Thread: 454 or502

Tweet

Hello I'm new here ,,, had a question for you seasoned big block guys. I got a 67 chevelle Malibu nice car , but it has a 6 cly. In it an I was going to put a zz 572 in it but is a tall deck motor and can't use my hood. I can get a 454 from a man I know that came out of a 72 chevelle. Don't know if 2 bolt or 4 Or I can go with 502 and put a 150 shot on it , don't know a lot about them , I am wanting to run pump gas but want a stout street runner

Originally Posted by Ken1960

Hello I'm new here ,,, had a question for you seasoned big block guys. I got a 67 chevelle Malibu nice car , but it has a 6 cly. In it an I was going to put a zz 572 in it but is a tall deck motor and can't use my hood. I can get a 454 from a man I know that came out of a 72 chevelle. Don't know if 2 bolt or 4 Or I can go with 502 and put a 150 shot on it , don't know a lot about them , I am wanting to run pump gas but want a stout street runner

Begin at the rear of the car.

.

the tall deck motors are only about 1/2 taller

Ken, you say "I'm new here" but you went through a whole bunch of questions and answers about the engine for this car in August 2014, thread link here - Sb388

Has something changed from then? At that time you were saying that you were trying to get in touch with Pat McCarthy, but having trouble getting a PM to him? He's not really hard to find, assuming that you made the decision that he's the right guy for you - here's a link to his web page McCarthy Performance / Racing Engines to 632+ Cubes I'm not pushing you to Pat, just trying to take advantage of the base information that was kicked around 18 months ago, and understand where you are today.

I changed computers an had forgot that I was a member here.

Originally Posted by techinspector1

Begin at the rear of the car. .

Good advice with a Chevelle.....

Will a 12 bolt alright at rear

Sounds like you are still kicking stuff around for this car. Is it still running the 6? Have you done anything to upgrade the suspension and brakes to handle a high torque Big Block? How about the cooling? What about a transmission to handle that motor? Just asking because you have a lot more stuff to worry about then just bolting in a big motor and going racing... That's not going to happen on a base 6 cylinder platform...
Mark

Yea still got the 6 in there now and I have wanting a 502 or 572 , and still got the power glide in there. And I got manual brakes I was going to leave them along , an got heavy springs in front end , maybe I asking for to much motor ,just want a good street runner and drive ability also. I guess I want my cake and eat it too

You need to some serious thinking about this. To make a 502 Big Block, hell even a torquey Small Block, work you will need to build a good trans and rear end for the car. That peg leg you have right now will do nothing to put any serious power to the ground.
Like techinspector, I would suggest starting at the rear and building from there. How many miles are on the car? Have the front or rear suspensions ever been rebuilt? Good place to start if they haven't. Manual brakes are fine but you should upgrade to disc's in the front at if they're not there already.
Driveshaft will need changing as will the entire cooling system and exhaust. This is a big job and it will not be cheap to do it right.
Mark

To address the question you had in another thread, the powerglide you have behind your 6 cylinder will NOT be capable of containing any stout small block or big block. No. You will have to have a transmission built that will stand up to a large amount of torque without grenading. A TH400 at least, better yet a 4L80E with the overdrive to make the car drivable on the street.
Mark

about the only parts from your current set up usable will maybe be a couple of hose clamps!!

Your possibilities for this are endless---but if you are looking for a driver, I would suggest that you find a complete totaled late model that you can use complete drive train from-
look at possiblity of a 2wd suv /pickup--------and use it all

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

about the only parts from your current set up usable will maybe be a couple of hose clamps!!

Seriously, there's a dose of reality for the OP.

.

Originally Posted by astroracer

To address the question you had in another thread, the powerglide you have behind your 6 cylinder will NOT be capable of containing any stout small block or big block. No. You will have to have a transmission built that will stand up to a large amount of torque without grenading. A TH400 at least, better yet a 4L80E with the overdrive to make the car drivable on the street.
Mark

I'm not saying that it's the right choice for a build, but the old powerglide can indeed be built to handle the horsepower and torque. Here's just one of many articles pointing out the specifics of building one for rugged service - Powerglide Transmission Build - Building a Two-Speed Trans for Our '95 Camaro Drag Car - GM High-Tech Performance Magazine A quote from the article tagged here,

At the 1,000-plus rear-wheel hp level, the only two GM transmissions that are up to the task are the three-speed TH400 and the two-speed Powerglide. "Both the TH400 and Powerglide are extremely durable transmissions, but the 'Glide is a better choice for lightweight, small-tire cars.

powerglides don't spin on the one/two shift