I've had a 1985 Berlinetta 2.8 since I was 16 years old. I kept it around to eventually bring it back to life when I had a real job. I found a GM Gen V BB 427 Tall deck with all the gear and mounts. It has 15,000 miles on it. Came out of a 1991 Kodiak truck. I know there are fitment issues with this engine, but Ive heard good things as well.
This will be my first build, so Im a newbie.

I know it has forged pistons and a steel crank. With my current budget, I want to try and keep those for now. I know they are heavier and low rpm, but I'm guessing they are strong and reliable. The tall deck has an extra oil ring on the pistons. I have about a $2500 budget and I'm thinking heads and a cam would open that engine up quite a bit until I can afford more. Anybody have personal experience with this engine? I wouldnt know what valve sizes or brand for the heads or what cam to get. Any intake recommendations?

 

Removal of the old 2.8l V6 and 700R4 transmission





2004 - Senior pics

 

"Fitment issues" is a kind and understated way to put it.

Even a std-deck BBC has trouble: brake booster will interfere with all but the lowest valve covers, A/C I don't think will work at all (not a pleasant prospect in the part of the world you appear to live in). No way a tall deck will work without significant hood modification or replacement. Distributor might not fit under the windshield cowl. Exhaust will be a MAJOR challenge since the exh ports on the heads are moved up/out from the usual location... read this as, $$$$$$.

IMO not a good swap candidate, especially not for a 1st-timer. Doesn't matter if you can get it for free; it will cost you more to put it in that it will to BUY AND PUT IN a motor that actually FITS.

Best overall swap going these days, seems to be a 5.3/4L60E pullout from a 99-06 truck.

 

Thanks for the input. Ive heard a few others say that as welI. I definitely want to put the big block in so I can stroke it out someday. Im aware I will need a new oil pan, need to dent the firewall for the distributor, new hood, low profile headers, hole saw the wheel well to access spark plugs, etc. I really just need some info and ideas on what head, intake and cam setup would be best for this engine and car.

 

You don't have a clue what you need yet. You're obviously not listening. Not to me, or to those "few others" trying to keep you from shooting yourself in the shorts.

That is not a swap for a n00b to swappage. That's for someone that knows what they're doing, building a race car EXCLUSIVELY, and DOESN'T CARE how bad they have to HACK UP THE CAR to get that truck POS thing shoehorned in there.

We get people who come on here all the time, have their heart set on some destructive thing they want to do. Instead of common sense and rationality, they're looking for cheerleaders to tell them all about "it's your car, do what you want" and "anything is possible with enough acetylene" and "he wants to do it, don't be negative just help him out" and all manner of stoooopid stuff like that. In fact, right after your next post where you tell me all about how all you want is help not discouragement, at least one of em will chime in and tell you what you want to hear. But "want to hear" doesn't automatically turn it into A Good Idea. Yeah it's true; it's your car, you can do what you want, yadda yadda yadda yadda. But in the end, yeah, do you REALLY want to hack up your teenage car THAT BAD just because the motor is cheeeeep?

Listen to common sense. Abandon this BAD idea and align yourself with the laws of physics and simple things like what you can learn with nothing more complicated than a tape measure. Bring your head out of the clouds and plant your feet solidly on the firm Earth if you're REALLY intending to EVER create something you can ACTUALLY DRIVE, instead of one of those never-ending projects we see all the time that people abandon - FINALLY - after untold $$$$$$ and however many years, when they FINALLY see the light of PRACTICALITY, and sell all that crap they've collected over the years for pennies on the dollar. (yes I have LOTS of just such stuff on my garage shelves; the ebay ads even said "project went a different way", "wife says must sell", and so forth)

5.3/4L60E pullout from a 99-06 truck is the swap you need to be doing.

 

I got to agree with sofa. The tall deck bbc is NOT a good or easy swap.

It is NOT JUST "need a new oil pan, need to dent the firewall for the distributor, new hood, low profile headers, hole saw the wheel well to access spark plugs, etc."

It is SOOO much more than that.

