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454 blower set up

9K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  1990k1500 
#1 ·
I have a 1990 chev k1500, 6" Rough Country lift, 35's this summer, recently bought a 454 1ton 1992 Chevy 4x4 for $750, its rotten, but runs like the day it came out if the dealer. I am taking the engine, tranny, rear end, transfer case out of it and putting it in my 1500. My 1500 is clean, no rust, re-painted and under coated(hence why I'm swapping) I have always liked the look and sound of blowers, I've read a bunch of posts about blowing 454's, I was wondering if anyone could help me with the "right" build for my truck, I want it streetable and daily driverable(I know it's not a word) but I can still tow and go mudding occasionally. I also drive this truck in the winter as my primary vehicle in winter. I know with power comes responsibility, and I don't drive stupid. I am a mechanic, but am not familiar with bbc's or blowers(I'm 19) but I have a very good machine shop that my shop deals with, and my father will be helping me along with this. Any and all help will be appreciated, even links to different forums for me to poke around in.
 
#2 ·
Alright sweet. Thanks alot! Which pistons would you reccomend? I'll go with the Dough Thorley 2.5" headers. And the comp magnum cam(not sure if i can link other sites, but here goes, I appologize if I can't!) ( http://www.compperformancegroupstor...ct_Code=11-404-4&Category_Code=MARKIVCAMHFTBT ), 850 carb (what will I need to do to it?) and the 781 oval port heads. What injectors and fuel pump would you reccomend?
 
#5 ·
The two things I'd do if I was you, check the crank to see if it's a steel or cast iron ...obviously steel is the way to go, IF your goal is to make serious HP's! The other issue is rod bolts, I'd replace the stock ones with an after the market set that are readily available ...ARP, Milodon, & etc. Stock rod bolts get abit "stretchy" in high RPMs. Good Luck ...BBC are fun!
 
#9 · (Edited)
I'm certainly no blower expert although I did research a lot of different scenarios before building my 354 Hemi with a 6-71.

First you have to decide what you want to accomplish. Do you want Saturday boulevard cruiser that makes noise, idles at 1200 rpm and generally isn't usable for a daily driver? Or do you want a vehicle with tons of low end grunt, decent fuel economy yet with enough HP to smoke a lot of your former friends... you have to decide that first.

Blown engines can be very docile and content in everyday traffic. A good cam along with the proper boost can give you the best of both worlds... tire shredding torque and reasonable economy... 15 to 17 MPG hwy numbers are not unheard of...

And they do not have to be expensive if you shop around, use eBay and attend some swap meets. I paid $20.00 for my core 6-71... took it off a 70's vintage Dodge truck. Rick Dean did the gas conversion for $285.00 plus parts... total was around $450.00. I bought a BBC drive kit with a new front cover from Dyer's Blower Service on an eBay auction for under $300.00.

I found a NOS Cragar intake at an old hot rod shop in Massachusetts... had been laying under the bench since the 50's... $225.00 plus the ride. Bought a couple vintage Cragar pop-off valves from former top fuel driver Darrell Gwinn.

All in I have under $1200.00 in my blower...ready to run.

I had George at Clay Smith Cams grind the cam to specs he and I agreed upon. He had me install it 4 degrees retarded to calm down the idle and give it more grunt and better economy. I have an 850 Edelbrock sitting on top the blower plate.

I put my big $$$ in Venolia pistons... they cost me $650.00 custom made to my deck height and desired compression ration (8-1)... stock replacements would have only been a few hundred dollars less. Venolia even called my machinist to verify the combustion CC's on my cam request... great service IMHO.

If you plan on running a good performing daily driver you can get away with cast pistons and crank... I have seen dozens of these over the years, in both SBC and BBC, give good reliable service. If you plan on pegging the tach to 7k on a regular basis you will need better parts.

You'll also need a good break-in oil when you reassemble that engine... and use the BEST oil you can find when you finally finish it. At a recent oil seminar I attended, the guy doing the event told me the oil company he works for found the engine that would give their oil the ultimate work-out was a BBC at 8500 rpm. If the oil kept that engine alive it would keep anything together...

Blown engines are fun... but your right foot will determine how much that fun will cost.
 
#10 ·
I'm looking at headers, I can only find max collector diameter if 3" I wanted to run 3.5" full exhaust off of headers straight to Mufflers, NO cats. Could I get an adapter from 3" to 3.5"? Or do you guys think 3" would be enough? I plan on a Weiand 6-71 set up.
 
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