454 vs. 360

[AmericanMuscle1]

Hey guys ive been looking all over the internet for a good hotrod website and i finally found it so i have a few questions for you.....i am thinking about buying my neighbors 1974 camaro 454 once he gets done restoring it...the only problem is he wants to put a 350 bored .060 over with a weiand 6-71 blower. now i know this engine will definatly make power but i dont like the idea of the block being bored out so far...ive heard alot of bad things about boring engines out this extreme. he said that if he doesnt do that he wants to build a brand new 454 to put back in it and id really rather have the 454 over the 350..like they say theres no replacement for displacement. the 454 will also have double pumper 600 carbs

[Matt167]

What's he smokin? Putting a small block in a car that arleady has a big block, most people put Big blocks in where small blocks were so really, it's like going backwards. The .60 over 350 would have moderate cooling problems with out a blower, with a blower I'd be even worse problems. If you really want the car, tell him you want the 454 and that's the only way you'll buy it, you may need to put a non refundable deposit on it to make it a done deal, so he knows you won't back out when it's almost done and have to redo things so the blown smallblock will work.

[AmericanMuscle1]

thats kinda what i was thinking hes planning on restoring it over winter and since its a basically a drag car it has 4:56 gearing in the back..he said hes gonna put a lower 4:11 in which would be good since i wouldnt be running high RPMS while im just out cruising.. but please give me anymore information you think i should know about the engines cause i do know some about the hotrodding sport i dont have much expirience and since ill only be 18 next summer...all would be appreciated...but who knows how much power do you think the 454 would put out and how much doyou think the 350 would put out.....

[Matt167]

Well, the 350 depending on it's internals could put about 500 to the flywheel but will have severe cooling problems ( no city driving ). The 454 would probably put out less stock but, being it's a former drag car, it's probably been hopped up a bit and would be a more reliable engine with less cooling problems. You could, if you wanted to, take the 454 to a shop and have it turned into a 468 and have a blower put on it, you'll put out mass hp's. the smallblock would take higher revvs better but the 454 should be able to take 8k. Really, I woulden't buy the car with the 350, not because it's a smallblock but because it's bored out a little to much with a blower to do anything more than ride on the highway, I'd have to park it in town if it were my car, would over heat going up my hill ( 3700ft above sea leval, highest point in prattsville ). You loose street reliabilty around 450 Horse, you may want to consider that also.

[toyscout2]

A couple of thoughts of small block versus big block. Firstly, any engine with a roots blower is pickier then a naturally aspirated engine. I have a 392 with a BDS blower. There is no choke, BDS says won;t work with a blower, the 4 bbl (1100 CFM) is 4 corner idle and mechanical secondaries. Not really secondaries anymore, need the fuel to distrubute evenly across the blower. This makes it disasterous on MPG. Not really easy to use for a daily driver year round. The big block on the other hand is a torque monster, but it will not live long at the RPM's a small block can handle. If you want lots of RPM's go small, otherwise I agree with others that there is no substitute for cubic inches.

Biggest thing I have noticed about most street cars though is that a lot of the money spent on engine is wasted. Lots of torque and horsepower is useless unless the car can launch. Might be an idea to build a warmed over big block (good heads, performer intake and cam, single 4 bbl) and spend some time and effort on the suspension to really stick to the ground. A good strong rear end will be extremely important. The camero is not light and the power you will have could tear up a weak rear. 9 inch is a good choice, it is available to fit EVERYTHING and parts selection is ourstanding. Also, tie the subframes together and if you can cage it to stiffen the car.

Just some thoughts.

[Dave Severson]

Good point, Steven. If you can't hook it up, you wasted a bunch of money on big horses. All that wasted horsepower only looks good when you put it on a chassis dyno at the car show. Building a car for the street is more getting all the components in the car to work well together then to see how much horsepower you can have under the hood.

[73XR7]

I'd say go bb. Also, I like EFI too...... better low end and mileage (and yes, you can tune to HP too). going with the 454 will leave you a lot of options for massive hp and torque.

also, build a tranny, rearend, and susp to handle the 400+ you're planning. I KNOW a good BB can easily put out that much power. breaking 1000 is hard, but 500 is nothing nowadays. Not being a chevy guy myself, I can't suggest much other than plan, plan, plan, then build.

~Critter