454 daily driver?
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I've done research on it because I want a 454 in the future. Gotta make sure your trans, cooling system, and suspension can handle it. Parts are expensive.
A 350 with good heads and cam can make good power. You can go Vortec heads for cheap and get good power out of them. A 383 stroker would be great too.
A 350 with good heads and cam can make good power. You can go Vortec heads for cheap and get good power out of them. A 383 stroker would be great too.
Well honestly if your set on 454 just do it. There is no point in dropping anything in a car other than what you want.
I've built alot of cars from the ground up, an l mean alot but the most expensive car l ever built was my Camaro. Why because l knew what l wanted but l built it going threw the stages such as, started as a 305sbc threw in 350sbc, then 454bbc with th400, then 496 stroker with 4L80E, then rearend gears an brake upgrade to all disc. This also included different sizes of rads, front coils and heavier sway bars.
I could have saved thousands if l had just built it how l really wanted it. It appraised out half of what l got into. See my point?
I've built alot of cars from the ground up, an l mean alot but the most expensive car l ever built was my Camaro. Why because l knew what l wanted but l built it going threw the stages such as, started as a 305sbc threw in 350sbc, then 454bbc with th400, then 496 stroker with 4L80E, then rearend gears an brake upgrade to all disc. This also included different sizes of rads, front coils and heavier sway bars.
I could have saved thousands if l had just built it how l really wanted it. It appraised out half of what l got into. See my point?
IMO an iron headed BBC in a Gbody feels front end heavy when driving so for a daily driver retaining all of it's amenities I would only go this route if the plan is for aluminum heads.
I have a 454 in mine and I love it.
Is it a daily driver no not at all.
The engine swap is easy, just put it in everything bolts right up.
Where the $$ comes into play will be your trans and rear.
If you don't upgrade those as well, you will be a passenger in your buddys car most days
Is it a daily driver no not at all.
The engine swap is easy, just put it in everything bolts right up.
Where the $$ comes into play will be your trans and rear.
If you don't upgrade those as well, you will be a passenger in your buddys car most days
Building a car on a high school budget isn't an easy task Don't get involved in something that's going to drain you and take a long time to finish. Please concentrate on school, it's your ticket to make your dreams reality.
My favorite budget swap is a 96-2000 L31 Vortec 350. A nice cam, headers and intake and they really make some nice reliable power for a lot less than an LS swap. Look on Facebook Market Place or Craigslist. They pop up all the time. I have used them in several daily driver trucks and am putting one together for my 78 Malibu.
Do you go carb or swap in all the wiring stuff too and keep it efi?
There are some other things to consider when swapping to BBC. They are heavier than an SBC and this has a very large effect on things like stopping, handling, ride height, suspension wear. While some of the changes are not as noticeable, they are there and need to be considered. I put a 454 BB in a 78 camino I had and over one year, here's what I had to deal with:
Ended up changing springs in the camino again to get back close to what I had originally.
My point is, changing to a BB is going to have an effect on other things, some of which may cost money you may not have or don't want to spend.
My experience with the BB has kept me from putting an LS in my 78 Malibu.
I don't know computers, I have a shi*load of early SBC parts and I like having an engine under the hood that I can fix without having to get someone else to answer questions about things I don't know.
Finally, as far as performance goes, I can run with most of the rodders in my town if you group us by total dollars spent.
- Ride height in front dropped jut over two inches as soon as the swap was finished.
- Lower ride height caused front to bottom out when road was rough and crushed the stop bushings after a couple of weeks.
- Replaced front springs with after markets rated over 100 lbs stiffer and replaced stop bushings with poly bushings. Ride height acceptable after this but wasn't really happy with new handling.
- Front shocks couldn't handle the extra weight and the ride went mushy right away.
- Driver side shock seal broke and started leaking about three weeks after change.
- Replaced front shocks with aftermarkets to correct ride.
- BB headers didn't fit right. Had to ding one drivers side tube to make fit.
- Fried the TH350 trans after just over 1,000 miles. Replaced with track built 200R4.($1200 plus shipping)
- Scragged front universal joint after trans was replaced and had to install new one.
- Driving the BB was less fun than a hot SB would have been because it was WAY too much motor for the way I drove the car. (323 single track rear)
- Because I didn't have the money to spend on other upgrades, I had the slowest BB in my town.
Ended up changing springs in the camino again to get back close to what I had originally.
My point is, changing to a BB is going to have an effect on other things, some of which may cost money you may not have or don't want to spend.
My experience with the BB has kept me from putting an LS in my 78 Malibu.
I don't know computers, I have a shi*load of early SBC parts and I like having an engine under the hood that I can fix without having to get someone else to answer questions about things I don't know.
Finally, as far as performance goes, I can run with most of the rodders in my town if you group us by total dollars spent.
The shocks listed on Rock Auto as being the same for '68-'88 A/G bodies, six banger, small or big block. I looked up 454, 396, 350, 200, 250, 307.
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