These questions are for all who have swapped into the Big Block realm!

In hind sight, do you think the swap was worth it, (this goes for anyone that went BBC)?

How much was roughly spent on the swaps? Not including labor

Separately

How much (roughly) did you fella's put into the Engines themselves?


How tough are BBC themselves (stock form) power and rpm wise?

 

It's just a bigger bore spacing engine but has a lot more potential than a SBC can achieve. There are very powerful SBC engines but at a much greater cost than a good BBC engine.

Easiest way to make HP (other than using a power adder) is to increase displacement. I'm up to a 540 and could punch it out to 555. Using a tall deck block, 572 and 632 can easily be reached but using a tall deck block brings in other clearance factors.

Cost? I don't know. I don't think I've stopped spending money. Depends how mild or wild you want to go. The only thing still "factory" on/in my engine is the alternator.

Worth it? I won't go back to a SBC.

 

would you say you have spent less then an LSX swap... to get in to the 10's area.... meaning 6000 or more....

I just build up my 350 (detail in the site in my sig/pic)

and after feeling what i have felt so far I would guess around mid 11's after some slicks and stall/gears...with my juice...

that's around 500 with the bottle (350-380 n/a)(around 395 or less at the wheels)

just wonder if a Big Block would be worth the time and effort... If i go this route I would build a intake and fuel rails to make it HSR style big block..... using the TPI wiring and computer...(that is some work)... but if I am in the same boat power wise, why bother, (besides being different)

I have a line on a lightly warmed over 454 72' for $1000 bucks

do you guys think this would be worth the effort, meaning 10 second slips and totally streetable

 

My Dart block was around $3000. Just the JE race pistons were about $1200. Over $1000 for the crank. Fully assembled aluminum heads are about $4000. I have a tunnel ram with two 850 carbs converted to alcohol so the intake system is at least $1500-$2000. Add in rods, bearings, rings, gaskets and all the other miscellaneous stuff and it's easy to make a $20,000 engine not including machine work and assembly labor.

Now if you want to run stock parts, you can really cut the costs but the reliability of factory parts decreases when the amount of HP you're trying to make increases. A factory BBC with nothing more than some good factory heads ported and polished with bigger valves, camshaft and good intake can easily dip into the 10's. Any good engine should be able to make 1 HP per CID on pump gas.

Buying an engine cheap means it's usually worn out and needs a good rebuild or it has no performance related parts in it worth anything.. Anything that's in good condition will fetch a higher dollar for it. $1000 for a 454 tells me it's a high mileage engine needing a rebuild but can usually still have some good parts. $3000-$5000 usually says it's a completely rebuilt engine ready to drop in and may have a few goodies inside.

I ran into the high 11's (at altitude) with a relatively cheap, poor man's, 383. See my web pages for the old engine specs. Going to a 454 got me into the low 11's. Boring it out to a 469 plus a cam change etc got me into the mid 10's. Now with a 540, I've run 9.75 all at altitude. At sea level conditions, I'd be even faster.

The cheapest way to go faster is to increase the power to weight ratio. Since it costs a lot of money to make power, try reducing the weight. Removing stuff from the car that you don't need is cheaper than making power to go faster. There's only so much you can remove if you wish to keep it streetable but there is still stuff that can be removed.

 

Much like Stephen stated, I too will not be returning to the SBC realm. I've contemplated the Motown configuration once, but, decided to stick with my big block instead. It's been sitting in my '86 Iroc (which I gave to my nephew) for the last couple of years, and since he's interested in returning the car back to it's original form, figured I toss the V6, and drop her in the '92 Firebird...

Didn't spend too much on the engine, as luckily it's internals weren't that bad. A local shop honed and decked it for me, and I threw in some fresh new rings. The engine is coded as a "Police Interceptor", and although I'm not too sure about the stock cam's specs, she pulled like a **** since day one, and I simply stood with it all this time. As far as cost on your side, it's really hard to say. Knowing a good engine builder, and knowing how to select used parts could save you a great deal in the long run...

Fuel injection is definitely an option, and if you can get your hands on an old Tunnel Ram, and if you know how to fabricate, you can have yourself a Holley Stealth Ram (same design, basically)...

The swap is definitely worth it bro. True power is found in the cylinder heads, and the actual size of the BBC Chevy heads themselves gives you a great advantage. Combine that with the new lobes that are being introduced nowadays, and you'll make more average power under the curve than you can imagine... all the while staying street friendly.

Good luck...

 

I have done a few BBC swaps and the only big issue is with the hedders and intake to hood clearence and even a small BBC can make a 3rd gen into a 11-10 sec car easily I currently have a 408ci BBC with a mild cam good oval port heads a Team G intake it's around 500HP on the motor and has been fitted with a N20 set up for more HP and is stone reliable, the BBC is the way to go I probably only have around $3500-4000 in my engine using good parts and trading labor so it can be done cheep..