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Calling all 454'ers

RootBreaker

RootBreaker

3/4 ton status
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Ok so I have this oppertunity to buy a 1987 1 ton with a 454.. which you probably already read...

anyhow..
with 200hp and 385 lbft torque... got a few q's fer yall

1. do you like your bbc or do you wish you had a sbc?
2. is that enough power or more like adequite as there is never enough ? :haha:
3. are there easy ways or mods to bump the numbers up?
4. will i have to stop at every gas station in existance?
5. since this is a 1987... serpentine belt?
6. what size alt came in 1987?

I only wonder as my current motor is 195hp/295 lbft torque... yeah big difference in torque on a stock bbc but not much hp... like 5.... so is this worth the swap?
 
a stock 87 454 only puts down 200HP? Ive never played with a STOCK bbc but they can build big power but if your not looking to excide 400 and want good reliablilty a SBC is the way to go lighter cheaper and you already have one
 
Yes- Nothing is like a big block. Besides weight in a small rig, a big block is the way to go if you don't mind a slightly higher price for parts, large flat torque curve and since yours is an 87 its fuel injected ++!

The serpentine is fine, you can always carry another. The tensioner style makes for easy belt changes (just a breakerbar and a 9/16" socket).

On the 87' I swapped in, I got a MPFI from Edelbrock that added power and economy. No numbers yet, but that combined with headers, no smog junk should allow a good amount of torque for a stock engine. A friend also has a BB in his blazer and he is setup with the Holly Pro-injection system that works really well. It is much more tuneable for a built motor like his.

One note: I did go to some ORD motor mounts since with the larger and heavier BB cause the engine to sag the stock mounts and hit the front crossmember (on the oil pan).

As for mods with the stock TBI setup, I think you can only mess with airflow (exhaust and intake) and minor headwork. After that it will require some expensive tuning options. BUT, it has lots of power for the avg. guy!

Keep in mind the intended use of your engine swap. Do you have a sand or mud flat rig that requires large HP #'s or are you a wheeler thats on trails and rocks that torque #'s count?
 
boxxerace said:
Yes- Nothing is like a big block. Besides weight in a small rig, a big block is the way to go if you don't mind a slightly higher price for parts, large flat torque curve and since yours is an 87 its fuel injected ++!

The serpentine is fine, you can always carry another. The tensioner style makes for easy belt changes (just a breakerbar and a 9/16" socket).

On the 87' I swapped in, I got a MPFI from Edelbrock that added power and economy. No numbers yet, but that combined with headers, no smog junk should allow a good amount of torque for a stock engine. A friend also has a BB in his blazer and he is setup with the Holly Pro-injection system that works really well. It is much more tuneable for a built motor like his.

One note: I did go to some ORD motor mounts since with the larger and heavier BB cause the engine to sag the stock mounts and hit the front crossmember (on the oil pan).

As for mods with the stock TBI setup, I think you can only mess with airflow (exhaust and intake) and minor headwork. After that it will require some expensive tuning options. BUT, it has lots of power for the avg. guy!

Keep in mind the intended use of your engine swap. Do you have a sand or mud flat rig that requires large HP #'s or are you a wheeler thats on trails and rocks that torque #'s count?
Click to expand...

thanks for the great reply... :bow:

here is what i posted over at another site...
as I really dont wheel the truck much right now... however Jerzey Goo and trails, sandy ones ta boot are what is here.. not alot of rocks.. but I am not up for rocks.. just my personal opinion...

I am not looking for big numbers.. im looking for something to push my truck. I got a 15k winch to get me out so dont need 400hp... if I work the 350 i will be at about 325hp/465lbft torque..... even that is more than what i need.. here is the deal.. I can buy the truck.. take the motor, all wiring, and column.. sell the rest and have all the parts I took for FREE!!!! and actually pocket $200

so drop stock 454 in.... and be happy...
sell rest and pocket some $$$ and fix electrical problems ta boot

sell d60 and truck... sell 454 seperately... keep electrical stuff and pocket money too????
sell 454 complete for $400 with wiring...
sell d60 and rest of truck for $800
$1200 in my pocket less what im paying for the truck.... = more money towards my sbc
 
Its not going to be a serpentine setup. That was not till 89ish. You are going to have the good ol' v-belts.

I have a 95 with a 454 and it has good power. Pulls my blazer with no problems. As for gas milage it is not great. Between 9-13. When i pull my blazer i get about 7-9.

Hope this helps :D
 
sandracer799 said:
Its not going to be a serpentine setup. That was not till 89ish. You are going to have the good ol' v-belts.

I have a 95 with a 454 and it has good power. Pulls my blazer with no problems. As for gas milage it is not great. Between 9-13. When i pull my blazer i get about 7-9.

Hope this helps :D
Click to expand...

in this post someone gave a link to the setup...
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152590

is this a vbelt or serp??/
http://brochures.slosh.com/1987/gmc11.jpg
gmc11.jpg
 
sandracer799 said:
I will say it does look like a serp. in that picture, but i have seen plenty of v-belt 454s too.
Click to expand...

thanks for the heads up.... im going to go wednesday to check it out...
:bow:
 
That vintage 454 will have the peanut port heads. Great for low rpm torque, not good for high rpm use.

