just curious as to what the biggest engine anybody here has fit into our cars...anything above 350 besides 383? anybody put in a 400, 427, 454?

 

One thing you have to understand is that 350 through 427 small blocks are all the same size externally; just as 396 through 502 are all the same size. The only thing that gives them the different displacements is the stroke and the bore. But to answer your question, the biggest I have seen pictures of is a 454...but, if you can fit a 454 in there that means that theoretically you can fit a 502 in as well. Granted, it took some modification. I have attached the 454 picture below

 

Well I have a 507ci(500ci bored 30 over) Cadillac engine going in my '89 Firebird. The engine is still on the stand right now me and my pop is making a homemade shaft rocker setup using Ford FE rockers(sounds hoopty but it isn't lol) it shouldn't be much longer I just need to get some cash(a.k.a a job) to finish buying all the crap I need.

 

theres a guy on these boards, i think his name is 9.0firebird or something like that but he has a 632bbc with i think a 2 stage nitrous set up.

 

427 is NOT a small block, 400 is the biggest stock small block, although it is possible with wild aftermarket parts to build a small block as big as 489 I believe, biggest I've heard of in a small block that is a stock GM block is 415-420 (stroked 400) but alot of blocks can't take that much stroke.

 

Experience is a whole different world from "I'm planning to....". I drove around a 400 in my 83 for about 12 years when I lived where emissions inspection was only an idle sniffer, with no visual, so at least some of us have gone beyond a 383 and even made it pass some kind of emissions testing; and now that I don't live in California any more, it'll be going back in, in one form or another.

I've built a 434 out of a stock 400 block, unfortunately it was for someone else. So I know that small block motors in excess of 415-420 can easily be done. I plan on doing another for myself some one of these days, maybe to that 400 before I slap it back in.

Yes, you can get a small block up to a little over 500 CID, with an aftermarket tall block and some serious effort (translation: $$$$$); but that's not within the reasonable realm for most of us.

Lots of people have put big blocks in these cars, which is not a tremendously difficult thing to do if you know what you're doing which I guess could be said about almost anything.

 

I guess I lucked out as here in Florida they got rid of emissions testing a few years back. They would actually put your car on the rollers and test it in gear with the sniffer. If I lived and cali I'd go insane cause correct me if I'm wrong but if you put anything under the hood it has to be CARB approved and have to have a sticker for it right?

 

yeah here in georgia we don't have any emissions testing at all....currently my car would pass fine, but every car i've owned in the past would fail miserably. and once i get my new engine in the car, my car would fail bad too. up above somebody said that a 350 and a 400 are both the exact size externally....so swapping in a 400, i won't have any clearance issues?

edit: RB83L69 - you're the only person i've met so far who has put a 400 in their car. so would you be able to walk me through a couple things once i start rebuilding the engine? i'm sure most things are identical to a 350 rebuild, but alot of stuff is probably unique to 400's, and personally i have no experience with 400's. i'd never even seen one until i went and looked at one on thursday. i need my paycheck on friday before i buy the engine, but the rebuilding will start right after that

 

JHens- what do you think Lingenfelter has been putting in all his corvettes...427 LS1 Twin turbo SMALL BLOCKS. They are bored and stroked; I don't know the part #'s on the crank or how much they bore it over but it IS a small block...aluminum at that. I will agree with you and say that it does take some block modification and maybe even reinforcement.

 

Arent there plans to bring out a 427 SBC? Thought I heard something about that not long ago.

 

There are no clearance issues.

There's nothing unique about building a 400. It's just a small block Chevy. If all you want to do is rebuild it, you do all the same things you would to any other SBC. It behaves a little different, as far as parts choices, though; heads become super-critical, because the increased inches require increased flow; and the cam needs to be at least one step bigger in most mfrs' product lines than the catalogs say, because they base their RPM range and street manners judgements on a 350.

All 400s have the driver's side dipstick into the block, so you need that kind of oil pan, and headers. All 400s are 2-piece rear main seal, so you need that ype of flywheel or flex plate; and you have to either internally balance the engine in order to use a 305 one (which is not possible when using stock rods without spending $$$$$ on Mallroy metal) or use a 305 one and have it "unbalanced" to the stock 400 spec; and if you leave it externally balanced you have to use a 400 damper, which uses the timing mark in a different place from the timing cover for one of these cars; and the block probably doesn't have one of the mounting holes for the starter, so you'll need to have that drilled.

 

I read some where that they are selling 454 small blocks for like 10,000 !

 

Charlie- actually it is an all aluminum Ram Jet BBC 454 and they cost $25000 as a turkey crate motor and there will only be 200 or so of them made...a little out of the reach of the average joe like you or I...awesome motor though

 

They make the parts to do it, but I havent seen any in crate motor form yet. You can use the World Mowtown block and a stroker crank and get 454 ci out of it. It is a small block, but has some modifications to the block to make it stronger/more durable and to allow the larger bore. Felpro just started making a head gasket to allow this recently. I think that the head gasket was the only thing keeping them from boring that block that big since the block has been out for a while now and used for 427's and 434's and such.

