stay 454/496 or swap to ls and how???

[1982cutlasssupreme]

hey, everyone i really need some help here i have a
1982 cutlass supreme t-top
410 gears 8.5" chev 10 bolt rear end posi
built 700r4 transmission 3500 stall
now the motor i bought a put in is a 454 bbd with 60' over pistons hypertectic
eagle rods
544 lift hydraulic flat tappet cam
oval port cast heads ported polished, with bigger valves cc'd at 110cc.
now it dynoed at 512hp to flywheel and 475 tq ran good this year after i did a new valve train and full msd and high performance ignition headers everything else is top of the line problem is the guy i originally bought it from didn't remember much about it long story short we took the motor out to replace pan gasket and found the head gasket was blown in a few spots, and the pinging that could never go away was because there is 5 thou clearance pistons to cylinder also there is a positive 15 thou deck height and the block has been sleeved. long story short from what the machine shop said i either have to go 70 over pistons and use the cometic .60 thou gaskets also a new cam and crankshaft because the cam has a wiped lobe and the crankshaft needs to be grounded and doesn't have much thrust left so I'm into pretty well a full rebuild because of whoever down the line did the machine work and also relieved the cylinders to much they went into where the gaskets go surprisingly i ran a 12.6 at 108 mph with a 7.5 10 bolt and a 28 stall and race fuel without launching it with this motor hard to believe.

so what I'm looking for is any info on whether i should purchase a 496 short block there is a few shops up here with some really good ones and good price and use my heads. or swap and go with like a ls or lq9 or something if I'm going to have to spend the money again i want to go the right way. thanks

 

[Bigblock 79Z]

I have a 496 with ported large oval ports and a 246/254 solid cam with .590/.605 lift, 108 lobe seperation. I've been very happy with the torque it produces vs the old 454 with the same heads. That 454 had a 236/236 solid can with .561 lift, 110 sep. Since I don't have an L's I can't say one way or another on that swap. I would bet the LS will cost more, once everything else is swapped.

I should mention these were in my 79 Z-28, but the 496 will be going in my 1984 Monte. What headers did you use and where did you find the 8.5 rear? I can't find them around here.

 

[bigmandengo]

First off, what are your goals and budget? It is going to be cheaper to stick with a bbc setup then to change over to an ls setup. With an ls, you'll have to change over motor mounts, headers, fuel system, possibly the transmission and driveshaft depending on your goals. If you're looking at doing a well put together ls setup with roughly 500 hp, I would budget at least $5k minimum.

 

[1982cutlasssupreme]

The headers I used for my bbc 454 were the hooker super comps specifically for the g body swap and I couldn't find an 8.5 here either but my mechanic found one for me and at this point if I plan to keep the car after getting well taken for a ride and investing over 10,000 into the bbc to find out I basically got screwed in the end all I have left of it is pistons and my block crank and small oval port heads 106cc cast so I think it will be maybe better to go with the ls since I'm in to over 6000 to build a full 496 I got prices to have one built and with the ls I can get way better fuel mileage and drive ability my friends early 2000's Chevy 4by4 truck just has a cam and heads he runs 600 k to a tank drives it to work everyday and runs a 13.8 off the motor and a 12.89 on 100 shot nitrous and that's launching in 4by4 and running 4 by4 with stock injectors no turbo or bigger injectors yet it's either I decide to do another motor or I sell the rolling chassis unfortunate to had invested about 30,000 in the last 3 years and learned my lesson lol my 2 friends are very familiar with the ls so I think I could do it for a pretty good price

 

[jacobdavis1979]

Hey man its whatever you wanna do.
Look at the pros and cons. Stick with the big block and you will still have an accessory drive that will work and other parts you can reuse on top of the fact that it will drop right back in without any problems and you will be good to go.
If you went the LS route weither you stuck a carb on it or went injected either way you will have to buy a harness. You will have to get an accessory drive and motor mounts. The adapter for your transmission or the correct flywheel and other stuff but i will say this if you go the LS route alot of the people ive talked too say its very possible to get a 400+ hp 5.3 or 6.0 for under $2500 and once its done they have told me with about taking there 10 mpg from the big block and turning it into 20mpg with the LS they were paying for themselves.

But you gotta remember this is your car and you gotta choose whatever you feel more comfortable doing man.
Ive decided to take my malibu on the LS route. Maybe we can use the forum and learn this together lol

Oh and i had alot of guys on here call me a snob because i didnt wanna stay old school. If LS is what you want its what you should do