The Official Vortec 454 Info thread

[BNielsen]

Seeing all these 454s being built with great depth and detail has motivated me to start plotting a build for my truck again.
Well, motivated within the confines of what I'll be able to spend at least.

But now I face a dilemma, do I scrounge a motor from a salvage yard, take it to the machine shop and have them go through it top to bottom and build it myself, or do I cheat and nab a reman motor from a local performance shop, stick a cam, valvetrain, and headers on and call it good?
My end goal is 400HP/500-600TQ, or at least enough power to be able to pull my travel trailer at 70-75 and possibly still have just enough passing power. Lofty dreams for a NA 454 I know.
My only concern is the quality of the reman, a shop who's churning out multiple engines has to be able to turn a profit somewhere and I'm sure they shirk on something, but everything I've seen about this shop is all top notch quality and service.

 

[modernbeat]

...But now I face a dilemma, do I scrounge a motor from a salvage yard, take it to the machine shop and have them go through it top to bottom and build it myself, or do I cheat and nab a reman motor from a local performance shop, stick a cam, valvetrain, and headers on and call it good?...

The other options is to buy a new longblock and outfit it for your truck. Sticking with a standard deck height makes things easier.
Something like this would fit your desires: Standard deck 540ci, 670 HP / 660 FT LBS

GM BB Compatible 540 c.i. ProSeries Engine - 670 HP - Long Block

BluePrint Engines 540 c.i. big block GM style proseries stroker crate engine - longblock. Includes 30 month / 50,000 warranty & BPE Dyno Promise. Part #: PS5401CT

blueprintengines.com

 

[Scottm]

I'm sure a mass rebuild shop could do a good job, but building an engine yourself I think is the best. You can do a far better job and put as much time into the details as you want. It takes tools and a good work space though. Check my build thread. I'm going way overboard, throwing race level blueprinting at a 4,000 rpm tow rig engine. It's fun, but you need a very patient wife/gf...

99 L29 454 build

I made a few posts on my 454 rebuild and hop-up in the general vortec thread that really should be in a new thread, so here it is.. My 97 K3500 extended cab dually has 230,000 hard miles, so I bought a L29 7.4/454 from a rolled suburban to rebuild and swap in. It allegedly had under 20k miles...

www.gmt400.com

 

[BNielsen]

I'm sure a mass rebuild shop could do a good job, but building an engine yourself I think is the best. You can do a far better job and put as much time into the details as you want. It takes tools and a good work space though. Check my build thread. I'm going way overboard, throwing race level blueprinting at a 4,000 rpm tow rig engine. It's fun, but you need a very patient wife/gf...

99 L29 454 build

I made a few posts on my 454 rebuild and hop-up in the general vortec thread that really should be in a new thread, so here it is.. My 97 K3500 extended cab dually has 230,000 hard miles, so I bought a L29 7.4/454 from a rolled suburban to rebuild and swap in. It allegedly had under 20k miles...

www.gmt400.com

Yours is the one that's actually put the boot in my ass to start looking again, the biggest deal as to why I was looking at these crate engines is the turn around time, I've been talking to the machine shop and the owner said they have quite a few engines drop in ready and can do most anything.
I just think a basic bottom end rebuild with beefed up hardware, a little bit of headwork paired with a XR270HR Comp Cam plus the associated hardware and some tuning would be a good route for a quick turnaround.

The other options is to buy a new longblock and outfit it for your truck. Sticking with a standard deck height makes things easier.
Something like this would fit your desires: Standard deck 540ci, 670 HP / 660 FT LBS

GM BB Compatible 540 c.i. ProSeries Engine - 670 HP - Long Block

BluePrint Engines 540 c.i. big block GM style proseries stroker crate engine - longblock. Includes 30 month / 50,000 warranty & BPE Dyno Promise. Part #: PS5401CT

blueprintengines.com

My buddy actually sent me that this morning since I was talking about rebuilding the engine in my truck.

 

[Supercharged111]

Seeing all these 454s being built with great depth and detail has motivated me to start plotting a build for my truck again.
Well, motivated within the confines of what I'll be able to spend at least.

