I have an 85 Z-28 with stock suspension. If I decided to drop a 454 or 427, what kind of mods and budget would I be looking at?

 

Just springs as long as the rest of your parts are good. So less than $100.

My guess is you have other bad parts you will find.

 

I don't doubt that in the least. Its got a 350 from a 70s C10, and the wiring alone is a complete nightmare. Not to mention, it looks as though there was a front end collision, the supports behind the front facia are crumpled on the driver's side. Not sure how extensive that is.

 

Frame rack it before you get any further into it. If the car's still straight, just go to the junkyard and find good pieces to fix whatever's out of whack and hit any bare metal with some primer, rusto or POR-15. Then check all the front end bushings and steering linkages for play and replace as needed, replace the struts and strut mounts if they aren't fresh, quality parts, and then get some good stiff springs that will give you whatever height, ride and weight transfer you're looking for with the big block.

Good luck! If everything checks out, that will be a fun project and it'll be nasty when it's done.

 

A BBC with aluminum heads and intake is roughly the same weight as a factory SBC.

 

you're going to need $2000-3500 for a 9" or something equivilent. That and subframe connectors.. You'll tear your car to pieces with a BBC if you don't do the modifications necessary to hold the torque down. Power is the easy part.