fl_tags
Newbie
Hello everyone, First post here. To introduce myself, my name is Tony, I have a 1992 Chevy C3500 dually with a 454 and 4L80E. Typical gen V 236 head motor. I got a decent deal on the truck, but I also took a gamble that the low, erratic oil pressure was due to a faulty sender unit. With how nice the engine ran, I didn't think it was possible for the oil pressure to be correct… 
Wrong! Same #'s on a mechanical gauge. None the less, I drove it until today when it started making the noises, time to rebuild!
It's well enough as it gives me an excuse to rebuild and tune up the engine a little. I've been doing all my own car work since my first car, but this will be my first full rebuild. I'll have help for assembly procedures and whatnot, but I'm looking for info/advice on component choice. I have been pouring over all of the online info I can about big block builds but I think it's time for some more specific advice for my build.
So now, for my plans. I'm trying to keep it all very low budget and just sorta see what I can throw together. A bottom end rebuild is obvious. Gonna take the block down and have the cylinders bored as little as possible to keep wall thickness up. I'm currently between getting my crank turned and getting a rebuilt kit with new pistons or forking out the extra cost for a stroker kit and go to a 489. Edit: I really liked the idea of the new rotating assembly with the stroker kit, but after evaluating the budget, I'll probably do a basic bottom end rebuild for now and stay 454.
Then their's the top end. I will be getting larger throttle body, and I'll be getting a nice dual plane carb intake with a TBI throttle body adapter. The big variables are the heads and cam. For a long time, I was thinking of just keeping the peanut ports and building a low end grunt motor to keep cost down. However, after looking at the cost vs power potential of old factory oval port heads, I decided I might pick some of those up. I know everyone says by the time you port and polish them and upsize the valves, you're almost at the cost of aftermarket heads, but I don't plan on going that far. Even getting the heads simply reconditioned to stock spec seems to make for a notable air flow advantage, and I can count on a little power over 3,500 revs. This is where I need advice though. It seems like I should be in decent shape with a set of 781 or 049 heads. Both of which I can find decently cheap. I'd like the motor to be able to run on 87 or 91 octane at most. It seems like I'd wanna shoot for 9-9.5:1 compression? I'm in Fl, so I'm generally subjected to warm temps.
Then there's the cam choice. This is my biggest variable left. I have limitations on how far I can go with the cam due to the TBI. I don't have specific power figures in my mind, but I want a cam that's going to maximize any potential gains I could get from the heads, but still give me a really stern bottom end grunt. I don't really expect much power beyond 5-5,500 revs, nor do I expect to rev it beyond that. I've been learning a lot about the numerical science of heads, but I'm still very rusty on cam numbers. I wanna stick with a flat tappet cam. Can you guys give me recommendations on a good cam for this build?
Sorry for the novel everyone. Thank you for any info/recommendations.
Wrong! Same #'s on a mechanical gauge. None the less, I drove it until today when it started making the noises, time to rebuild!It's well enough as it gives me an excuse to rebuild and tune up the engine a little. I've been doing all my own car work since my first car, but this will be my first full rebuild. I'll have help for assembly procedures and whatnot, but I'm looking for info/advice on component choice. I have been pouring over all of the online info I can about big block builds but I think it's time for some more specific advice for my build.
So now, for my plans. I'm trying to keep it all very low budget and just sorta see what I can throw together. A bottom end rebuild is obvious. Gonna take the block down and have the cylinders bored as little as possible to keep wall thickness up. I'm currently between getting my crank turned and getting a rebuilt kit with new pistons or forking out the extra cost for a stroker kit and go to a 489. Edit: I really liked the idea of the new rotating assembly with the stroker kit, but after evaluating the budget, I'll probably do a basic bottom end rebuild for now and stay 454.
Then their's the top end. I will be getting larger throttle body, and I'll be getting a nice dual plane carb intake with a TBI throttle body adapter. The big variables are the heads and cam. For a long time, I was thinking of just keeping the peanut ports and building a low end grunt motor to keep cost down. However, after looking at the cost vs power potential of old factory oval port heads, I decided I might pick some of those up. I know everyone says by the time you port and polish them and upsize the valves, you're almost at the cost of aftermarket heads, but I don't plan on going that far. Even getting the heads simply reconditioned to stock spec seems to make for a notable air flow advantage, and I can count on a little power over 3,500 revs. This is where I need advice though. It seems like I should be in decent shape with a set of 781 or 049 heads. Both of which I can find decently cheap. I'd like the motor to be able to run on 87 or 91 octane at most. It seems like I'd wanna shoot for 9-9.5:1 compression? I'm in Fl, so I'm generally subjected to warm temps.
Then there's the cam choice. This is my biggest variable left. I have limitations on how far I can go with the cam due to the TBI. I don't have specific power figures in my mind, but I want a cam that's going to maximize any potential gains I could get from the heads, but still give me a really stern bottom end grunt. I don't really expect much power beyond 5-5,500 revs, nor do I expect to rev it beyond that. I've been learning a lot about the numerical science of heads, but I'm still very rusty on cam numbers. I wanna stick with a flat tappet cam. Can you guys give me recommendations on a good cam for this build?
Sorry for the novel everyone. Thank you for any info/recommendations.
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