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Found a 454 at the junkyard..

Ryan B.

Ryan B.

3/4 ton status
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so i found a 454 in a mid 80's burb today... i was walking past it on my way out of the junkyard, and i saw the offset rockers staring at me.. I NEVER see Big Blocks in the junkyards around here. Priced it out, it would be $175 out the door for the longblock with 3 accessories. (starter, water pump, ps pump, alternator)
Went back and spun over the motor with a breaker bar to make sure it seemed ok.. The tranny was gone, so all i had to pull was the motor mounts and the exhaust bolts, and wheel one of the engine hoists over to the truck..
Then i ripped off the oil pan and found it was only a 2 bolt main.. my heart sunk. I then called my friend on my cell phone and had him look up the casting numbers, the block was a '77-85 block (probably the original '84-'85 suburban engine), but the heads were a '67-'68 396/427 head.. 101cc closed chamber.. so whats up with that, must have had a problem and gotten rebuilt heads.
If this thing was a 4 bolt main it would be in the back of my truck right now..
So whats the going rate on a 2 bolt 454 BBC? is this thing worth $175? should i go back down there tommorow, and turn around and sell it for $500 making a few hundred bucks? anyone need a 454? :grin:
 
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You don't need 4 bolt mains for normal use , not even normal drag racing , maybe for high rpm's or extended racing . Just run good arp studs and be done with it if its for street machine or wheeler :D
 
dude buy it now and get remained and add 4 bolt caps from aftermarket.if that bothers you that much. like above 4 bolt only for extended high hp or rpm use. if i was out there i would get it my self.
 
2 BOLTS will work fine but if you WANT 4 bolts get em. chevy stock 2 bolts have been tested up to 500 hp with no problems.
 
Yah the whole deal is I have TunedPortInjection on my K/5 right now and the only way i'd drop a BBC in there now is if i had MPFI on it.. because i'm spoiled with my TPI :cool1: ..$$$$. So my other plans were to build a 7.5:1 motor for this 6-71 blower i have in my garage and drop it in my camaro.. Thats why i passed on buying this 2 bolt main.
So should i make some money off it since i spent an hour pulling it? Is it desirable even with an '85 block and '67 heads?
 
You'd better go get it or I might! Kidding....I would love to drop a BBC in my Blazer, but no room in the shop right now:mad:
 
$175 and you didn't buy it? get back there now.
the little local jy had a running 454 from a bookmobile once... for $1400.:rolleyes::eek:
however that might be their "dumb college kid" price for me. but I did get a front D60 there for $150, so I'm not sure.
that is a good price!
 
A strange fact from the life of Allan (me)... out of ALL the 454's that Ive had and ran or sold as cores and have passed through my garage, I have not yet been in possession of a 4-bolt main. From what I understand, most of the 4-bolt blocks are going to be earlier... like pre-75 truck motors. Most 454s I guess after 76 were 2-bolts.

I just had a '74 454 block. A friend ran the numbers and said it was a truck block, and said it would be a good chance of it being a 4-bolt main. I pulled the pan and it was only a 2.

To me though, it doesnt matter to much. I'll never "need" a 4-bolt main, but if I get one I'll hang onto it.

I say, for the price, get it if you still can.
 
The only 4 bolt big blocks I have run across are 88-91 trucks with the gen 4 big block and early 70's camper special trucks rated for 11,000 GVW. The camper specials came with a forged crankshaft, the heavy duty 3/8 push rods, and large oval port heads with 118cc combustion cambers. If were you buy and resale. Here in Texas I have not been able touch a core big block with accessory for less than 250-450.

bigred81
 
I have an '88 454 block here out of a 1-ton and its just a 2-bolt main. I also have one out of a late '80's tow truck, and its just 2-bolt also. I pulled one out of a '74 Crew Cab 2wd and it was a 2-bolt main. It must be just me that 4-bolts never get to.

I pull apart ALOT of stuff that doesnt match. Its amazing what blocks you find in rigs, and what heads you find on blocks that dont match originally.

A friend picked up a '73 3/4 ton 2wd truck with a 454, and it turned out to have a steel crank. Unsure yet on if its a 4 or 2 bolt till they pull the pan.

454 cores here go for $500 as long as they are rebuildable.
 
Ryan B. said:
Yah the whole deal is I have TunedPortInjection on my K/5 right now and the only way i'd drop a BBC in there now is if i had MPFI on it.. because i'm spoiled with my TPI :cool1: ..$$$$. So my other plans were to build a 7.5:1 motor for this 6-71 blower i have in my garage and drop it in my camaro.. Thats why i passed on buying this 2 bolt main.
So should i make some money off it since i spent an hour pulling it? Is it desirable even with an '85 block and '67 heads?
Click to expand...

dirtwarrior17 said:
2 BOLTS will work fine but if you WANT 4 bolts get em. chevy stock 2 bolts have been tested up to 500 hp with no problems.
Click to expand...

i know i've heard this statement for small blocks, does it hold true for BB too? since they'd probly make alot more torque than a SB . i know on a SB you can machine the block for splayed caps , which makes it alot stronger than a stock 4bolt. do they make that for a BB too? if so, sounds like the ideal core for boosting. i'd toss the heads anyway if your putting a blower on it. put some good AFR heads and do it up right.
 
Get it!!! its worth something to you for pulling it out. Weither you use it or resell it
 
Is It Worth It?????? Wtf!!!!

175 BUCKS!!:eek1: :eek1: ---any junkyard near me would want at LEAST 500 bucks,just for a core!!--I would not pass it up for that price,you have nothing to loose,the older heads are probably worth that alone to the right person!--you cant buy a 250 six or a 305 for that price here!--I'd RUN,not walk back there and get it!--if you decide its not for you,I'm sure you could double your money easily,especially if you can make it run!....
And I would not worry about 4 bolt mains in any chevy motor,I think they are overrated--ALL motors can spin a bearing,regardless of how many bolts are holding them--I've seen plenty of 4 bolt main 350's in the boneyards with a rod hanging out the side,and ALL motors have only 2 bolts on the rods!!!(they usually fail first!)..Unless your running a top fueler with a blower,I doubt a 4 bolt main will last any longer than a 2 bolt...:crazy:
 
yeah a 454 in a yard would be at least 4 or 5 times that much here

rarely ever see one that makes it to a yard unless they got it through a city or county tow/abandonment of some kind

good luck
 
Buy the sucker, put in the Milodon splayed caps and have a lower end that is stronger than a straight 4 bolt main. For the price you are going to pay to pull it and have it machined, you are still getting the motor cheaper than you can buy a core around here.
 
got it.

well i went back after a day had passed.. found the engine hoists empty. :(
Then i asked one of the guys, and he said someone needed to use the hoist and the engine was probably dropped somewhere on the ground.. i walked around a little and found the BBC in the engine compartment of an import... HAHAHA... looked kinda funny.. but i'd drive it! :D
So i went to buy it and the dude said it was more than 3 accessories... the intake and two exhaust manifolds counted. and i still had the ps pump, water pump, alternator, starter...
He said i had to buy it as complete... a whopping $20 more... $195 instead of $175.. So i said fine but i'm going to find the rest of the stuff to make it complete then..
So back out into the junkyard i went... and didn't come back until i had: a quadrajet carb, an hei cap to complete the dist. Some good 8mm plug wires that i need to replace on my k5... and a YORK 210 compressor... "uh yah thats the a/c compressor i took off" :D
So i think i made out pretty good. The engine is for sale locally unless it gets no calls and i decide to keep it and build it. :D
 
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