Hello, i was planning on dropping a 454 BBC into a thirdgen camaro and i want to know whats involved in this..? heres my guesses

1 take out the whole computer
2 somehow re-reroute the light wires ect.
3 get some good v8 springs and new struts
4 reuse the sbc motor mounts..? im not sure on this one
5 will i have to remove all the ac components?
6 reroute stock gauges
7 get a tranny that can handle the power , maybe a T-56
8 new driveshaft and rear w/ posi

I dont have the car yet i wanted to get an 84 z to do this to.. anything to add? experiences? any help will be appreciated Thanks

 

Would it be smarter to stay with a SBC? I want some options besides the 305, 350, and 383 maybe a 400 which block responds better to mods?

 

Q's 1,3,4 and 7 are yes.

2 and 6 are a non-issue, the lights and guages in my 86 went through a different harness on the opposite side of the engine bay.

5 depends on how hard you want to make it. I'm sure you could but do you really want to double your pain?

8 is half right, you can re-use the driveshaft.

And despite what I'm doing yes, you would be significantly smarter to stay with a SBC. I'm already $4000 into this incarnation and I'm not ordering the engine kit until the beginning of next month. After that I'll still need to get SFC's and possibly a tq arm. Who knows what else I'm going to break *if* I can get it to hook up.

 

As a rule of thumb, what you spend on the engine you should be spending at least that much on the rest of the car on upgrades for the conversion.

As for the AC, you'll need the brackets for a BBC. SBC and BBC mounting brackets for AC, alternator, power steering, smog etc are all different.

 

Ok cool very cool thanks for the advice, but i got a couple more questions for ya

Ill leave in the Ac ect .. and probably drop a SBC into it... i still want the damn computer out of there, smart? i hate power locks windows seats ect... anything power except hatch so that isnt a worry for me.

And what are your suggestions on SBC's like which one will get we the most power for cubes im guessing a 400..?

Thanks

 

Cubic inches build power but better heads are also required.

A 400 SBC bored out +.030" = 406 CID. Installing some good flowing heads to feed the bigger engine can easily build lots of power. Installing any head on a 400 block just needs the steam holes drilled into them.

Since you're getting rid of the computer there's only a couple of things you need to do. Switching to an aftermarket carb is #1. An older style HEI distributor (coil in cap) is easy to drop in.

All the power options have nothing to do with the computer. Power seats just have a single power wire running to them. Windows are the same thing. I removed all the power options from my car. It was easier to find a set of non power option doors to strip down. I sold my old doors complete. The old doors complete were 105 pounds each. I still use the power rear hatch but don't have an internal switch to open it.

Are you planning on making a race car or a street/strip car?

 

In a way.. sort of but not totally, see we have a competition type thing over here (my friends and I) we want the fastest car on the strip that is still street legal.

The steam holes for the 400 can be drilled into like edelbrock heads right? Is there a tech article for this? or a pic that shows ya where to drill?

 

Put a 400 head gasket on the heads for a template. Drill the holes. 3/16" - 1/4".

Because of the siamesed cylinders in the 400 block, there needs to be a place at the top of the block for the water/steam to escape into the cooling system. The holes in the heads allow the coolent to circulate back into the heads. Without them the engine will eventually overheat.

 

Aha! Now we understand. If your only goal is to go fast in the 1/4 mile then the first thing you need to decide is your budget. Then we can give better advice. Anything can go fast... but the money spent will vary dramatically.

If your budget isn't very high then I would suggest you start with a Mustang 5.0 with a T5. You will have much better results for much less money. Some have forged pistons from the factory (can't remember which years) and turbo kits are readily available. Very few suspension mods have to be done and you can have a wheel stander.

 

Which brings up the point that the winner will likely be the person with the best 60' time... not the most Hp. So I would spend more time thinking about your chassis and suspension than the engine.

 

What i really want to know is .. what engine block will give me the most power per square inch and which motor will respond the best to little modifications.

Beating the guys on the quarter mile would be cool but not a nessecity as this would most likely be a daily driver for a while too.

I should have worded the question better

I hear that the 383 stroker engine puts out some serious horses
If a 383 and a 406 lined up , same car, which would win both manual transmissions

As for the Stang thing .. im about as anti-ford as they come , acctually im about as anti-anything but gm theres other non gm products that ill respect but dont like. So getting a stang aint gonna happen

 

The 406 will have the advantage just because of the extra cubic inches. You can't compare 2 engines like that since they can never be compared the same.

Same cams? The bigger engine can handle more cam
Same heads? The bigger engine can use more air flow
Same carb? The bigger engine can use more carb.

A bigger engine using the same parts as the smaller engine will be restricted in it's best performance. A 400 SBC and a 396 BBC are almost the same when using similar parts however the 396 BBC has a lot more potential compared to the parts the SBC can use.

Th 383 and 400 use the same stroke. The larger bore of the 400 will produce more HP. The trouble with the 400 block is that GM took it to the limit internally to get that much cubic inches out of it. The 383 is a good choice because it uses a better 350 block with the longer stroke of the 400. An aftermarket 400 block is much better than a factory casting and can be safely taken out to 434 CID.

 

I wouldn't say the extra cubes of the 400 are any advantage to a 383. The real benefit is the larger bore of the 400 which doesn't shroud the valves as much as the smaller bore of a 350 (or 383 stroker). The result is better air flow with the head on the engine and more power.