A small one, admittedly, and not something that will be tackled immediately. I've located a stock-bore 454 bare block. It'll need an overbore and deck clean-up, otherwise just the normal rebuild stuff.

The goal is a little higher compression for the E85 than I'm currently running, 10:1 to about 11.5-12:1, and to pick up a little ET. I'd like to keep it in the NHRA ET Sportsman range of 12.00 & up (12.75 & up at altitude), and still be able to give it a little shot for "special occasions". So, no, I won't be going with a 4" stroke, both because it would cost more, and it would probably make me faster than I want to be.

So, the 396 crank & rods will be reused, with .030"-over 427 pistons, same cam. I'd like to do better heads (another advantage of going to the 4.25" bore - aftermarket heads don't typically do well on the small bore 396). I could put 2.19"/1.88" valves in my current heads, but by the time I do that, I'm halfway to aftermarket. I will have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each (could just run my heads as-is).

I intend to get Berlinetta #2 running before I start this, so it may be next year before anything happens.

 

310/320 aluminum heads are plentiful on Ebay for less than $1000 for a set fully assembled. Doesn't really pay to work over a set of iron heads with bigger valves unless you're doing all the work yourself. A set of 049 and 781 heads do still have a lot of performance potential once they've been cleaned up and have the bigger valves installed. There are times when an iron head is still better than an aluminum head.

A pair of aluminum heads weighs about the same as one iron head which is roughly 65 pounds.

 

049's and 781's have smaller intake ports than my current heads. 320cc seems excessive for a 433 cid engine reving to 6500 RPMs or less.

I'd like to keep the chamber size down. I don't see a need for 2.25"/1.88" valves, which many of the aftermarket heads on eBay seem to have.

 

I'm not here near as much as I'd like to be anymore,I have an engine togethor for my next 3rd gen,which coincidentally,I haven't found yet.
E-85 is getting a lot more accessable here in the midwest,but I really have nothing for experiance with it.How consistant has it been for you?I have read that its 105 octane,"if blended correctly",so is it a fluke deal to get a bad batch,or a fluke deal to get a good batch?

 

I started buying it at the track last year. It was more consistent there. The gas stations change to 70% during the winter so the flex fuel vehicles will start easier. It takes awhile to get that diluted back to 85% in the spring, and the track season starts before they switch back to 85%. This year I didn't have enough from the track and got some from the gas station, and it gave me fits until I was able to run that out with the track stuff.

Other than that, it was great. I had some consistency issues this year, but I belive that was due to my cheap torque converter, not the fuel.

 

Here's what you need but I wouldn't recommend these Chinese Procomp brand heads to anyone after any kind of serious performance. Skip White sells these so you should know he's a reputable vendor from all the rocker covers he sells.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BIG-B...mZ270284165696

 

I had those on my watch list, actually. I'm not sure how "serious" you would consider 475-500 HP to be.

65 pound weight savings would put me under 3800 going down the track. . .

 

Around here you can pick up an old 366 for dirt,that would be a great crank and connecting rod donor,they were all steel cranks,same stroke as 396/427,and they have a beefier set of connecting rods to boot.Then you could stash your 396 shortblock for another day.I've bought a worn out 366 for as little as $75.

 

Supercharge the 396, as is. This would allow you to adjust the boost and power according to the available fuel and altitude you are running at on that day.

A Weand 177 would be uber cool on the 57.

Save the 454 block or sell it to help finance the blower.

If I was running at near 6000' , I'd do the same thing airplanes do to make up the power. Compress it.

 

I don't think what I paid for the 454 block would go very far toward a 177. . .

The idea is to do 2 things - 1) increase CR ("compress it"), and 2) unshroud the valves so 2.19/1.88's can be used. I also suspect the old 1966 chamber design and heavy valves are hurting me. I could also add that the ring leakage is probably a lot higher than it should be (I wasn't all that sophisticated about ring gap back in 1997).

It certainly responded well to the spray. That's also adjustable, but the recurring costs are prohibitive. The up-front costs and hole in the hood of SC don't appeal to me, either.

