshaft.

http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com/performance_parts/index.html?item=1619
Timing Chain Set

http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com/performance_parts/index.html?item=1154
Stealth intake

http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com/performance_parts/index.html?item=1635
Intake gaskets

http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com/performance_parts/index.html?item=1637
Head gaskets

http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com/performance_parts/index.html?item=1602
Valve covers

http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com/performance_parts/index.html?item=1638
Valve cover gaskets

http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com/performance_parts/index.html?item=1156
Fuel pump

I have the above items in stock at great prices.

With a set of Patriot alum heads you would pick up some good horsepower.
https://www.patriot-performance.com/xcart/product.php?productid=15&cat=33&page=1

Aluminum heads save a lot of weight over cast iron heads on a big block Chevy, and a higher compression ratio can typically be used with pump gas, as alum dissipates heat so much better than cast iron. Bob

thanks exotic, everything on there is perfect, i rather just be told what to get, because i get soo confused with all the options out there, thanks for info

For a low budget build:
stock block, crank, and rods..all reconditioned with new bearings
10-30 thousands overbore and new pistons
Cast Iron heads worked over really well, like mentioned you get less compression ratio due to heat
Weiland Stealth or RPM Air Gap
Lunati Voodoo or Crane 282 cam
750+ carb my preference would be holley
1 3/4 headers

I was gonna run some Brodix Race Rites oval with some bowl work done to them. They came highly recommended from Lewis Racing Engines.

2 grand is gonna be hard with all the extras like timing chain, BB radiator, all the seals and gaskets plus fluids, machine work and assembly plus new reworked heads, intake and carb.

Good Luck, there is more than enough info here as well as teamchevelle
Shane

Big blocks were all I built until a few years ago and switched to LSx's, sbc and turbos. If you want to keep it on the cheap you can keep your peanut heads and build it for torque or use the older gm (larger ovel port heads) and easily hit 500 horsepower.
Another advantage of using the peanut heads is you can build a big block that gets good gas mileage. The peanut heads wont be able to support even close to 500 horsepower, but you will hit peak horsepower as soon as you nail it even without a high stall converter. Do a search on "HotRod" or "CarCraft", they have down budget build ups just like yours. The 2 bolt blocks and cast cranks are good for more than most people would believe.

Not a bbc but Currently I have a 455 olds in a 81 Cutlass that will hit an 12.9-13.0 in the quarter with a Comp 284 cam and stock replacement pistons, and has hit a 12.4 with a 75 shot.

If you stayed with the peanut port heads, then this cam and lifter combination would work well with them.
http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com/performance_parts/index.html?item=1333 Bob

i keep going on your site looking for some cranks, do you not carry any? and what valve cam combo would you suggest for a 781 oval port heads?

For a low budget build:
stock block, crank, and rods..all reconditioned with new bearings
10-30 thousands overbore and new pistons
Cast Iron heads worked over really well, like mentioned you get less compression ratio due to heat
Weiland Stealth or RPM Air Gap
Lunati Voodoo or Crane 282 cam
750+ carb my preference would be holley
1 3/4 headers

I was gonna run some Brodix Race Rites oval with some bowl work done to them. They came highly recommended from Lewis Racing Engines.

2 grand is gonna be hard with all the extras like timing chain, BB radiator, all the seals and gaskets plus fluids, machine work and assembly plus new reworked heads, intake and carb.

Good Luck, there is more than enough info here as well as teamchevelle
Shane


this sounds like a really good plan i would def. look into this

with that rebuild, would my engine be considered a 496? & should i be hitting the 500hp mark?

and would you suggest .060 pistons?

you would have to have a 4.25 inch stroke and stock is 4.0 and you would have to bore .060 over and if your bore is .010 you need to get .010 pistons so your pistons have to match with your bore... if you bore like .030 or .040 i forget which someone will chime in and say then you have a 468 which is a popular set up also