So im wanting to do a Big Block swap in my 91 rs. ive found one a guys put in his nova, he says it came out of a 1979 chevy 1 ton truck camper special. its all stock except the intake its a ram tunnel single plane. whats the specs on the 454s in 79? would this be worth doing. ive read that my biggest issue is the headers. any tips and advise would be great appreciated. Thanks

 

how much?

 

what do you mean how much?

 

thats the question you have to ask yourself, how much do you wanna spend, how fast do you wanna go, how much of it can you do yourself, how much room do you have?, probably not what he meant, but its what you gotta do

 

i just wanna leave it stock for now. my dad and brother will be helping me with this swap.

 

do you already have a 454 to swap in? or will you still be needing that? if so you gotta look at what they came in and where/how you'll get ahold of one, if its been sitting for awhile (lets be honest most things form the 70s with 454s aren't daily drivers anymore) it will need some new parts if not a good rebuild, thats more money, then comes the trouble of actually fitting it in.

 

i am looking at one. it came out of a 1979 chevy 1 ton truck

 

well like i said you need to figure out whether or not it will need rebuilt, and how much you wanna spend, i can tell you that if your car is your daily driver its really not a good idea to do this

 

it runs ive heard it run. and i plan on driving my s10 beater as a daily driver.

 

In 1979, the 454 was rated at 240hp @ 3800 and 370torque @ 2800. Since no cars were offered a BBC after 1974, all the BBC engines after that came from trucks. Camper Special just means it has heavy duty suspension and brakes.

What kind of power does it make now? If it's never been rebuilt, probably less than when it was new. A single carb tunnel ram is a poor combination for power especially if nothing else has been touched.

The only good thing about the engine is that it will probably have 049 or 781 oval port heads. Do some port and polishing and install 2.19/1.88 valves and they'll be fine.

 

it sounds pretty healthy. he says its stock, low mileage. it was a farm truck. according to him anyways

 

How much means how much does the seller want for the 454??.

 

600$

 

Yeah-I was actually thinking $500,but that isn't too bad.

I think you need to look at this two ways.

The first is to compare what it costs to build a SBC vs a BBC. I believe the thing that drive people away from BBC's is the cost of aftermarket overheads,heads,cam and kit,intake/carb.Mostly the cost of decent aftermarket heads.The smog O.E.M. heads aren't worth much. What really wakes up these 454 is a decent set aftermarket of heads and cam/kit.The pistons/rods cost compared to a SBC isn't significant.A 454 crank can get pricey when you start going into stroker cranks,but to get a good 454 forged crank isn't that bad.

Then the second thing is to compare swap costs.Neither the 700R4 or the T5 will hold up behind the 454.The 7.5 rear isn't up to the task either.The headers are certainly going to cost more.Then the cooling system is going to need mods for the 454. So let's ballpark a 454 swap costs.Conservatively $3,000 to $5,000 grand.That would be for a 9" Ford rear end,gear set,posti,engine mounts,headers,mods to the 700R4,cooling system mods,frame connectors, maybe hood mods depending on which induction you choose.

Are you going to escape those costs with a SBC??. Well not totally. Lets say about haft of it.

To have your head wrap around $3000 to $5000 in any swap would be good starting point.And be willing to be flexible in that.

Anytime you think about going cheap during the swap,go over in the corner of the garage,take off your shoe,and abundantly hit your big toe with a large hammer.You will decide very quickly that isn't a good idea. LOL

 

^ that's a conservative number assuming everything goes perfectly and you don't run into issues. I'd be expecting more than that, IMO. That's just me, though.

 

no.your right.

 

So, after reading the EXTENSIVE "sticky" at the top of this forum, are there any SPECIFIC questions you have, that AREN'T ALREADY ANSWERED?

 

my question is, how much is it gonna cost me to do this swap.. what do i got to buy on top of buying the motor?

 

Technically, headers but by the time you've completed the swap, it may have cost you a few thousand dollars.

The BBC will fit in the same place that a SBC will. There will be a couple of hookup issues such as coolant lines, electrical connections etc but that's to be expected with any kind of swap.

If you don't already have it, an electric fan should be used as the BBC tall water pump won't leave a lot of room for a mechanical fan.

Hood clearance is always an issue unless using a low profile manifold and drop base air cleaner.

If you want to do the swap, then jump right in and do it. Don't expect any kind of foreign engine swap to be an easy drop it in and go type of swap. Nobody can tell you exactly what will need to be changed because each swap is a little bit different. The more complete the swap engine is such as alternator and power steering mounts, the easier the swap can be.

If you're not willing to adapt or modify to get something to work then just stick with a SBC.

 

If there's still a guy named Steele that owns a body shop in your part of the world (haven't talked to him in a decade or more so I'm not sure) go talk to him.

