Like other people have mentioned, unless new heads are part of the plan, it would be a performance improvement to ditch the 454 and get a 350 instead. Also remember if you get a short water pump vehicle (pre 73 in trucks, idk in cars) you will need hard to find or aftermarket accessories for it.
Unless it came with the big block as an option, nothing he builds is going to be cheap. The worst swap to do is one where the motor was free and that is why you are using it.
The Requirement is for a small car that will accept the 454 and a bolt in.
I would specify either a Corvette (mid 80s, early 90's are cheap) Camaro or a Nova as the only obvious solutions.
If you want to add pick-ups to the mix, then there are other solutions.
Keep um coming, and I'm going to make him dig through them. Nova was what he was looking at, but he was open to input. I have a family member with a salvage yard in the middle of Missouri, so we will go digging with a discount later, but ill be sure to check out the CG adds posted. Thanks, guys.
NOHOME wrote: Unless it came with the big block as an option, nothing he builds is going to be cheap. The worst swap to do is one where the motor was free and that is why you are using it. The Requirement is for a small car that will accept the 454 and a bolt in. I would specify either a Corvette (mid 80s, early 90's are cheap) Camaro or a Nova as the only obvious solutions. If you want to add pick-ups to the mix, then there are other solutions.
if you've got all the accessories, a big block is almost a drop in replacement for a small block.. all the electical and fluid connections are in about the same place, and the engine itself is only a few inches bigger. if you need to, you can even reuse the distributor from the small block you are replacing.
i swapped one into a 74 Monte Carlo in an afternoon, and a friend of mine put one in a 79 Z/28 in a weekend. most of the time in both swaps was spent hooking up the exhaust- i used the stock manifolds and had to rig up some cheap and quick dual exhaust, my friend used headers and got a dual exhaust bent up for it. one of my cousins swapped a 402 in place of a 350 in a 66 Chevelle without too much effort, and i know of a few people that have swapped 67-69 Camaros and a couplefo Novas.
it gets trickier with soemthing oddball like a Vega, S10, or 3rd gen F body, but you can buy or make the parts to make it happen. i've even seen a few in Fox Mustangs and Plymouth Dusters. C4 and newer Vettes have been done, too.
one thing abotu a 454- even if it's not one of the "good" ones, and even if it's got a ton of miles- it will still have more torque than most people know what to do with. if you're used to high strung 4 cylinders, a 454 will surprise you- even if it's in a 4000+ pound car with 2.56 gears. it might not be fast, but it will feel pretty cool off the line..
tuna55 wrote: http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/2530965433.html
that has the worst cage i've ever seen ....wait a min...... let me try something really quick E36 M3 berkeley. that's crazy this won't let you curse lol
Travis_K wrote: Like other people have mentioned, unless new heads are part of the plan, it would be a performance improvement to ditch the 454 and get a 350 instead. Also remember if you get a short water pump vehicle (pre 73 in trucks, idk in cars) you will need hard to find or aftermarket accessories for it.
huh? 
PLENTY of 350s were smog-dogs too.
100 more inches and an inherently more efficient head design....besides the weight a 454 is better in every way
The only 454 I have had any experience with had less power and 1/2 the mpg of the same year truck with a 350. I'm not saying all 454s are bad, but an bone stock early 80s one wouldn't even chirp the tires from a stop in the truck I looked at. Maybe it had something wrong with it, but it was at least running well enough to pass California emissions testing, and it was painfully slow, like not that much faster than my diesel Mercedes.
Monza wagon? Hearse?
+1 on the hearse.
MitchellC wrote: Monza wagon Hearse?
that would be kinda cool.. but a big block would make it very nose heavy.
Hearse $6,500 though? Is that the going price on a hearse now-a-days?
1972 Cadilac Fleetwood Hearse 472 motor
Lowered on classic cragars
Dual exhaust
Flamed out paint (20 footer)
runs and drives great.
Tow hitch. Fog machine.
Mamma needs a new car, gotta give up a toy.
five seven three five six one four eight zero four
Only trade interested in right now is a pontiac G6 or big twin Harley.
N Sperlo wrote: Hearse $6,500 though? Is that the going price on a hearse now-a-days? 1972 Cadilac Fleetwood Hearse 472 motor Lowered on classic cragars Dual exhaust Flamed out paint (20 footer) runs and drives great. Tow hitch. Fog machine. Mamma needs a new car, gotta give up a toy. five seven three five six one four eight zero four Only trade interested in right now is a pontiac G6 or big twin Harley.
why replace a good 472 with a 454 unless you are planning to juice it and need readily available speed parts. That Caddy is one of the most underrated engines of that period.
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