From: jca@bliss.fibercom.com (James Akers)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Chevy 454's
Date: 2 Oct 92 20:46:50 GMT
Organization: FiberCom, Inc., Roanoke, Virginia

In article <1992Oct2.004548.15358@sol.UVic.CA> atovorni@engr.UVic.CA writes:
>
>In article 3528@usl.edu, dfs5716@usl.edu (Seidel Daniel F) writes:
>>
>>
>>
>>   Does anyone out there in net-land know what the "normal" output of the 
>> Chevy 454 is?  And while I am one the subject any information on the 
>> available street power that one may expect to reliably extract from this
>>  engine.  (Gee hope that this isn't a FAQ ... oh well).
>
>  This all depends on the year of your rat motor. Try a typical 375 for a really
>plain one from before 1972. Sae net figures for the current TBI truck motor
>is about 240, ( but oh, what a mountain of torque...over 350 lb-ft enough?)
> 
>  I've heard of some modified ones that give 600 hp (gross) and more.
>
>Hope this helps.
>
>Andy.
>
>PLEASE EXCUSE MY OBVIOUS IGNORANCE.

As far as extracting real horsepower at a bargain basement price, the big
block chevy is unbeatable.  (The Small block chevy has a better $$/HP
ratio for lower horsepower...  say less than 600 gross.)  A "basic" 454
that appeared in the 1970 SS454 Chevelle was rated at 450-460 HP.  (gross
of course)  Up until last year you could go down to your local chevy 
dealer and buy one of these engines brand new in a crate for around
$2,000.  (minus carb and accessories like alternator, etc)
The LS-6 454 is a very mild street combination that is built 
for high durability and a wide torque range.  The factory setup comes
with forged 10.2 to 1 pistons, forged crankshaft, 4 bolt main bearing
caps, 7/16 rod bolts, steel rectangular port heads [huge ports!] with
2.19" intake and 1.88" exhaust valves, running about .550" lift on the
valves [I pulled that one out of the one eyed cat... I could look it up
when I get home...  it's around there somewhere...].  I believe the
450 HP rating was achieved with a 750 Holley.  As you can see, this is
a "strong" engine in that all the parts are heavy duty, but it is by no
means radical.  Of course, this engine is not the same as the late 
70's smogged-out low compression restrictive head having junk that most
people might associate with a 454, but it is a fair indication of what
a mild street 454 can do.  Living history:  my best friend bought one
of these engines to run in his '63 Chevy II wagon...  It turned inconsistent
low 13's... spinning the back tires the first half of the 1/4 mile.  
Anyway, we tore down the engine, bumped up the cam to a more radical
grind [ still runnable on the street], ported, polished and shaved
the heads, installed a tunnel ram with two Holley 660 Racing Carbs and
dynoed an easy 650 HP.  A little on the wild side, but yes it is still
a very reliable and street worthy powerplant.  Once we get the 4-link
rear end set up the alcohol injection and nitrous fogger setup is going on...
[just when you thought it was safe to go to the supermarket ;-]  
Chevy replaced the LS-6 with a newer version that is more like what
they put in the heavy duty trucks...  I'm not sure about HP and torque
figures on those; anyone?  Chevy, Mopar [with their newly released
426 block!], Cadillac, Ford, etc are all still producing serious powerplants
for the average joe like you and I!  For whoever it was who said low-tech
pushrod motors don't rev, we shifted the stock LS-6 motor at 7,800 RPM...
several friend run small blocks on the street that shift at 8,500 RPM.
A friend has a _well_ built 340 Mopar that launches at 11,000 and shifts
at 12,500 RPM!!!  [that's a drag car though ;-]
Just my $3.45 worth...


-- 
 ____________________________________________________________________________
|  jca@fibercom.com  | James C. Akers...  Renaissance Man, Social Chameleon, |
| uunet!fibercom!jca |    Wearer of Really Groovy Ties...                    |
|___FiberCom,_Inc____|_Roanoke,_Virginia___(703)342-6700_x280________________|
Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech