I am starting to do a BBC 454 swap into my 84 Buick Regal. The 454 I am currently looking at is out of a 72-73 Chevy 1 ton, it has 4 bolt mains, and the "049" heads. I am trying to keep this as budget oriented as possible, and more of a fun project then a racecar. A quick search I did came up with an engine combo that would suit me just fine from Mr.Horsepower. I have never really played with a big block before, and would like to know if there is anything I should know before diving into this. I am also curious if anybody could tell me why the "049" heads are recomended for this, they seem to have a very large chamber so compression wouldn't be real easy to get without a full bottom end rebuild. I would like to use the stock shortblock for now, with RPM Air-Gap intake, and 850 Demon carb, and a cam upgrade..just until the car is running and moving around, work out all the bugs with the new setup. Also will the stock bottom end last for alittle while doing some 6000RPM runs? Does anybody know how much you can safely mill these 049 heads? Basically I am looking for all the BBC buildup info you guys have, I am here to learn.

 

GM produced many different sized BBC heads. Combustion chambers can be as small as 88cc and as large as 124cc. The majority of the aftermarket heads are 119cc as are your 049 and the similar 781 castings. These larger combustion chambers allow for the larger 2.19/1.88 valves which won't be in those heads. Even with the larger valves, they won't be shrouded like in a small combustion chamber.

The 049 and 781 casting are good heavy castings. They have a thick deck and chances are they won't be cracked. They have large oval ports. Have some 2.19/1.88 valves installed and replace the springs with some that are recommended for the cam. You'll need the spacers that replace the rotators under the exhaust springs. Make sure the valve guides are cut down enough for a high lift cam.

There are many cars running into 9's or 10's with these heads so there's nothing wrong with them. Even some dragsters run into the 7's with these heads.

If you need a higher compression ratio, use a dome piston. My 540 has a huge dome to give me 13:1. A mild dome can easily bump up your compression to 10:1. It all depends on what fuel you want to use. Don't be afraid of a dome piston in a BBC.

Change all the fasteners including the main and head bolts to ARP bolts. 6000 RPM is about the limit you want to push factory fasteners. Yours are also 30+ years old.

 

Thank you, it definately helps. If the all fasteners/gaskets/oil pump is replaced is there a good chance this will last a couple months? I wouldn't push it much higher then 6000, probably not even that high most of the time. Once it needs a rebuild I plan on going with a 489 kit for it, but still reusing these heads with additional port work. Even once rebuilt i doubt that I will want the power to peak much above 6000 since my HP goals are modest. At most HP I would shoot for at this time and forsee-able future is 550HP. I can always spray my way higher if my goals change.

 

Also would i be crazy to use a 700R4 for a setup like this? I would have it built by CPT to the Pro-Race level, and I have a Edge stall converter that should suffice for now as well. Like I said, this is an extreme budget right now and i would like to use anything I have. Is there anything else i should do to this as well.

 

Build it properly. Because you'll be using aftermarket pistons, have everything balanced. There's no limit to what you can do. From very mild where a hot SBC could beat it to an all out race motor doesn't take a lot.

I ran 781 castings on my 469 for a couple of years until I dropped a couple of valves. I then had some oval port iron Merlin heads on the engine. Last year I finally put on some aluminum Canfield rectangular port heads. Although they'll work fine, they're going to be on the small side for my new 540.

Along with the bigger valves for the 049 heads, get some porting done so they'll flow better. At least some bowl work.

550 hp isn't hard to do with a 454.

Converter stall depends on cam grind and diff gearing. You can't go guessing at what you need/want until you know what's going to work best together. Things like a 3500 stall converter isn't going to work well with a small cam or highway gears in the diff and stuff like that. On the same point, you're not going to want what would be considered a race cam and 5.13 gears in a daily driver.

 

I never had a 700R4 behind my BBC. I started with a 383 and 700R4. Swapped out the tranny to a TH350 with a 3800 stall converter. Then went to a BBC. After a while, changed the TH350 to a TH400 with a 5700 stall converter then finally installed a Powerglide when I was having problems with the TH400.

Personally, I'd suggest the TH400. If you feel you need an OD, get a properly build 200-4R.