But now I face a dilemma, do I scrounge a motor from a salvage yard, take it to the machine shop and have them go through it top to bottom and build it myself, or do I cheat and nab a reman motor from a local performance shop, stick a cam, valvetrain, and headers on and call it good?
My end goal is 400HP/500-600TQ, or at least enough power to be able to pull my travel trailer at 70-75 and possibly still have just enough passing power. Lofty dreams for a NA 454 I know.
My only concern is the quality of the reman, a shop who's churning out multiple engines has to be able to turn a profit somewhere and I'm sure they shirk on something, but everything I've seen about this shop is all top notch quality and service.

Why not just mod what you have?

 

[Piratehunter]

I just think a basic bottom end rebuild with beefed up hardware, a little bit of headwork paired with a XR270HR Comp Cam plus the associated hardware and some tuning would be a good route for a quick turnaround.

that is pretty much what I did, rebuilt my DD, not that I drove it daily or weekly even. the machine shop was the long pole, they had a backlog, two months, turnaround time there. a couple friends helped on extraction and installation days, otherwise I did most of the work. there are more costs than just inside the engine parts; headers, injectors, FPR, oil sensor, hoses, plugs, fluids, filters, exhaust welding, tuning, etc. I replaced parts that were close to end of life; clutch, PP, slave, flywheel surface, water and PS pump, pulleys, oil cooler lines, etc. all in was about $6500 there were a couple frustrating days, but it was rewarding, and the results were as expected. good luck

 

[BNielsen]

Why not just mod what you have?

I'm still going to mod what I have. I've got shorty headers (still chasing that goddamn misfire) and some other stuff to throw at this motor before I tear it out for a new one. I just started plotting and planning over the past couple of days and wanted to throw out some thoughts

that is pretty much what I did, rebuilt my DD, not that I drove it daily or weekly even. the machine shop was the long pole, they had a backlog, two months, turnaround time there. a couple friends helped on extraction and installation days, otherwise I did most of the work. there are more costs than just inside the engine parts; headers, injectors, FPR, oil sensor, hoses, plugs, fluids, filters, exhaust welding, tuning, etc. I replaced parts that were close to end of life; clutch, PP, slave, flywheel surface, water and PS pump, pulleys, oil cooler lines, etc. all in was about $6500 there were a couple frustrating days, but it was rewarding, and the results were as expected. good luck

You're also another suspect in me being gungho; the red truck is my daily, and since my 6.5 truck keeps fighting me I'm always worried about downtime which is what got me thinking about a crate; costs are going to be the biggest hurdle since I plan on throwing on new accessories but I'll probably start buying and squirreling away parts once the dust of Christmas is settled.

 

[Supercharged111]

I'm still going to mod what I have. I've got shorty headers (still chasing that goddamn misfire) and some other stuff to throw at this motor before I tear it out for a new one. I just started plotting and planning over the past couple of days and wanted to throw out some thoughts

You're also another suspect in me being gungho; the red truck is my daily, and since my 6.5 truck keeps fighting me I'm always worried about downtime which is what got me thinking about a crate; costs are going to be the biggest hurdle since I plan on throwing on new accessories but I'll probably start buying and squirreling away parts once the dust of Christmas is settled.

Why not throw headers at it, fix the misfire, maybe a little more cam, and keep it? Save your money for when that 6.5 takes a dump.

 

[BNielsen]

Why not throw headers at it, fix the misfire, maybe a little more cam, and keep it? Save your money for when that 6.5 takes a dump.

As laborious as it is to swap a cam in a 454, I figured since this one has close to 200K it's going to be sooner or later something is going to let loose.
And again, turnaround time; I can have a brand new engine built and ready to go in a fraction of the time as pulling this one down, all the good machine shops are 3-8 weeks out on anything, or at least that's what I've deemed justifiable for getting a crate and putting a cam in it.

 

[Supercharged111]

As laborious as it is to swap a cam in a 454, I figured since this one has close to 200K it's going to be sooner or later something is going to let loose.
And again, turnaround time; I can have a brand new engine built and ready to go in a fraction of the time as pulling this one down, all the good machine shops are 3-8 weeks out on anything, or at least that's what I've deemed justifiable for getting a crate and putting a cam in it.

I don't think it's fair to assume it's going to bite the dust any time soon