What I probably need more than anything is a better torque converter. . .

 

http://www.holley.com/7741-1.asp 174ci blower kit. Should just fit under the 57 hood. Without the scoop.

The SBC (144) ones do. This one is lower profile than the Weiand 177 blower.

The trick to the closed chamber BBC heads is to cut the 1.88" exhaust valves down to 1.84".

A 2.14-2.16" intake valve with chamber deshroudiing and porting gets you very close to a open chamber heads performance.

You could just work with your stock valves and port more and work on the chambers. With the blower you could afford lower cr from the chamber mods.
You want larger ring gaps for a blower motor.

If you're going to build a new motor with a 4.25" bore block,
build a 468ci or larger motor.

 

The SC would certainly poke through the hood. I have less than an inch left now without a drop-base air cleaner (had to go drop base with the nitrous plate). I'd need a different carb, or have to modify what I have. The drive pulleys would threaten my radiator, which is already in the 6-cyl position. I really prefer NA - the nitrous was a "special occasion" thing.

My current valves are 2.06/1.72 with hardened exhaust. The heads have already been ported. 2.14/1.84's would be a major expense with still inferior chambers. The odd valve sizes would be sure to produce odd looks from the machinist - I don't do well with odd looks from machinists.

I'm just looking to be at the lower end of the NHRA ET Sportsman class: 12.00 at sea level, 12.75 at altitude, in a 3800 lb shoebox. I can use my current steel crank, SFI damper & SFI flexplate (or the aforementioned 366 crank, which I'm not inclined to do) for the .030"-over 427, but I'd need a new crank, damper & flexplate for a 468. And, the 468 would probably overshoot the performance goal.

 

With the Holley 174ci BB your carb would only be 2.70" higher than it is now.

RPM air gap manifold.

The 174ci blower kit with its "low profile manifold" is 2" lower and $1000 cheaper than the Wieand 177 blower.

A GM L-88 air cleaner would allow max possible hood clearance. ($60)
There is a short water pump version of this system. pre 1969 BBC accessories and brackets.
Everything would have to be accuratly measured for clearance but I think you could squeeze it under the 57 hood.
Is your motor mounted at a different height in the chassis than a factory 1957 SBC would be?
You could use your present engine setup as is and get all the performance and flexability you are after for a very reasonable cost. Your carb only needs simple upgrades and rejetting.

Would not take a lot of boost at all to get from where you are now to the performance you want.
(with the easy ability to turn up the program for those "special occasions")
As simple as a 3 minute top pulley swap.

Worst case you could get another hood and modify it. In that case I would consider the Weiand 177ci pr the 256ci blower.

Just another good way to skin the cat that I know you would enjoy a lot.

 

I'd have to use an airhorn hat with remote air cleaner(s) in order to fit under the stock hood, which would only give it about 2" above the airhorn. I'm using swap side mounts that puts the crankshaft at the stock height. I'd still have the leak-down issues with the current engine. The kit would cost around $2200 plus install. Admittedly, I'd pay close to that with the 433 shortblock, and probably more than that with aftermarket heads as well (even the cheap Pro Comps).

Something about having a huffer on top just doesn't do my psyche well. It's bad enough to have people come up to the car in the pits or staging lanes and say things like, "Oh, it's a big block. I thought it ran pretty well fif it had a small block." Having a blower on top would just increase the disdain.

 

Have those people ever tryed to shove something as heavy a a 4 door 57 into the 12's?
When my car got in the 11s,someone always had a buddy who got in the 10's,when I hit 10s,someone knew someone with one in the 9s,so on and so on.I never saw those fabled cars at the track,though.

 

I've given up trying to be the fastest of anything. There's even a faster 4-door out at the track (347 Falcon, NA).

Doing an 11.95 @ 110 at 5800' elevation in the summer heat with a 100 shot was a kick, though. It's just too fast to stay in ET Sportsman. The 433 should give me enough to run in any class I want.