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71 Chevelle SS clone - 8.1L Swap

The "TRR" code shows up as a 1973 454 truck ,20 & 30 series, LS4 ,250 HP ,also shows up as a 1979 454 truck ,205 HP, LF-8 , on that nasty Z28 site's chart...the date code "clock" on the rear of the block near the bell housing and engine casting number will tell which of the two it really is..

I know a guy who bought a nice '67 Chevelle SS 396 decades ago,supposedly "all original"...4 speed Muncie,4:11 gears,real nice shape too,no rot at all anywhere,just faded original paint..

He came to the junkyard one day looking for trim parts--
I took one look at the engine and knew it was a tall deck 366,then looked up the engine code in the Hollander Interchange manual--told him I was sorry to burst his bubble,but you have a C-60 school bus engine in your Chevelle...

He got so pissed he almost hit me!--raved on & on about the car being a one owner,never molested,bla-bla-bla..!...two weeks later he came back to the junkyard with a sad look on his face,and said "Hey man--you were right!..three other people said its a 366 tall deck too--sorry I blew up at you"...the good news was it ran great and few folks looking at it at a cruise night would ever know it wasn't a 396..

I feel the 366's were better engines than most 396's..seen a lot of those that didn't pan out well,then GM went and bored them out to 402's!..
The tall deck engines had 4 ring pistons and were built for high mileage ,being used mostly in box trucks and buses ..
 
tRustyK5 said:
Go roller cam Russ! IMO that is going to be one the best places to put a bit of your budget towards. Flat tappet cams are time bombs anymore.
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I agree, since it already has a decent intake and appears to have headers(are they long tubes)? Then the best bang for the buck will be the camshaft and a tuneup.

If you want edelbrock EFI you could sell that intake for a decent amount to put toward it, the sequential multiport is a step above the self learning TBI systems and still self learning with no laptop. Also comes with new distributor, just need plug wires and plugs to complete the tuneup and upgrade. That and the right cam could have 500 hp easy even with those heads being stock. (carb or EFI)
 
diesel4me said:
The "TRR" code shows up as a 1973 454 truck ,20 & 30 series, LS4 ,250 HP ,also shows up as a 1979 454 truck ,205 HP, LF-8 , on that nasty Z28 site's chart...the date code "clock" on the rear of the block near the bell housing and engine casting number will tell which of the two it really is..

I know a guy who bought a nice '67 Chevelle SS 396 decades ago,supposedly "all original"...4 speed Muncie,4:11 gears,real nice shape too,no rot at all anywhere,just faded original paint..

He came to the junkyard one day looking for trim parts--
I took one look at the engine and knew it was a tall deck 366,then looked up the engine code in the Hollander Interchange manual--told him I was sorry to burst his bubble,but you have a C-60 school bus engine in your Chevelle...

He got so pissed he almost hit me!--raved on & on about the car being a one owner,never molested,bla-bla-bla..!...two weeks later he came back to the junkyard with a sad look on his face,and said "Hey man--you were right!..three other people said its a 366 tall deck too--sorry I blew up at you"...the good news was it ran great and few folks looking at it at a cruise night would ever know it wasn't a 396..

I feel the 366's were better engines than most 396's..seen a lot of those that didn't pan out well,then GM went and bored them out to 402's!..
The tall deck engines had 4 ring pistons and were built for high mileage ,being used mostly in box trucks and buses ..
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Thanks Bob!

I was definitely reading the suffix codes wrong. I thought the engine code was the first three digits rather than the last. Its a 79 truck engine with older heads on it for sure. The casting date is late in 78 for the block and 72 for the heads.
 
folkenheath said:
I agree, since it already has a decent intake and appears to have headers(are they long tubes)? Then the best bang for the buck will be the camshaft and a tuneup.

If you want edelbrock EFI you could sell that intake for a decent amount to put toward it, the sequential multiport is a step above the self learning TBI systems and still self learning with no laptop. Also comes with new distributor, just need plug wires and plugs to complete the tuneup and upgrade. That and the right cam could have 500 hp easy even with those heads being stock. (carb or EFI)
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Heath - Can you PM me a quote on an Edelbrock multiport setup with DIS ignition?
 
Russell said:
Heath - Can you PM me a quote on an Edelbrock multiport setup with DIS ignition?
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The Edelbrock BBC setup isn't DIS, it comes with a new distributor though. They do have DIS systems to control LS motors, and there is a kit to convert Gen VI blocks to a 24x or 58x sensor system, which could be used to trick the ECU into thinking its an LS, however, that would be pretty difficult to do with a Mark IV block unless you custom made some target wheels, etc. If you really want to go DIS with a Mark IV block it would be easier with a Holley system as you can get off the shelf parts to bolt on it and make it 36-1 or something similar.

The Edelbrock system does have sequential multiport injection with timing control, it just still uses a distributor.

I'll send you a PM.
 
motor home engine = low miles but nothing fancy as to power or inside built for most of them built .

hell for 2k bucks i got a 8.1 i will sell ya . needs gaskets and induction kit .
 
Yeah I remember seeing an episode of Engine Masters or something and they pulled an RV big block and dynoed it and stock it was rated like 330 hp I think and I think the ones in a similar pickup were only like 230 hp. I might be confused though.
 
imiceman44 said:
Yeah but not the chevelle
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correct.
Not my chevelle. But Russ already stated that high hp wasn't his main goal. He wants something that runs good. While the correct answer is what's already under his hood and some elbow grease, he seems set on an engine swap of some sort. So maybe this would work for him.
 
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