The tall deck engine has a .4" taller over all height than the std. pass car/truck big block. The std. big block is already 2" taller than a small block. So you are talking about 2 and a half inchs taller.

Denting the firewall will not fix this... You WILL NOT be able to put in or pull out your distributor. Dist. cap/wires will not fit,etc You will have to cut the cowl and firewall for fitment .

No std. sbc or bbc distributor will fit, they are too short to reach the oil pump and cam gear... You need a .400" longer shaft one. Not many options there

Std. BBC intakes will not fit. The tall deck has a wider space between the heads. Not many options for intakes. You can run spacers to make a std bbc intake fit but a lot of probs with the spacers causing intake gasket leaks.. Most tall deck builds uses a fabbed sheet metal intake

The engine is also wider overall, so now you hit the inner "frame rails", strut towers, etc and may have to remove so much from the towers you will be forced to add in a 12 or 14 point roll cage with the front subframe bars, and may even have to ditch the strut front end and go with an aftermarket race type non strut A arms, shock and springs up front

The exhaust ports are higher up, it's not a matter of low profile headers... It's custom fabbed headers that either you have to bend and weld up or have a custom shop do

The 427 tall deck used a piston with 3 compression rings. (4 total rings) The piston is right about .400" taller, and the third oil ring is encased in cast iron, built into piston. These pistons are real heavy and do not like to rev much above 3500 rpm

You can use std. bbc pistons but will need custom rods to do so.

The tall deck engine weighs about 60 lbs more than the std. bbc (745 lbs), The sbc weighs 575 lbs

I can keep going and going on the cons of this swap, but do not want to waste any more of my time, because I do not think you will listen and understand that this will not be a swap thet you can do and have good results in the end.

 

Crank and block are about the only things worth keeping from this motor.

 

Thanks nightrider327 for the clear concise information. The last guy was kind of a d**k about it. I just didnt understand, and now I do. It looks like Ill be going with a crate 350 motor. Plenty of power and less weight. I appreciate all the answers, even the d**k.

 

Your welcome. I am glad I could get you to see the light. By all means don't give up on a big block swap for the future, just don't try to use a tall deck 366 or 427... Use a common pass. car/truck 396, 427, 454 if you do it. Those are still a real tight fit but do-able.

The gen 1 sbc is about the easiest and cheapest route to go though and can make some big power.

The LS engine swaps are also pretty common now a days and makes a butt load of power.

I will not try to talk you out of a std. BBC swap but will say unless you spend big bucks on alum heads, water pump, mini starter, etc the weight of the things really upsets the handling of these cars.... BUT a BBC under the hood looks freaking cool!

I just didnt want to see you try something that I knew would not work or end very well... The tall deck bbc swap. Those are a bread all of their own and should stay in dump trucks and what not.

 

Sofa wasn't bein a dick he is jus not suger coatin the facts. He knows what he is talkin bout these guys have read it all and prolly seen or done it. They are here for advice weather u take it or say **** it.

 

Everything Night Rider said about doing a tall deck swap is true. The only thing good about these engines is the block to more easily build a stroker engine. The longer bores make it much easier to stroke. The engine in it's stock configuration is only good in a medium duty truck like the one you pulled it out of. The heads are peanut port. They are for making low end torque required for a heavy truck but will not be as good as some aluminum oval port heads which will flow much better right out of the box. The peanut port heads also have a non adjustable valve train so a cam swap requires a lot of valve train changes to maintain a good geometry. For a high rpm race application, rectangular port heads are recommended. The common Mark IV heads will not fit onto a Gen V block without using the proper head gaskets. Coolant will leak into the lifter valley. The OEM TBI intake is garbage so an aftermarket intake is required for a tall deck block or short deck intake will require spacers.

The Gen V has some potential but is not a great choice. Although it has a steel crank, 4 bolt mains and a one piece rear seal, there are too many bad things about it to make it a good engine. The Mark IV engine is a much better choice.

Although it looks cool to have a BBC under the hood, a 5.3 or 6.0 LS engine is a much better choice. Your $2500 budget will not allow a proper BBC swap. If you do it for that, you won't be happy with the results.