Please help... Engine decision?

[70rs]

Originally Posted by Nor-Cal Nick

Ok, so I am close to pullng a trigger on a BBC. Have a 468 and a 502 I am looking at. I can get the 468 cheaper but my gut is saying just go after the 502 so I have more to work with later if I wan more, yes?

Hello Nick,
If you have the option and the money is not an issue then the 502 makes more sense. You will have a lot of room to grow with that. The 468 can be punched out more too(not much though), but the 502 is a better bang for the buck IMO.

[Flash68]

Originally Posted by 70rs

Hello Nick,
If you have the option and the money is not an issue then the 502 makes more sense. You will have a lot of room to grow with that. The 468 can be punched out more too(not much though), but the 502 is a better bang for the buck IMO.

Can't the 454/468 be easily stroked to 496? A forged stroker kit for that block, assuming it's good, is pretty cheap I believe. Not sure I would pay a premium for the 502 unless it already has a forged bottom end. ?

[Vegas69]

Are these run ready engines or do they need work?

[70rs]

Originally Posted by Flash68

Can't the 454/468 be easily stroked to 496? A forged stroker kit for that block, assuming it's good, is pretty cheap I believe. Not sure I would pay a premium for the 502 unless it already has a forged bottom end. ?

I THINK the 502 has a forged bottom end Dave. And yes, the 454 can be punched out and taken to 496 inches but that about does it. The 502 is a different block and can be taken out beyond that (not sure how far though, I think at least 540). My only point was that if money is not a consideration then the 502 would give him more room to grow down the road.

[Nick.V70]

Originally Posted by 70rs

Hello Nick,
If you have the option and the money is not an issue then the 502 makes more sense. You will have a lot of room to grow with that. The 468 can be punched out more too(not much though), but the 502 is a better bang for the buck IMO.

Originally Posted by 70rs

I THINK the 502 has a forged bottom end Dave. And yes, the 454 can be punched out and taken to 496 inches but that about does it. The 502 is a different block and can be taken out beyond that (not sure how far though, I think at least 540). My only point was that if money is not a consideration then the 502 would give him more room to grow down the road.

Yes that is kinda what I was thinking also or wanting to confirm. I understand going the 502 route will take up more money out of the hole but I have no idea if I will want more later and I want to be wise early than say "crap, I should have.... "

Originally Posted by Vegas69

Are these run ready engines or do they need work?

Both are fresh builds never in a car but dyno'd with build sheets. They are stated to be between the 550-600hp range. I am waiting on the specs of the 502 build.



Again I do want to say thanks to everyone that has helped on input good or bad about my personal questions on my engine decision. It's been along time for me from my young SBC 383 stroker days and man alot has changed. Tons more options and of course when I was younger money was alot tighter so I never was looking at BBC's.....so pretty much I am a newbie on what I want and just want to feel good about what I pick and spend my money on. To save money it's best to know what you are trying to buy so you make sure it's the right purchase the first time....not the 3rd time after and wasting money

Thanks guys!!

[dezl]

how much do you want to spend nick?

Ive got a solid 427 for sale out of my 69. The thing is brand new, it does need to be tuned a bit but it should make a solid 600+ hp. Ive also got a 383 Stroker motor for sale with a turbo 400 behind it. Again solidly built.

[Nick.V70]

So here is a few month update....did a ton of thinking and I know the engine is going to be a good chunk of money for what I want so I have pushed it off till the later part of my car build so I don't budget the engine money based on getting overwhelmed with everything else I am spending money on at this point.

A little more help on the motor as I have been opened up to seeing that a 454in the larger or stroked state should make me plenty happy. A 502 bottom end is still on my mind and after I have a couple other big purchases out of the way I wanted to start either stacking engine parts to the side and starting with a block or bottom end is the first piece of the puzzle, but I am lost on where to start. I am setting my budget @ $10-12k for now as a budget to handle carb to pan. Too much or not enough? Do I start by purchasing a 502 short block and then build off that or find myself a 454 and stroke it to a larger C.I. , I believe you can stroke the 454 to somewhere between 486-515CI ? (Help Please)

Oh and the big question who is building it, I really don't know yet. I have been fighting myself to do most all the work on the car because the point of my car is to 1 get me out of my normal routine and put myself back in the shop working on something different than I have found myself wrapped up in and 2 basically finally personally build the car of my dreams that means so much to me to replace again from my younger years. So I may do some of the assembly myself and recruit some help from friends or I may take the easy route and send everything to a engine builder. How many guys are still building there own engines of this caliber? Or is this something someone with past small block engine building should be trying to tackle? I have all the general tools other than specialty tools such as to drop the pistons in the block and cam degree tools. We build trucks as in suspension and other modifications so other than engine building tools we have it and what I know I will need I can either barrow or purchase.

I have talked to a few friends but most all would have someone build it because non of us really have the time with kids and family + work but I am forcing myself to do as much as I can on this, am I crazy?


OH AND to the guys that said I should go 5 speed well I am looking at purchasing a 5 speed right now, any direction I should be looking for my purchase?

Also I have alot already going on with the car and will be posting a full thread of it very soon....

Thanks guys!!!

[1HTBRRD]

Nick,
Just my 2 cents.... I have a 468BB with merlin heads, a big solid roller cam, 10.5 to 1 compression, 850 carb, and free flowing exhaust. It is a fairly mild build, but extremely fun and tons of torque.

I am actually considering a more mild hydraulic cam and fast EZ EFI for better gas mileage because I make a 70 mile round trip to work every once in awhile. I put a six speed behind it after trying to drive it on the freeway for more than 2 minutes.

Sounds like you have a good budget to start with, just need to figure out how much you will be driving the car. I sometimes wish I had gone the LS route, but that quickly goes away when I hit the gas and break traction at 45mph

One thing is for sure, whichever engine you decide on make sure to back it with a six speed

[Nick.V70]

Originally Posted by 1HTBRRD

Nick,
Just my 2 cents.... I have a 468BB with merlin heads, a big solid roller cam, 10.5 to 1 compression, 850 carb, and free flowing exhaust. It is a fairly mild build, but extremely fun and tons of torque.

I am actually considering a more mild hydraulic cam and fast EZ EFI for better gas mileage because I make a 70 mile round trip to work every once in awhile. I put a six speed behind it after trying to drive it on the freeway for more than 2 minutes.

Sounds like you have a good budget to start with, just need to figure out how much you will be driving the car. I sometimes wish I had gone the LS route, but that quickly goes away when I hit the gas and break traction at 45mph

One thing is for sure, whichever engine you decide on make sure to back it with a six speed

Thank you for the post.

I am researching if I can plug a Tremec 5 or 6 speed in my car right now because I am at that point with the inside pulled apart.

I do plan on enjoying the car as much as I can. I live close to work so it would be driven daily pending on what I have going on. I am having a 9" built as soon as my new wheels show up because I went with a small back space for a deep dish so I have to cut a axle shorter before I can run them. So swapping out the final gear ratio to match the tranny/engine combo will not be that bad when that gets completely matched together.

I have to say the engine tranny combo has been the hardest part to come to a decision on this car, everything else has been pretty simple for the most part because I already knew the look I was after but the engine/tranny combo is killing me, now that it is tranny time I am happy that I changed my mind to go manual.

[Flash68]

Make a decision yet?