I have a 454 from a 1989 1 ton that I put in my 69 K20. I ditched the tbi and swapped on a Jet Stage II Quadrajet and a Weiand Action Plus intake - the only intake I know of that is designed for the peanut port heads. I also put in a Crane Cams Energizer 266 cam, lifters, new springs and Comp Cams magnum rocker arms. I'm also running headers on this engine.

These parts seem to work very well together. I didn't have the chance to drive the donor truck so I can't tell you what the engine was like before these modifications.

I can tell you the torque is awfully impressive and the curve is pretty flat. No idea on what numbers it is pushing.

I did get behind a Nissan Titan with the 5.6 V-8 a few days ago and when he got on it, I was catching him. My truck weighs around 6,000 lbs at this point.

All in all I am very happy with changing from a tired 307 to this 454. Here's a an audio of the motor I took with my camera in the cab a few days ago on accelleration
Audio only MP3 file

I'm guessing my gas mileage is in the 8 mpg range, the 307 was in the 9 mpg range.
 
After some research it is a semi-serp set-up. It is hard to tell by that picture in the brochure but if you look real hard you can see.
 
7.4L TBI
VIN Code N
230 hp @ 3600 rpm
385 lb.-ft. @ 1600 rpm

This is what I have in my K5 with zero regrets. My engine is from a 94 but I think the numbers are the same. Go with what you want.
 
grimjaw said:
7.4L TBI
VIN Code N
230 hp @ 3600 rpm
385 lb.-ft. @ 1600 rpm

This is what I have in my K5 with zero regrets. My engine is from a 94 but I think the numbers are the same. Go with what you want.
Click to expand...


yeah i got my game plan on now...
gonna sell my vortec heads to recoop my $200 investment.... plus selling a pickup trailer with 14bolt ff, 3.73's and spare drums, brakes and hardware for $200.... plus I got extra money on me.... so check this out...

I will buy the truck... take the 454, wiring under hood and in cab (All of it including fuse block) few odds and ends, gas tanks.......

sell the rest and get my money back... with money back I can look into a nv4500 swap ta boot..... so maybe getting a 454/nv4500 setup :bow:
 
Sounds like you got it together. I forgot in my explanation that the 87 has the belt setup that is a wider serp for 3/4 of the accessories and I think it was the V-belt for the alternator. The reason I forgot, I swapped some 88ish brackets, alternator (they are different) and V belt pulleys over. -DOH! Sorry that I did not mention that.

Either way, its not to big a deal, but if you do decide to swap note that the Alternator is different, all the brackets, the AC needs to be the flatter "pancake" style pump and a few sensors relocated. Note that the 87 does not have a knock sensor as well, where the newer 88+ can utilize a slightly leaner burn for extra power. (again, probably not a big deal).

Post up some pictures of whatcha get!

---

Oh... and double check on that NV4500 swap, a the friend with the pro-injection has this as well, and it required some custom bearing work and a handful of customizing (at least for him). It has worked great however!
 
sandracer799 said:
After some research it is a semi-serp set-up. It is hard to tell by that picture in the brochure but if you look real hard you can see.
Click to expand...

Yeah I just swaped in a 454 out of an 88. Half serp half v belt. BTW if you want to pull the smog pump, get a 52" serp belt and it will work fine. :D
 
I only wonder as my current motor is 195hp/295 lbft torque... yeah big difference in torque on a stock bbc but not much hp... like 5.... so is this worth the swap?
Click to expand...

The difference between my 7.4 90 Suburban and my 5.7 87 Suburban is night and day. Both have a th400 tranny and though one has the added weight of 4wd, the takeoff power of the 7.4 is a tremendous improvement. You hardly notice when you're pulling a trailer. Fuel economy is worse of course, but I can't seem to manage to keep my foot off the throttle. I like the pinned to the seat feeling too much :doah:
 
Well, I guess I should add> The friend with the built 454/NV4500 called, rather, showed up on my doorstep with his truck in Tow.

Turns out he decimated (again) the shaft between the transmission and NP205. This is the second time it has happened in this truck, so it definitely is its weak leak.

Just an FYI for yah. (it will cost him about $1000.00 just for that part and service)
 
I have a 1992 TBI 454 in my 87 K5. I did rebuild it and spice it up a little but after the swap I am happy to say I have never looked back. My mileage did go down a little but I am also turing 3,000 rpms at 70 on the interstate so you can't expect a whole lot ...

One is somewhat hindered by the TBI system when it comes to performance upgrades but you can still get away with a cam that has up to 210* duration at .050". Add to that roller rockers, headers, a better intake (at least for the 1987-1991 BBC's) and you will see VERY noticable gains.

You can go a little deeper into the performance mods but it will require some computer mods. All the aforementioned mods can be thrown at the TBI 454 with some simple fuel upgrades.

Check out www.454ss.com to see what some of those guys are doing to get the most out of the factory TBI system...

Chris
 
i would go big block, i did and actually got better gas mileage, and the hp thing shouldnt worry you, dollar to dollar you could build twice the hp with a big block, even the most mild of builds can yeild 400 hp.
 
My '86 CC with 454 has been rebuilt and "warmed over" I can smoke both rears on dry pavement with no load in the bed. Truck weighs 6800lbs. I'll have nothing less in my wheeler.
 
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