Omerta88

Well i Have a 454 from an 87 suburban i got it back from the machine shop today. I dont have the budget for replacement heads right now so the stock peanut ports will work for now. I want a good streetable motor but im not good at picking parts. What rotateing unit should i use and what cam and lifter set. I want a set that lopes nicely. I am looking to get in the 400 to 500 range for power is that sound possible?

toolegit86

u dont need to much money for 400hp, questions are what are u building it for (drag,daily,etc) do u want forged? do u plan on throwing any power adders on it? u can find a set of 396 heads with the small chamber ports to get 400hp. or even look for a set of older oval port. what machining do u have done?

Air_Adam

The stock peanut port heads will support 400hp and maybe a little more stock. They also make torque like crazy. These heads are not as bad as most would have you believe. They are actually pretty good for a mild street BBC.

Get the compression ratio up to around 9.5:1 and use a camshaft in the 230* @ .050 range and something over 400hp with very good torque and driveability is easy to do.

Atilla the Fun

One of the magazines just featured a peanut port 454, it did 446 hp at 4900 rpm with a 224/230-110 cam, IIRC. I'll look it up tomorrow.
If you can afford it, now's the time to do a SCAT cast steel stroker crank. It's plenty strong for supercharging or other power adder on a mild setting, and 6000 rpm. The crank runs around $300.
Re-use the stock rods, just re-sized with ARP bolts. Safe past 6000 rpm.
For pistons, SpeedPro offers some hypereutectics that should fit your budget, and will work with the stroker crank. If you need a part number, I can post that as well.
If you are going to add stroke, then forget the 396 / 402 heads, your SCR would be too much.

Air_Adam

This is exactly right... most of what you already have is pretty good, just as Atilla and I have said. All that motor REALLY needs to really wake it up is a boost to the compression ratio (stock is 8:1... bring it up to 9.5:1 or so) and a better cam. Those were the two things that made those motors as weak as they were, and thats how you fix them. You don't need any upgrades to the rotating assembly except for the rod bolts. The factory crank and rods are very tough.

As for the heads... stay with the peanut port heads. They actually do make a pretty good mild street head (up to 450hp or so). Although they do have bigger intake ports, you don't want the old closed chamber BBC heads (396,402) for 2 reasons - For one, if you up the compression ratio, you have to use a domed piston that matches up to a closed chamber head. And two, the closed chamber design does not breathe as well as the open chamber design that your current heads have. Ideally, if you were to swap heads to some other reasonably affordable factory casting, you would use the 781 or 049 heads. These are large oval port, open chamber heads - basically the best factory casting one can use on a street/strip BBC. They have the better open chamber design, along with the larger intake ports similar to what those old 396ci heads had. The 781 casting are what I use on my 454, but my motor came with them.

I still think you can very easily get 400+hp out of what you already have with just a very basic rebuild, but with a little more compression (9.5:1 or so) and a better camshaft. Thats all you need - it really IS that easy with a BBC.

Omerta88

I had the block checked and cleaned new cam bearings and had it honed. the crank got damaged by a budy who dropped not goodbut owell. I have found it more cost effective to get a assembly then to just replace one or two items. so that is what i was thinking. I wanna do this as right as possible with a budget and using the stock heads. if you could post part number it would be great. i am new to the bbc world here so ill be looking for lots of advice

Omerta88

dont think i want to do any power adders.. i plan on a nice summer weekend car not so much show or drag just something with a real good sound, a nice lopeing cam, and something different to cruise on cruise nights ya know

Atilla the Fun

Buying package deals generally is a worse deal, because the whole point of packages is to help vendors get rid of undesirable parts, NOT to get you the best deal.
Buying one thing here and one thing there might add to the shipping total, but it's more important to get all the right stuff for what you're trying to accomplish.

Omerta88

ok sounds reasonable well i need a crank rods and pistons first help me choose.

Omerta88

Eagle Specialty Products 104544250 - Eagle Cast Steel Crankshafts

SCAT Engine Components 945420 - Scat Cast Crankshafts
SCAT Engine Components 910454 - Scat Cast Crankshafts

Any of these cranks look like a good match for me? Whats the diff in the stroke what will have to do if i went with the 4.00 or the 4.25?

Atilla the Fun

The first 2 links you provided are for the stroker, and either one will serve just fine.
For pistons, look to SpeedPro's H552CP, they're offered in 30, 60 and 100 overbores. The matching rings are E-233K

Omerta88

Pistons yea or nea
Speed Pro Z8KH426CP30 - Speed-Pro Piston and Ring Kits
Speed Pro Z8KH426CP60 - Speed-Pro Piston and Ring KitsSpeed Pro Z8KH661CP30 - Speed-Pro Piston and Ring Kits



After i know if any of these combos will work what rods will i need?

Omerta88

will the heads be ok with the stroke?

Atilla the Fun

Those pistons you found won't work with a 4.25" stroker crank.
It's the H552CP or stepping up to much more expensive forgings.

Atilla the Fun

Yes, the main difference is your power will peak 500 rpm sooner until you step up to aftermarket performance heads.

Omerta88

now see thats why i ask...lol im looking into those pistons now...what about rods? BTW Thank you guys for the awsome info im still new to building my own motor

Omerta88

what crank of the two would be best fiting?

Atilla the Fun

Just run stock 454 rods, re-sized with ARP bolts.

Atilla the Fun

The Eagle is cheaper up front, but the Scat has the better reputation. I'd buy the Scat crank.

Omerta88

cool thanks that is what i will do look for updates later thanks for the help

Omerta88

ive found those pistons on a few sites and they show em for a gm v6 only.

Omerta88

hey atilla ive searched and searched and i keep finding the pistons you sugested as a gm v6 piston....do you have a link?

Omerta88

i think i found the one is this the piston attila?
Speed Pro ZH552CP30 - Speed-Pro Hypereutectic Pistons