well i finally got my hands on a 454, casting number 14015445. while i was trying to break it down a little i noticed how clean the top of the heads where (valve train area) since i bought this motor from a junk yard i have no idea the milage. it seems to be in pretty good shape but it just surprised me that their was no gunk on the heads. i was thinking maybe the guy replaced the valve seals with the heads still on the motor and just cleaned them up a little while he was in their. on top of the valve cover was written '88, (im guessing the year) and burns oil. what do yall think? either way i am very excited. and i must say big block is somewhat of an understatement. i was surprised and how big this thing is, what a hoss.

keep us posted with pics of the swap. Good luck

thanxs socal and i will post pics and what nots whenever i start the swap.

Post the head casting #'s, too. Or, did you have other plans for heads?

well i dunno head wise yet, the casting number is 14092360. is it worth it to try and build these to get around 500 hp or are these crap heads.

Peanut port heads. They have no performance potential.

yea, thats what i figured o well. would you go aftermarket aluminum or is their a cast iron head the would meet my goal. i was leaning toward aftermarket aluminum to try and offset the weight of the heavier motor but if i can get what i want out of a cast iron head i might just deal with it. thanxs guys

aftermarket aluminun, just so long as you can keep it legal, if thats an issue.

Peanut port heads are not the best Hi-Perf BBC heads, but they still make a decent street-performance head. If you just want a nice, tough street engine, I wouldn't count them out completely.

well i want a little more than a tough street engine. i want a badBUTT street/strip motor. and no, emissions isnt really an issue. thanxs guys

keep in mind there are 2 types of oval heads for big blocks. The peanut as mentioned and then a larger oval, then of course the rectangular ports.Large ovals make good power with some port work.

There are also oval open and closed chamber types.

I saw a set of 206's at the track swap meet today.

I know of no legal way (or state that allows it), to drop in a BBC, for street use. AFAIK, it's a federal law against it.

Lemme get this straight Stephen, it is ILLEGAL to put a big block into a 3rd gen Camaro? Whoa, I suddenly lost the urge to move to your country....

Well in Canada (Ontario anyway) you can put anything in, as long as you satisfy the government on emissions.... or Cheat

For the street, yes. Is if it was track only? You can do whatever you want.

To satisfy the Federal Emissions laws, you basically can't put an older engine engine, in a newer chassis period. But you can do newer into older, like a LT1/LS1 into a TPI or carb'd car.

Now, this doesn't mean a 87 TPI can go into a 92. But, you can put a carb'd engine, into an originally FI car. It's not THAT literal.

Since 3rd gens never came from the factory with a BBC, then they aren't legal swaps.

well stephen, i know its not exactly "legal" but it will be registered and tagged. no problems their, as i am sure their are many cars on this board that arent exactly "legal" but are still street driven. and slayre i am still new to the big block world and am trying to learn as i go, but what kind of heads are most aftermarket heads modeled after? and also does the heads match the block or in other words if i have peanut heads does the new heads i get need to be "peanut too?"

I didn't mean anything BAD about. Just a FYI, and in case others thought they could just toss in a BB.

I have the Car Craft article, from May '88. But it is in a html format, so I can't upload it here, as an attachment.

I agree with stephen, at least here in texas

but about the heads if the motor is complet ready to run put it in the way it is and change the heads later, maybe you can get a good deal on a set

Even though it is not legal to do it i wouldent wory about it. Unless you come across a car guy asking question you have nothing to wory about because most people dont know that big blocks never came in thirdgens or that it is even a big block.

Legally, you can't put a non-passenger engine in a passenger car, and since no BBC's went in passenger cars during the 3rd gen era, that's another reason it's a no-go (legal-wise).

I don't know of any aftermarket heads modeled after peanut heads. In fact, it's difficult to find aftermarket heads for a 396, because most BBC aftermarket heads are for performance 454 or bigger only. Nobody bothers reinventing the factory wheel.

If bad-butt is what you're after, get rectangular port heads etc..

thanxs for all the help guys and socal, the engine was running but it is burning oil so i already tore it down so i can send it to the machine shope, speaking of which i want them to hot tank, magnaflux, bore, hone with a pressure plate, and install cam bearings. is their anything else i should have them do? oh yea and balancing, what do i need to take to have balanced damper, flywheel, and what else? never dealt with an externally balanced motor. since i want this motor to be more than a nice street motor should i get one of the full rotating kits from like eagle or some other brand or will the stock crank and rods be ok? it would suck to get everthing together and running like a scalded dog and then i throw a rod. thanxs again you guys.

Use a touq plate when thay hone it, and don't let them balance it with only the dampner or just the flywheel/flexplate, it's both or none. I've heard of it being done alot and it makes no sense.
As far as the internals thats up to you but dont wast the money to replace a cast crank w a cast crank ect... If it just needs to be turned, turn it. You need to be real with what you wont and sit down with our builder and go over your options before and after he inspects it. I only trust a few shops with my stuff and if i hear bad things about them its on to some one else when i was looking to get my stuff built.

A 454 is an externally balanced engine. To get the rotating assembly properly balanced you need to send in:

Crank
Pistons w/wrist pins
Rods and rod bolts/nuts
Piston rings or at least one set
Rod bearings or at least one set
Flexplate
Harmonic balancer (dampener)

Get the machine shop to assemble the bottom end. Have them check the clearances and fit of the rotating assembly. Have them install the crank, rods and pistons. If the block needs to be decked, they'll know how much needs to be done.

When you get the engine back, you can install the camshaft, heads and valvetrain. Expect to pay a couple of thousand dollars to get the proper machine work, balancing and bottom end assembly. Also, don't expect to get it back for quite a few weeks.

maybe not thousands but around a thousand and ask for zero deck hight for the quench area. The piston should never be positive (above the deck) and not to far in the hole ether. If zero use a .40 head gasket compressd

good deal, well i go back to school wednesday so i will hopefully be done painting it within the next couple of weeks then ill be ready to start on the motor. i have never had any machine work of this caliber done before so i am kinda scared and excited at the same time. Do you usually pay we you give them the block or when you go to pick it up? man this sure is an exspensive hobby but i figure you cant take it with you so why not.

I think you should pay at the end, when you pick it up. Kinda like any car work, drop off the car, then pay when you pick it up.
But when a young guy like myself drops by a 350 for his *Trans-am*, and $2000 worth of machine work is needed, they wanted me to pay up front, a down payment at least - just to make sure I wasn't some dirt bag without any money. So a $1000 onto my visa platinum and I was good to go.

Advice I recently heard: "Fly first class. Your kids will if you don't."

haha i like that and its true, if you dont spend it someone else will do it for ya.

in pa atleast there is a way around the BBC in a thirdgen for the street legal issue, its not legal to run it with your normal plates, but in PA you can get collectible plates, and with those you can run a BBC or any motor you want in your car as long as they certify you for the plates. and i know this for fact, a buddy from school built a 86 bird with a 427 in it, and they made him wait till this year(20 years old) before they would give him the collectible plates for the car, and to get these plates you have to submit all the information on the car includding the engine, and they gave it to him, and it passes inspection like that.

and i have seen a few other examples of this.