[patcarman13]

i bought a c10 surburban about 2 yrs ago.the reason i bought it was i needed a beater to drive back and forth to work.the other reason i bought it cause its a 1976 chev surburban with the factory 454 and turbo 400 tranny.my thoughts were to drive a while then get a doner like 305 or 350 and other tranny and use what was in it to build.i was recently told that the heads were junk cause its a 1976,i do realise that without casting #s noone will know what i have ,but i thought someone might give me a good guess.its a 1/2 ton 2 wheeldrive with a towing package with the factory 454 and turbo 400 tranny.my ? is would this be an ok moter to use in a build!
?

[speedydeedy]

Yes, but depending on how much horsepower you want the heads will be a limiting factor.But it will still make a good street motor as is.

[curtis73]

Originally Posted by patcarman13

i bought a c10 surburban about 2 yrs ago.the reason i bought it was i needed a beater to drive back and forth to work.the other reason i bought it cause its a 1976 chev surburban with the factory 454 and turbo 400 tranny.my thoughts were to drive a while then get a doner like 305 or 350 and other tranny and use what was in it to build.i was recently told that the heads were junk cause its a 1976,i do realise that without casting #s noone will know what i have ,but i thought someone might give me a good guess.its a 1/2 ton 2 wheeldrive with a towing package with the factory 454 and turbo 400 tranny.my ? is would this be an ok moter to use in a build!
?

There is a good chance that the heads are either 781s or 049s. Bite the bullet, pull a valve cover, and let us know.

If they are one of those two castings, they are actually the go-to factory performance head. You'll have to do something about compresssion since they came from the factory with something like 7.7:1. Flat tops and careful head gasket choice will give you a solid 8.5-8.7 depending on your overbore. That is a great range for a Comp XE258H or similar cam. Torque out the wazoo, HP in the 375 range with good intake and headers.

You'll never enjoy great MPG with inefficient factory open chamber heads, but I was able to squeak 12-13 from mine if I was REAALLLY nice to it

[patcarman13]

hi guyes,thanks for your imput i really appreciate it.if i pull a valve cover,will it actually say 041 in the vally,or what ever the casting is?

[patcarman13]

ohhh,i forgot to tell u but if i put around,i get a consistant 17 mpg with this lug.now i pu around alot but thats what it gets.i have the factory intake.it was like flatter than ****.when i bought it it had a tick on the passenger side but ran ok.i tried to adjust it and the rocker arm wasnt even moving hardly at all.i didnt want it suped up yet since i drive it alot and its still in the truck.it has a modest 135000 on the ticker.so i pulled cam ,humm r the lobes sapposto b round,he he.so i put a rv cam with 475 lift,and i had a torker 2 alluminum eldabrock intake,so i put it on and the carb was acting up,so i purchased a new eldabrock 750 carb for it.it runs very well,very torky,ha.so when i put in the cam and intake i put in a cloyes double roller timing chain to b safe.

[OneMoreTime]

The basics of engine building requires the end user to define the parameters of the intended use..many people will tell you that you will need the latest most razoo heads and valve train when really all they ever do is idle around the parking lot at the car show and make noise.

As a practical matter most factory heads will work just fine up to about 5000-5500 Rpm which is about all the most of us will see in a rod or our daily driver..For street driven engines what I have done is a good 3 angle valve job and a cleanup of the ports and then what ever it takes to get the engine to 9-1 so it will run just fine and give good power on pump gas..

On cams I pick one that gives me a good off idle response and a lot of midrange to get the power band into that area most likely encountered on the street..On a 454 done this way and properly tuned we can see somewhere in the 400-425 HP range and with a crisp throttle response that makes it a nice driving engine..Carb choice plays into this as a lot of guys way overcarb and then the throttle response suffers and sometimes they even lose HP..

Most likely the heads that you have will work just fine..

Sam

[red65mustang]

"ALL" the parts designed operating rpm's range have to match to make best power...

Torker II intake open plenum is designed for a minumum 2500+rpms operating cam....

very likely the stock dual plane intake will work better and help mpg with the RV cam,,,they are both designed for 600-5000 rpms operating range

normal driving, each piston intake stroke is trying to pull in A/F mix from the entire intake cubic inches and both primaries with the Torker open plenum intake....

the stock dual plane pulls from 1/2 the total area and only one venturi per piston stroke with individual runners which means a stronger better signal at the carb for a better atomized mix at street rpms....

the RV cam is designed to help make more low rpms TQ with a higher stronger vacuum signal,,,help get more A/F into the cylinder at slow piston speeds....
the cam gain is getting lost/diluted in the huge Torker open intake cubic area....

[patcarman13]

im sorry i made a mistake,i intalled a rv cam with 475 lift cant remember the duration and a performer rpm(1500 to 5500) dual plane and i think i stated a torqer two single plane,and a new 750 eldabrock carb.it runs super in the truck .but im gonna pull it or get another moter to begin a build to put in a 1978 malibu im looking at.