 

What you need is a plan. What do you plan to do with the car? If all you want is a camaro with a 454 then like AlkyIROC said, "technically headers". But if you plan to put that car under stress, meaning ANY kind of competition,be it drag racing, road racing, street racing, cone cutten', drifting, dyno-pulling, or even a simple burn-out contest, your going to have to spend some $ to strenthen the chassis, and suspention. 79 1-ton, anything about that truck that says, week, light, or not up to the task. No. But a 3rd gen is not up-to that task with just as factory equipment.

 

I had a '79 Bu with factory 454/4 speed. Last of the big block bu's. Would love to have that one back!

 

from the progress and research ive done you'll need an aftermarket k-member, a set of headers, and some kind of cooling system and accessory drive. im doing this swap on my 91 rs and i am moving the radiator forward an inch or two to free up some room (not gonna run a/c). i plan on ordering the k-member here soon. ive got almost 2000 in my motor already and i have'nt even finished it yet so it depends on your budget oh and depending on your intake setup youll probably need a 4 inch cowl hood to clear the carb and aircleaner

 

It would be a really bad idea to swap the engine in and then later decide you want aftermarket heads/cam and kit.Tight spaces makes this so.Those smog heads ant that good.It is a equally bad idea to go through all the work to swap it in and not reseal/rebuild the engine.If that has never been done before,it is what,a thirty yr old engine with untold number of miles.

My point here is you have thousands invested with a high risk high mileage engine and if it takes a drive,you lose it all.

 

Stock K member and motor mounts will work.

Hooker headers are your cheap option, Ed Quays are the good ones.

Even with a dual plane intake you will not have hood clearence for an air cleaner, so a cowl hood will be needed.

Might as well delete the ac now if you want to change your plugs. Power brake booster is close as well.

The engine in question probably doesn't make any more hp then what you have now, but some more torque. It has about 7.5:1 compression, so its pretty tame.

You are going to be adding over 100lbs to your front end. It will not handle the same. Get HD springs and new struts.


A trans swap. That t 5 wont last a week behind a BBC.
All and all, for a street car, a bbc swap is a waste of time and money.

If you are going heads up racing, thats another story.

 

just curious but what oil pan are yall running to clear the k-member the guy i talked to told me he had to modify his stock pan and k-member to fit

 

All good things to consider
Some headwork and a cam it will really wake up
Throw that tunnel ram in the trash or sell it they arent worth a damn on the street.

 

Any factory car pan should work.

I ran this

http://www.jegs.com/i/B-B/128/91488/...oductId=746460

 

Pan clearing the k-member shouldnt be much of an issue, but if you go with a kick-out style pan(its what i used, i wanted/needed the extra capacity, without sacrificing ride height with a deeper pan) you might encounter header clearence problems, I did, but I handle it. I dont usally shop for hi-performance parts that fit 3rd gens, I shop for the best, then make it fit.

 

John-is the lady in your car's passenger seat 100lbs or more??. Got extra springs/struts under her??.

Trust this old guy,don't tell her she has to get out because the car doesn't handle the same.

 

Come on Gary, you know 100+lbs hanging over the front wheels has a much greater effect then 100lbs added to the center of the car. Thats not even Basic physics.

 

I agree, the extra 100 lbs is going to change how the car handles. IMO this is not going to be a cheap easy, worthwhile swap for a street car. Sure it can be done and would be cool if done right, but IMO just build up a nice SBC and you will have less cost and be happier in the long run.

 

Yep. I had a wicked 427 in mine for awhile. Thought about detuning it for street, but decided to sell it and build a mild small block.

 

Your opinion is based on what, your experiance building a BBC 3rd gen?

 

The weight on my front tires is about the same as a factory third gen with a SBC in it. I'm considering putting more weight on the nose just to keep the front end down.

Comparing apples to apples. Yank out the SBC and put it on a scale. Chances are you're not going to install a complete original BBC. Even just an intake manifold swap is a big weight saving. Getting rid of the cast iron exhaust manifolds because you can't use them anyway and installing headers is another weight saving. Although iron heads work fine, aftermarket aluminum heads are well within just about everyone's budget. They don't need to be high end heads. Once those have all been replaced, the engine is pretty close to the weight of an OEM SBC.

Don't forget, the increased torque of a BBC will easily overcome the slight weight increase.

 

Ok, so the op has not replied, so this is probably a dead topic.

But from what I was gathering he was looking to swap a stock low power bbc for some fun on the street.

IMO, this is a waste of time.

Now, if we was looking to go racing, then, yes, a bbc is a great platform.

For a mild street car, IMO a smallblock is a better choice.

I have had and still have both, BBC and SBC powered cars.

 

True, if he was building something, as stated, he wanted to pull the engine from the farm truck and drop it in, no rebuild. Sounds like his budget would not be enough to buy any heads.

 

Your sbc argument/position is sound. all im sayin is, if some one had told you, before you built yours, "dont build that" would you have listened?

 

The only reason I went BBC was because I decided to go outlaw street car racing. If I had known it would go back to a real street car, I would have never gone with a BBC.