Old school 454 or New School LS or Ford Revenge Coyote?
I have keeping my eye out for all three, so far nothing jumped out. But I have found a 1983 Motorhome with a 454 I can get basically free with low miles. Would need to be dismantled so a lot of labor involved to get a free 454.
maybe boring, but I vote for LS
For all the work to do the swap. LS motor. No point in building an old-school SBC or BBC unless you're doing it for originality or nostalgia.
The engine is only one part of the swap, then you need to think about transmission, axle, brakes, suspension, electrical system, cooling, exhaust.....
That motorhome 454 won't be a blazing performer as is. Most likely has a lower compression ratio and small cam. It will get you down the road, but suck gas rather than haul ass. If it runs good as is, a cam and pistons should wake it up pretty well for not a lot of dough.
What are your transmission plans?
From a visual impact standpoint, I would go with the Mod Engine. Traditional smallblocks look too small in the cavernous space that is the 57 engine compartment.
This is a 302 in the exact same engine compartment. Not quite the same visual statement
But for keeping it chevy in a chevy, the LS is the easiest button.
I'll go a different way.
All of those options are great. I can't afford a Coyote so I won't suggest it.
old-school SBC or BBC is boring and overdone. Since you've already mentioned using another brand engine in it, maybe consider one of the other GMs? Caddy 500s can be pretty easily converted to EFI if you use a 425 intake. The intakes suck and you'll never make more than about 400hp with them, but they are a cast iron single plane that makes adding injector bosses pretty easy.
The monster torque and flat curve mean you don't need expensive OD. Heck, a powerglide and 2.43 gears will let you cruise at 1800 rpm and you'll still roast tires.
Other options; Buick 455, Mopar V10. Truck V10s don't really live up to the Viper-level performance, but they make mountains of torque and cost less than the Viper versions.
How about a Duramax? You can't invite me to a motor swap thread and expect me to NOT recommend at least one diesel.
Indeed, the engine compartment is so empty compared to todays cars, I could fit anything in there.
I do have a 1957 casting 283, no luck finding a 265 that was original motor, and the 85 Corvette 350 that was reportedly rebuilt.
nimblemotorsports said:Old school 409
I fixed that for you
I'm just a big block kinda guy. Cam, heads and intake will wake up even the weakest 454 pretty well.
I like the idea of a blown inline-six but a heated up 283 sounds nice as well and probably a ton less money to do up. I don't see any reason to bother with a Ford engine.
1. Easiest these days is Truck LS.
2. My favorite is LT1 with a choppy cam, keep the EFI. Modify an old air cleaner to sit on top of the intake and it Looks like every other SBC.
3. Atlas 4.2 with a turbo.
If you go with the 454 you can get plenty of horsepower out of a 454 rv engine
Another option for sbc is take a 350 and build a high revving 302 out of it.
for cadillac 500 this is a 541 build
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-0804-541-big-block-cadillac-v8/
In reply to MotorsportsGordon :
Yep, this motorhome is about what I can get free...no title, billion dollar back fees, etc.
Doesn't nomad equal big money these days? Just wondering.
My vote is for the rat motor.
GM 6.5s are relatively cheap and easy to find because people think they're broken when they aren't. It'll fit in that cavern with room to spare.
If it's low-compression (which I'm 1000000% certain), you can put one of those Weiand mini-blowers on top of it. Those pop up cheap at swap meets and make decent power without requiring primo internals and a passenger to make right hand turns. They fit under some stock hoods, or a 2" cowl at the least. Or, you can go spinny boi. Richard Holdener took a '90s truck 454, left the crank, rods, pistons and main caps alone, put some mild heads and a cam on it, and then slapped a cheap home-brew turbo setup on it and pounded the daylights out of it on a dyno, making like 800hp before running out of fuel pump and turbo. Dial that back to the 500-600hp range and it should live forever.
MotorsportsGordon said:Another option for sbc is take a 350 and build a high revving 302 out of it.
for cadillac 500 this is a 541 build
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-0804-541-big-block-cadillac-v8/
Grrr.... No 302. Can't agree with that. A 302 is just a displacement-crippled 350. Small displacement + high revs + heavy car = steep axle ratios, needs OD for street/highway to get enough gear spread, and really boring to drive. There is absolutely nothing special about a 302, no matter how much Chevy inflated their hp numbers in magazines.
300 hp from a 302 is supremely expensive engineering and parts swapping just to get a boring drive. 300 hp from a Caddy 500 requires next to nothing and is a blast and a half.
What's in it now? What do you want the car to be when done?
If you already have a 283, you have your answer.
It bolts in, won't wreck the parts that are already in the car and people would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between a 265 and a 283 if you use the correct valve covers, manifolds and motor mounts unless they ran the numbers on the engine.
As for the 350. Craigslist has taught me that EVERY 350 is a Corvette engine, even the 305...
And remember, 265s are red, not orange.
NickD said:If it's low-compression (which I'm 1000000% certain), you can put one of those Weiand mini-blowers on top of it. Those pop up cheap at swap meets and make decent power without requiring primo internals and a passenger to make right hand turns. They fit under some stock hoods, or a 2" cowl at the least. Or, you can go spinny boi. Richard Holdener took a '90s truck 454, left the crank, rods, pistons and main caps alone, put some mild heads and a cam on it, and then slapped a cheap home-brew turbo setup on it and pounded the daylights out of it on a dyno, making like 800hp before running out of fuel pump and turbo. Dial that back to the 500-600hp range and it should live forever.
BBCs are great, but also limited in the head department. Plenty of stock heads that flow a lot of quantity, but none that flow quality... and the chambers are incredibly inefficient requiring lots of fuel consumption and even more timing lead. I've built several truck BBCs where I welded the advance weights in place and set it to 34 degrees initial and added ported vacuum.
I gave up on making big power with BBCs. It's so hard to get decent street power with the head offerings by today's standards. By the time you get to 10.5:1 to match a cam, you're into race gas territory to prevent the pistons from becoming dust.
don't need a coyote. Everything for this swap came out of a Lincoln MK VIII donor that was driven into the shop; total grassroots effort. Radiator, Engine and all accessories, Transmission, wiring, computer, exhaust manifolds, everything . Except for the blower. I think the blower was like $100 buy from ebay.
The Lincoln was like $100 .
These suckers run smooth, pull a ton of rpm and sound really nice whan partially uncorked. Word is they also like boost.
NOHOME said:Don't need a coyote. Everything for this swap came out of a Lincoln MK VIII donor that was driven into the shop; total grassroots effort. Radiator, Engine and all accessories, Transmission, wiring, computer, exhaust manifolds, everything . Except for the blower. I think the blower was like $100 buy from ebay.
The Lincoln was like $100 . This thing would easily come in under challenge budget if the guy building it could be bothered to play the game.
These suckers run smooth, pull a ton of rpm and sound really nice when partially uncorked. Word is they also like boost.
It's a 56 Nomad. You're way up the totem pole of value right there. I would stay pure to a V8 Chevy engine if for that reason alone.
LS swap it with a mild pickup engine and weld the hood shut. Enjoy for decades. You'll get good mileage and great power. and never have to do anything to it.
I was against LS swaps for many years. Till I had an LS....Now I get what everyone was always talking about. Even purists (like a lot of tri-5 guys are) understand the value of the swap and don't classify it as hurting the car's pedigree.
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