'94 c3500 Farm Truck w/ Frankenstein 454 - Project Thread

[the_elegant_fox]

Oof, bad news. The cams are toast and rounded off. Metal all through the engine. There’s a flat spot on the flywheel so the engine needs to come out anyway. Looking into swap options, any thoughts? I’ve never listed out an engine swap build before.

We think sticking with gas/big block is the way to go and this gives us a chance to convert to EFI.

Some of my buddies say it probably just needs a top end rebuild with new or adjusted lifters with a fresh cam and an oil change but I’m not 100% sure.

 

[the_elegant_fox]

the current 454 is punched .30 over so going to a new long block would likely need new pistons. Is rebuilding this block even an option?

 

[the_elegant_fox]

Thinking about some options.

A rebuilt 454 from here is budget friendly and allows me to reuse a lot of existing parts: Chevy 454 7.4L V8 Remanufactured Engine – 1991-1995

There's also a partial 454 you can get from GM: 454 Partial Engine

Not sure if it's an option, but there are bare blocks to start from: Chevrolet Performance 454 C.I.D. Bare Engine Blocks 19170538 and Chevrolet Performance Bowtie Big Block Chevy Cast Iron Engine Blocks 19212194

The hail mary that would push the budget kinda too far would be the HT502: HT502 – truck replacement engine - 406 HP

With the cams as far gone as they are, it might be pushing our luck, but we could tear down the engine and run a new cam: COMP Cams Thumpr Retrofit Hydraulic Roller Cam and Lifter Kits K11-600-8 I don't know how advisable this is though. Losing one or two lobes doesn't seem that bad, but we observed about 3-4 on each cam.

 

[TonyM]

The reman or the 502 would be my picks since you already have a 454 it would be the easiest

Try not to get talked into the 8.1 swap.

 

[the_elegant_fox]

We're going to take a look at rebuilt units and see which one fits the bill. Anyone have any recommended rebuilt 454 suppliers?

 

[the_elegant_fox]

Alright, looks like we found an engine that'll suit the use case: ATK High Performance GM 454 525 HP Stage 1 Long Block Crate Engines HP451P

 

[Erik the Awful]

I've never built a 454, but .060" overbore should be easily achievable. If I had that engine in my garage, I wouldn't hesitate to rebuild it. I'm a cheapskate, but I'd want to spend a little more at the machine shop to ensure the block is good.

 

[Jimmy D]

I clicked on the link and it shows that engine is not available.

 

[the_elegant_fox]

We looked at the rebuild costs on this 454 and it came out to close to a new engine in cost so we're leaning towards the ATK unit. They're talking with ATK now to get it started and see what's involved in getting one.

 

[the_elegant_fox]

This is a test video on the engine type from ATK:

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