Having one of those "don't give a flip" motors are some of the funniest and toughest motors you'll ever have! Kinda like the old 305's. Pcs of junk, but as tuff as wood pecker lips!!

Oh boy...I just got blasted for 3 pages on the chevelle forum for saying a motor was a "hunk of junk" so you better apologize to me because my grandmas station wagon had a 305 in it and I'll have you know it never did blow up...so you are WRONG!!! :lol:

JK...LONG STORY

I have a good 454 block with a good steel crank and rods needs bored the shop says .60 will clean it up. how much $$$ do I need to build a high ten second engine? the car will be a 81 malibu all suspesion work is done. is it possible with only 468 cubes?? the engine shop wants to stroke it to 496 and put a roller cam in it with RHS heads the bill will be 8000.00 for a long block, thats a bit out of my price range right now. he said he can cut costs by not stroking it and using a hyd. camshaft. just wanted to see what you more experienced guys think.

That's what I meant. The 305 was a pos, but you can't tear one up. The run forever. I've seen guys try to blow 'em up and you just cant!!
I'm a Chevy guy, but even I know a pos when I see one! lol

HA IM ONE OF THOSE GUYS HAD A 305 IN MY 84 HALF TON. I WENT THREW 2 REAR ENDS TRANNY WAS JUNK. BUT THAT DANG MOTOR WOULDNT DIE. WHITE SMOKE FOLLOWED IT EVERYWHERE. BLOCK WAS CRACKED AND IT WENT THREW A QT. A DAY. BUT I COULD NEVER KILL IT.

The old Chevy straight 6s were another of those motors. You couldn't kill one if you tried.

A guy I grew up with, back when we were teens, had a 70 Nova with a straight 6. He wanted to put a 350 in it. His dad says not until the straight 6 is junk.

Well this crazy fool decides he's gonna help the straight 6 along, and takes all the water out of it... He drove it around for nearly a week with no water and it never locked up!!! WTH!?

The motors you don't give a damn about always seem to run best and last the longest.

Steel crank is a good start. No need for a 496 unless you have the extra cash laying around to spend.

Nothing wrong with GM 7/16" Dimple rods...

If it's a 2-bolt block, just keep the RPM's down (under 7k) and it'll be fine.

Any FORGED (not cast, or hyper-junk) shelf piston is going to be fine. Get the pistons in hand before they hone the block so they can set the piston/wall tolerances right.

If you think you might want some bottle or blower down the road, short fill the block (about 1" below the water pump hole in the front of the block) BEFORE you have it bored/honed with torque plates.

Make sure they deck the block to where the piston is about .010 in the hole (that's my preference anyhow, opinions vary), and put the correct finish on the deck surface for the gasket you'll be using.

That'll get ya a good base.

Buy a GOOD oil pan/pump. You'd be shocked at how many high end engines have junk pans on them, and lose a TON of power due to it. Windage eats HP like mad.

What heads are on it now? Whats the car weigh at the starting line?

the heads are smog heads and I was wanting to buy a aluminum head but dont have 3g's to spend, is there a cheaper alternative?as for the car it has full interior , 9 inch moser 3.90's 35 spline axles N case center section , and its set up for a th400, not sure of weight but its probaly pretty heavy. car had a 540 in it and went 10.20's before I got it.

By the time you spend the money to have a set of Chevy iron heads worked over, you'd be just as well off to buy aftermarket aluminum heads.

Keep an eye out here on RJ for Dart 320s or Dart 325 Pro-1s. Either can be had ready to run for about 1800.00.

Just do yourself a favor and stay away from the cheap Chinese crap that copies all of the innovations of the USA manufacturers. Tolerances vary greatly on those heads.

Try and stick with known brands like AFR, Dart, Edelbrock, Brodix, etc.

Search away: http://www.racingjunk.com/category/1...ds.html?page=1

For compression, to put it in the mid 10s, probably going to need to be 11:1 or higher.

Cam, mid 600s for lift.

Of course, keep in mind, with making power, you better have the transmission, rear end, suspension, etc to make it all work.

how stout of a th400 am I gonna need for a 600 hp engine?