ok today after school i went to work and saw a speed boat sitting in the parking lot. well me wondering what the deal was i went up to it and saw it had a 454 in it. im trying to find out what the 454 was from and if it has a 2 or 4 bolt in it. here are the numbers i got from it: 3999289 and GM10T and TO21TRY and C51135928. i googled the numbers and found nothing. all i found out was that it was a 454 that might be a 4 bolt. if this is a good motor i might be able to get it. the boat has been sitting a long time in some guys yard. we were able to get it running on carb cleaner, we had to use it because the fuel was very old. its got a single plane intake and a holley carb. i forgot to get the numbers off the heads but im sure they are stock. what do you think? what should i offer if i decide to try and buy it? how much hp can these blocks hold up to? i just got a 4 bolt 350 so im having a hard time on deciding on what i should do. this motor might have alot of things wrong with it so it might need to be rebuilt.

Who cares what block it is? Some argue the 2-bolt blocks are actually stonger. 2-bolt blocks will do 700HP, the cast factory cranks are good to 500hp all day long. Oval port passenger car heads will do 550 Hp with minimum work, large square ports will do 650. Rebuildable cores in 2-bolt are worth $750 ish, another $250 or so for a 4-bolt motor. As for the 350...you'd have to spend a LOT more money and really wind it out to get the same HP as a 454 can do with a mild build. 500HP from a 454 is EASY. 500 HP from a 350 is getting way out there. When in doubt, get the 454. There is NO substitute for cubic inches.

www.mortec.com (http://www.mortec.com)

Search there....I'm almost in bed now...otherwise I'd help.

ya im really getting the big block itch

the bad thing is i know nothing about building a big block, iv spent all my time reading about small blocks. i have no clue of what i could stroke the 454 to. i hvae no clue what are good parts. i have no clue of what i would even want to do with a big block. i would probrably want to have around 650 hp if i was to do one. i would need it to be fairly streetable aswell. i wouldnt want to have to go with anything more then a 2500 stall and i wouldnt want to go over 10.5 compression. anyone have ideas?

i cant really give too much input into what you can actually do for the build, but im only a couple weeks out from putting my 461 into my car, and if you have the opportunity, i definitely think you should go for it. the big block WILL cost ya, but will definitely be worth it in the end, it will give you the power you want for sure. there are also several really good books about building up big blocks, plus thats why you come to the site, its been done before, so these guys can tell ya the right way to go wtih it.

I get so sick and tired of hearing how much more a BB is than a SB. A bore job is a bore job, bottom line is the BB build is not all that much more $ vs HP....
actualy less when yer talking tq...

yea but its still a big block.

If it was originally put in that boat it may be a better motor than your average 454. Since boats are constant load constant speed they need to have better bottomends to handle the load. I know mercury was taking new gm HO 454 and 502s (4 bolt main, 7/16 rods, forged pistons) and pulling all the valve train and putting in all manley valves and crane valvetrain. BBCs are easy to build and parts are nearly everywhere. If you stroke it get a 4.25 stroke it will get you 496 and you should be happy.

I was told 800 is the limit on stock 454s but there is few guys proving that wrong.

ok today after school i went to work and saw a speed boat sitting in the parking lot. well me wondering what the deal was i went up to it and saw it had a 454 in it. im trying to find out what the 454 was from and if it has a 2 or 4 bolt in it. here are the numbers i got from it: 3999289 and GM10T and TO21TRY and C51135928. i googled the numbers and found nothing. all i found out was that it was a 454 that might be a 4 bolt. if this is a good motor i might be able to get it. the boat has been sitting a long time in some guys yard. we were able to get it running on carb cleaner, we had to use it because the fuel was very old. its got a single plane intake and a holley carb. i forgot to get the numbers off the heads but im sure they are stock. what do you think? what should i offer if i decide to try and buy it? how much hp can these blocks hold up to? i just got a 4 bolt 350 so im having a hard time on deciding on what i should do. this motor might have alot of things wrong with it so it might need to be rebuilt.
3999289 = 2 bolt 454 72-75 (possibly later)
T021TRY= Tonowanda, NY feb 1st? (should be 4 digits) TRY I'm drawing a blank...could it be something else? The "T" indicates truck usage
C51135928 = should be a partial VIN I went here: http://www.americanclassic.com/paint.htm and got this:
VIN C51135928
Model Year 1975
Division (unknown code)
Chassis (unknown code)
Body Style Cab Chassis
Series 1/2-Ton
Engine (unknown code)
Assembly Plant Norwood, OH
Sequential Number 28

