Re: 454 questions
Thanks, good to be back
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f_inscreenname said:
........ How am I going to get a kit for this thing if every cylinder, rod and main journal are a different sizes?
Well thats what engine building is all about my friend........ Its a specialist trade and requires specialist tools and measuring equipment to get it right. You really only have 2 options. A full machining and rebuild, to do that you purchase an over-size master kit and find a good machine shop who will machine your block, rods and crank to suit the parts (big bucks) or you do a 'non-precision' rebuild and hope for the best! I think you have found out the hard way about option 2. For what its worth and knowing your situation here is what I would do;
Forget the master kit.
Take the heads down to a reputable head shop and get them serviced.
Get the block chemically cleaned and machine honed with a torque plate fitted (machine shop will know what that means) and new cam bearings fitted
Have the rods resized and the crank checked for size and accuracy, grind if necessary.
Re use the pistons (they should be reasonable quality forged items)
Fit file back rings
Purchase bearings to suit the machining done
New cam and lifters (I would keep the cam close to original specs as that engine had a fairy healthy cam profile as standard)
Re-use the original valve gear
Replace the oil pump and timing set
With that you should be able to do the re-build yourself and the engine should be back to where it was when new. It will pull and extra inch of prop over the old Chrysler (maybe even 2) so should show a worthwhile increase in performance but more importantly it will remain reliable and probably even use less fuel at cruise speed than your old engine.
Most important thing in my opinion is to take your time, you have a good 6 months of lay-up time so use it wisely, there are plenty of things you can be doing re the conversion from the old Chrysler to the BBC while the machining is being done (or while the bank account is recovering).
If you still want the extra 100-150 hp best you save up about $10k, getting the hp wont cost that much but building it so it holds together in that old Nova of yours will consume every cent of it.
What do you think?
