bence13_33

What is a 540 big block? What is the bore and stroke....does it have a 4" stroke? What is the going rate for a shortblock 540?

What do you guys think about putting a 540 into my 'Vette? I'm guessing it's the same size as a 454 so it should bolt right in right? :) How streetable will it be with a 10:1 compression ratio and a nice cam?


[Modified by bence13_33, 9:51 AM 12/4/2001]

Flareside

Bence, 4.5 bore and 4.25 stroke. You can get a World Products Merlin 540 short block from Summit for $4900.

You can also get one from Bill Mitchell at http://www.theengineshop.com (which is actually the same company as WP). The Summit/WP short block is external balance, the BM is internal.

(as you can probably tell, I have this memorized. I'm saving my pennies!)

-Joe

bence13_33

What about a 4.625" Bore & 4.00" Stroke...that equates to a 538. What do you think about that?


[Modified by bence13_33, 9:52 AM 12/4/2001]

Flareside

4.625 is pushing it in any block that I know of. Merlin II recommends 4.56 max and the Bowtie is 4.6 max. What the heck would you overbore it to if you ever had a problem? I think you're talking race-only, replace every year type stuff, but I could be wrong.

It sounds like your 600hp Ford friend has you nervous :) Don't go crazy, there will ALWAYS be someone faster than you just around the corner...

Garys '68

Short deck 4.25 stroke X 4.5 bore
Tall deck 4.375 stroke X 4.444 bore
I think you might have trouble if you go much over a 4.5" bore even on a siamesed block.
Gary

Brian67Coupe

Bence13_33,
I'm building a 540 for my '67 coupe. 4.5" bore - 4.25" stroke. If you want to save a little money, you can assemble the short block yourself - Gen VI block ($1200), rotating assembly ($2000), machine work ($600), gaskets ($60).


Brian

MELVIN

Bence: Stay with your original plan: Your details in your sig block say it all. You have a good base plan. You mentioned you daily drive your car. While 10:1 comp is not bad, you are just beginning to reach the realm of where your daily driver might not be that. Stay around 9:1. You already have a plan for 10:1 in your signature block, so obviously, you have already considered the 10:1 comp option.

The combo you have in your sig block should produce 450 hp easy. Why the change?

Flareside

Brian, where did you find the Gen VI block for $1200? The best price I've found is $1295 plus shipping.

-Joe

Techno

Both my options probably won't go over but, oh well.
Boat engines are sold in this size, you could go that route. would need a different cam.
Or I think a better plan is to have a 500 CI caddy engine built using chevy guts. The crank is larger so it gets stroked so it can accept the chevy rods. A mag did a write up on this. A streetable mild engine with plenty of torque and Hp I think it was around 500 each. There is a company that supplies the kits for doing this. The caddy is adaptable to any chevy car and it weighs 60lbs more than a small block chevy It has superior oiling and better metal in the casting of the block, thats why they last so long. The cam bores on the magazine test didn't need to be rebored, they were still 10 thous. after a few hundred thousand miles. They can be built to rev high also. The important part of this is its the block & crank that is caddy, the rest is all chevy. From memory a stroke of at least 520 ci was required, I think it went up to 560 ci if wanted.

I just noticed, how much power can your car take-driveline wise? I don't think your car is rated for this much, maybe 350 or so?


[Modified by Techno, 5:07 PM 12/4/2001]

Brian67Coupe

Flareside (Joe),
actually I just bought a Gen VI block from a local race shop for $900. They got a batch that were slightly overbored and since I was going to go 4.50 anyway... :D . I think they may have one or two left. Send me an email if you need their name and number.

Brian


[Modified by Brian67Coupe, 6:13 PM 12/4/2001]

Stingy74

There's enough people on here with 400+ hp and even a few 500+hp daily drivers to give faith to the drive line. How long it will last after regular weekend thrashings is the real question. The driveline in our cars is not different than others, other than there's 4 more ujoints to break. There's still a driveshaft, an 8.5" ring gear...people race Camaro's and stuff with those 7 5/8 10 bolts diffs, allthough they usually have stronger axles. Maintnance is the key to longevity.