The only draw back that I can think of and it's not a big one is that the boat motors have a different power range so I have a cam grind which would not be good for the street. But, I'm sure the cam will get swapped out right away anyways. I have also heard that mercruiser does alot of upgrades on the stock GM motor. It might be a good find.

If you can grab it I would ASAP and sell that mouse motor to a buddy that thinks hes gonna do big things with it.

Chances are its got heavy duty crank and rods in it,maybe even forged pistons and bigger rod bolts. Change out the cam,put a car oil pan on it and rock out with an EASY 450-500 ponies.

DO IT DO IT come the light.

I was told 800 is the limit on stock 454s


LOL you say that like its a bad thing.

I'd go for it, btw the BB in my camaro was originally a boat motor.

Being a boat, I'd wonder about water jackets since it's had lake water pumped thru it if it doesn't use a heat exchanger.
As for 2-bolt versus 4-bolt, I've NEVER heard anyone argue that a big block 2-bolt is stronger than a 4-bolt. On a SBC400, absolutely, but not a big block. 4-bolts give you more clamping power to prevent cap walk and chatter at high rpm's but the outer bolts go into a strong part of the block, not a weaker part like the 400's do.

If it was originally put in that boat it may be a better motor than your average 454. Since boats are constant load constant speed they need to have better bottomends to handle the load. I know mercury was taking new gm HO 454 and 502s (4 bolt main, 7/16 rods, forged pistons) and pulling all the valve train and putting in all manley valves and crane valvetrain. BBCs are easy to build and parts are nearly everywhere. If you stroke it get a 4.25 stroke it will get you 496 and you should be happy.

sorry i forgot to say it is a jet boat. it was probrably a kit or somthing. it looks like it was built up so it might have an after market bottom end.

ok iv got a bit more information, the guy that owns it is a dentist or somthin. he looks like he doesnt want to spend alot of money on it, for example when my dad told him it will cost around $500 just to get it running he wasnt happy at all. last night i checked the oil and is looks like it was water in it. this motor needs lots of work and i dont think this guys is wanting to put alot of money into it. so far it looks like it needs a starter, fuel pump, 750 cfm holley carb, a new battery, and a bunch of other things. i think the motor needs to be rebuilt because it was sitting for a long time. the fiberglass body is all chipped up and the paint is mostly gone. it looks like its been sitting for at least ten years. maby i should offer a strait up trade..... my 350 4 bolt for his 454;) the boat looks like it was built in the 70's because of the funky paint job and seats.

Just offer for the whole thing.

Keep the engine.

Sell off the rest of it to fund the rebuild.

Any questions ? :D

How much water in the oil? A little bit may be head gasket but if the dipstick shows a few quarts over full, chances are it has a cracked block. I think I'd pass, that's not something I'd take a chance on. Let the dentist mess with it, he's got the cash.

Personally, if I see the stamped #s still on the pad in front of the pass side head, I assume that no machining has been done to it, and is likely in need of a complete rebuild. My 427 block came from a 21' V-drive from Nanimo. Sometimes boat engines haven't seen a lot of use, and in real good shape. Most of the time they're hooped from being exposed to the salt chuck, a cool wet climate and hardly ever running.
May as well assume it needs everything either replaced or machined.
$10/hp and its $3k minimum.