RED-85-Z51

Freind has a mid 80's motorhome with a 454 in it, shows low low miles, runs great...he wants to get rid of it.

Basically, If I come over and pull it...I can have it.

How much of a Job is it to shoehorn one of these under the hood of a 76? I figure it would need a new HP intake, carb, headers, cam/lifters, and Roller Rockers.

Did these have decent heads on them, stock?

alswagg

I had a 454 in a Class A motor home 1981 chassie. You might want to rethink this. That engine is such a POS. Talk about no power. I pulled and disposed of, less than 60k miles. I put in a Mercruiser 454HO MPI370 hp. Now that was a great engine. Finally could pass someone. The Motor home was 16K lbs pulling 9k lbs. The compression was so low on the original engine. It was just struggling all of the time.
Good luck Al

MrForce

plus you would need new brackets and pulleys.

killer454

you would want to replace the heads i would say they where very small ports,small valves.

for free i will say go for it i would if the moter in the vett was shot or wanted a big block in it.it is most likely a 4-bolt block to that is a plus

i would go get it if its free i would not turn it down at all!

if you decide later not to do it all you will be out of is your time,and still have a bigblock at your garage for use in somthing else later.

i have passed up on stuff like this in my life and regreted not going and getting them.

RED-85-Z51

Thats what I needed to know, thanks!

I did find a clean, built, 427 locally.

Here are some specs, he says it cranks great, runs great, and tons of power.

427 10.2 marine Block
Steel Crank
4 bolt mains
Scat Rods
Flat Top forged Pistons 8.5 to 1
427 Oval Port Heads with a lot of Port Work
Screw in Studs, Guide Plates,
Roller Rocks 1.7
Crane 623 Solid cam with all new springs
This thing sounds awesome. It comes as a complete ready to run long block with a Weiand Team G intake on it and Holley carb,
As you can see in the pics it has Nitrous on it, It has only been sprayed for 4 test runs in my S10. That was only a 150 shot. It is not hurt by any means, and holds over 40 psi oil pressure idling.

He is asking 2K for it as it is, running.

Aflac

when you start going with a non factory intake on C3s, you really have to take into consideration hood clearance.

Rmorgan&11

Tall Deck ? even more clearance issues...

L88Plus

Motor home will be a short/passenger deck block. Many of 'em have steel cranks and 4-bolt mains. I'd snag it!

Big Block 69

That sounds like a great starting point, especially for free.
You would probably want to change heads eventually.(and cam and pistons) I dont know if it would have peanut port truck heads or regular oval port. But like was already said, It may have a steel crank and it's probably 4 bolt main. I think ALL BBC rockers are 1.7 and Motor homes usually dont rack up a whole lot of miles. Go for it!!

Grinchia

Look up forum member Jughead, he built a beast from a salvaged 4 bolt block from a truck or something. Lots of parts will obviously have to be exchanged, but if you're lucky its a 4 bolt block with a steel crank, which is a great foundation.

On the other hand, if you can get a built 427 with quality compents from a builder you trustfor 2k, that's a steal...no way you can build one for twice that.

hugie82

I think it was CarCraft a few months ago did a peanut port BBC. That F-er put out almost 600hp without much work. I would install thinner head gaskets, high volume oil pump and a cam. The double roller and 4 bolt main should be there already. The only bad part of this is weight and low compression Other than that, Dr. Rebuild has all your P/S, Alt.,A/C brackets and try your stock radiator first. It should hold up if it's in good condition!

TheSkunkWorks

It's a no-brainer that you ought to take up the offer to get it (free is a good price). However, tho BB'ing my '78 was one of the two best mods I've ever made (the other was converting from auto to manual), one shouldn't mistake that there's any such thing as a free lunch when it comes to repurposing a BB. Even begining with a good block, crank and rods IMHO you'd be very hard pressed to put together a respectable build with quality machine work and kit for ~$2K, installed. Sorry, you'll almost certainly need heads. Not trying to discourage you here, just trying to make sure you go in with your eyes open.


TSW

djcwardog

You have some good replies here already. Basically you are buying the parts needed to duplicate a factory big-block installation (which ended with the 1974 model) into your 76. You already have the same hood as the cars from '73-on which had big blocks...the rubber ring around air cleaner and cold-air from base of windshield, so stay with that setup. You will need a stock cast iron intake - low rise - or the low rise aluminum intake from the 68 or 69 427/390 engines. I went with one of those for my car. Be sure you have a good 4-core radiator! I now have a DeWitt's aluminum and it runs 40 degrees cooler - yes! Also, the pulleys and accessory brackets from the motor home motor may not work in the Corvette frame, so be ready to buy or find what is needed. Get an assembly manual for a 73 or 74 car to see how it all looks from the factory... Also - the motor home exhaust manifolds are likely not the better ones (and only ones that will fit) for Corvettes. So either get a correct set or go with headers...

Not yet posted - the extra weight of the new engine means you will need stiffer front springs. I think the stock ones were 550 lb, easy to find from the parts houses.