Ben

 

its a motown engine and they etheir sell them in jegs or summit. I cant remeber which though.

 

sorry...I guess I misunderstood you...Personally I think that any chevy or pontiac motor with 8 cylinders is worth while...I will have to say that no matter what your preference is, this has got to be the best engine bay I have ever seen...this should serve as the standard to which all others are judged.

 

yes but do you know where that block comes from? it's the corvette C5R RACING block, and it probably equivalates for around $7k of the $50k+ pricetag of that package, yes I know motown and plenty of other companies make 427 and larger small blocks, what I was saying was that GM never has produced a factory car (NOT racecars) with a small block over 400ci, and another thing is I am talking about small blocks, not LT1's not LS1's, and an LS1 cannot be bored over, it's maximum overbore is .010, so you are ****ed if you need to rebuild it.

 

a

 

woops, sorry about that.

 

btw that's called the ZL1, it's a 427 and it's overpriced ****, $20-25k for 510HP

 

On the LS1's, they are aluminum blocks. I thought that if you needed to rebuild that you could just have it re-sleeved if the bore was messed up. Also, I am pretty sure that I have seen people get 427 ci out of LS1's on camaroz28.com. I thought that the were using stock blocks just bored/resleeved and stroked, but I could be wrong because some of those LS1 guys just have more money than they know what to do with.

Ben

 

I know lingenfelter also makes an NA 427 LS1 for Fbodies/'vettes(I think) and it's about $30k for the Fbodies, so I would assume they are the expensive C5R block, I think I you may be able to re sleeve the block with a bigger bore with thinner sleeves but I don't know, maybe bore it out with custom sleeves or something I remember hearing something somewhere about them. But I do know for sure that the lingenfelter TT corvette is a C5R block.

 

Is it possible to install a PONTAIC engine in my Trans Am

lets say 455ci?

 

It is possible, but it is a pain and is not good on the hp/$ figure.

Ben

 

JHens- If you just get the block it is "only" $5,095+tax. This is actually what I will be doing with my car once I get the money. It is a BB Aluminum 427 but unlike the old 60's block this block actually has steel sleeves which makes the cylinders that much more efficient. So, in theory you are getting all the power and potential of a BB with less than half the weight, which in turn makes you that much faster.

The $25K is only for the Turnkey engine, which IS a 454, not a 427. If you reference the November issue of HOT ROD they have all the final specs and purchasing information.

 

you can easily make a 427 ls1 with a 6.0 iron block out of the newer truck vortech blocks i think you can use a ls1 or a ls6 block if you use darton sleaves but i'm not sure. i've been doing alot of reading on the ls1 because i've been turned to the dark side and bought a 4th gen.

 

Not exactly true. If you live in the metro Atlanta area you DO have to pass an emissions test. I don't know how big population wise the Augusta area is, but theoretically in Georgia, if the population reaches a certain number testing will start in that area. I hate it too. My RS has failed 3 out of the last 4 years...and I keep it in near perfect mechanical condition. It is a royal pain.

 

whoa that sucks...yeah ATL's population is around 416,000 and Augusta is around 297,000....we're pretty big, i wonder why we don't have emmissions? oh well, as long as we don't, who cares!

 

I think it has to do with the population of county or the number of registered vehicles in the county. Either way, it still sucks.

 

That's why ND is nice, the entire state population is less than 650k, so we don't have to worry about emission testing, hell I live in the 2nd largest city in the state and we have about 49,000 people, the largest is around 90k

 

eh i dunno about that bein the nicest engine bay i ever seen tho.. dont like the way he ran that fuel line for the pressure gauge all the way across the engine 2 the opposite fender when he could just put it on the same side as the fuel line on the carb.. the big block looks cool as hell tho hehe

 

400 SBC

 

except the steam holes...

actually, theres so much mis info in this thread, i stopped reading before i got halfway thru.... lol...


i'll just add what i had... i HAD a 400 SBC bored over to 408.7ci (a .60 overbore) i didnt want to go that far, but the block sonic checked ok to go there, and there was a scratch that ment it was either junk or i had to go past .40

in anycase, that gave me the chance to tell people, (in country hillbilly/******* voice) "yeap boltedn one of dem dar 409s in it.."

 

Uh, a 60 overbore is a 412.7. A 40 overbore gives you the 408.7. If you had it bored over 60 it is not a "409".

Ben

 

errrrrr i ment 40... misstype...lol

i honestly donno what the heck i was thinking when i typed that... lol.... the block was .40 over..

thanks for catching it though. good job!