i want to put a 454 in my 88 cama.I want to know will it fit,and what can i get a 454 out of

 

Will it fit? Read the BBC swap sticky in the top section of this forum.

What can you get a 454 out of? Anything that has a 454.

 

i'm kind of new to this dont know to many cars with a 454

 

You're not likely to find one in a car, the usual sources are trucks.

 

do you know about what year range

 

Early 90's 2500 Chevy's had them. Late 80's too I think.

 

My 1980 GMC 3/4 ton has one - with a 4-speed and 4:56 rear end. It ain't leaving

 

The last "car" that came with a 454 was in 1974. Trucks still had a 454 option up to when GM started switching over to the LS engines. In 1991, the Mark IV engine was phased out and the Gen V was introduced. Luckily, that engine only lasted a few years before the better Gen IV was introduced. This was the beginning of the Vortec engines.

The gazillion aftermarket parts available for a BBC are normally designed for the pre 91, Mark IV engine so you're looking for a 454 from the 70's or 80's.

Externally, the short deck BBC is the same dimensions from the smallest 396 up to a 540 (which can be punched out a little more). The tall deck blocks are designed for 5 ton trucks, school buses etc. The deck surface is .400" taller to allow for a bigger piston with an extra compression ring. These were available in 366 (6L) and 427 (7L) displacements. Although the 427T has performance potential, a tall deck block makes an engine swap a lot more difficult. There are no OEM tall deck 454 engines.

Good luck finding a good 454 for an inexpensive price. If it's being sold cheap, there's usually something bad about it. It can be a lot cheaper to just buy a stock replacement engine or even just a short block and start from there.

The only factory component in or on my engine is an alternator. Everything else is aftermarket. I gave up on factory parts many years ago.

 

ill let you know all the secrets i know i am in the process of doing it right now just pm me the moderator hate geting the same questions over and over again and i understand that thats why we have stickies....my 454 is from an 87 subrban and thats prob the best place to look for one....but anywho just pm me

 

alkyiroc thanks for the information. i,m trying to find a 454 block but i didnt know what years to look at. found one the guy wanted 300 fir it

 

'70-90 3/4 or 1-ton trucks are the most common sources... 1990 and earlier are 'Mk IV' engines, which have the strongest aftermarket, so its probably the best choice.

 

ok look the best i can tell you is look in the 80's they were prodeminent in trucks

 

After 1974 BBC's were used in almost anything and everything considered heavy-duty, or industrial like; tow-trucks, dumptrucks, delivery trucks( Ryder and U-haul etc.), R/V's, some combines, and other farm equipment like irrigation pumps and other stuff you might not think about. If you find it difficult then your not looking hard enough.

 

They can be found in boats too, but some are reverse rotation.

 

Have to be careful with these though, because then you are getting into the tall-deck big blocks as well, which is NOT what you want. The two sizes for the tall deck big blocks are 366ci and 427ci. The 454 was always a short deck motor, which is what you want.

 

If you want to ever want stroke your bbc more than 4.25'' you NEED a tall deck, unless you get a aftermarket block and they start at 2500. bare iron. I got 525ci. out of a factory 4 bolt tall deck 427 that only cost 300 bucks. Dont let .400 taller scare you, the biggest difference on the outside is only the intake.

 

Ya, its only a little taller, but hood clearance is already a big problem with a BBC (I have one too). The tall deck blocks are taller, and because of that they are also wider, so they use a unique intake, distributor, you'll probably need custom headers as well. None of that is cheap, even compared to standard deck BBC stuff. And in the end, the tall deck is still a 427, which is smaller than a 454, unless you plan on scrapping everything and building a stroker motor.

Just look for a short deck 454 if you just want the easiest and cheapest way to put a BBC into a 3rdgen. I'm not saying it will be cheap, but a std deck BBC like a 396 or 454 is cheaper to install than a tall deck block, and easier to get parts for too.

 

The biggest problem with a talldeck in a third gen is exhaust. There will be heater or brake booster clearance issues but headers will need to be custom made. Even the cheapest headers available are the Hooker swap headers and they're not cheap. They're also designed as a street header. They're made for a short deck block and factory heads as a basic engine swap. Install aftermarket heads with raised exhaust ports and fitment becomes difficult. Stick those heads on a tall deck block and the swap headers become useless.