I am in the initial planning stages of building my "first" quarter mile race vehicle. I have an old '53 Chevy truck that I'm considering using as the body. For the engine, I have a few 454 blocks with standard cast cranks and one 396/427 "6223" forged crank. I also have a Wieand 177 mini blower and was planning on throwing a 100 HP shot of Nitrous on top to help keep the blower cool. So, if you were in my position, would you give up a few cubes to go with a forged crank or use more stroke and stay cast - or go with even more stroke? For the top end I have a set of Edelbrock RPM heads and would like to target 6500-7000 RPM at the trap. Any help, advice, concern, or just plain ol' smart alek comments would be appreciated. Thanks!
What are u going to use this vehicle for? Serious Bracket race, Street strip, Or just to have fun at the track once and awile. Also do you know what gear and tire size your going to have?
Mike, Street/Strip or a trip down the track once in awhile are about my only options as I've never been able to cut a decent light with any consistency at all. Still, my ego and need for speed make me want to go "fast". I made a few 1/8th mile passes at Qualcom stadium when I was living in San Diego. I had a '69 Chevy short-bed pick-up that ran just a smidge over 8.0's. I think the small cam, low compression, 3.33 gears, and A/C were the biggest problems. It was fun but wasn't the least bit scary - I want a little more this time. I've been considering using either 4.10 or 4.56 for the gear and think I'll need about 32" tires but I'm not too sure. I'm open to suggestions. I wanted to go with a 9" so I could change gears and go on the Hot Rod Power Tour one of these years. I've also been considering just getting a GM 502 short block or maybe one of the other off-the-shelf short blocks. Thanks for the reply.
I know a few who run a 427 on the street and there real happy with the performance and reliability. I always tend to go with a forged crank. When it comes to rods there are many good choices just be sure to use good quality rod bolts ( ARP ). GM 502 short blocks are a great choice also. Nothing against the 454 just don't like the cast crank. I think the main thing you want is to keep the compresion down under 10.5 -1 for street use. 4:56 is alot of gear for the street. i have used 3:73 and 4:10 on the street both are good choices. With that set up ( Big block, blower and those gears) you should be in the 7s in the 1/8 mile.
The machine shop estimated a price of around $3500 to build the 427 short block using my crank and block. I've been looking at the 540 cu in engines offered from Mowtown, and for a little over $4300 I can get into a 540. I'm beginning to think that an aftermarket engine may be the way to go. It's much easier to make horsepower with more cubic inches. Does anyone know of any quality BBC aftermarket shortblocks that are a little less expensive?
