What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

A friend has two motor homes as follows.

1985 Class A which has a 454 that has been sitting for years. Motor home has interior water damage and not worth fixing.
I am sure I could get the engine running, just has a dead battery and old gas.

What are some options for the 454 engine?
Is it adaptable to older cars and trucks or only for huge Motor Homes?


Bill

Unknown what transmission is connected to this one. Would the tranny be motor home specific?
I know very little to nothing about transmissions so I cold not tell what it is!

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

Number two:
Class C on a 1985 Chevy G30 with a good running SBC 350 (Four Bolt Mains?).
I had it running this morning. I know the 350 is good for many applications so there is a good possibility someone locally will want it just for the engine.
I have posted the motor home online. I have some interested parties so this one will probably sell needing cosmetic work.

Bill

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

Both motor homes have Onan GenSets. I can definitely get them both running.

Can these generators be used as stand alone generators, or only as RV Gensets?

Bill

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

You can fit the 454 into almost anything that came from the factory with a V8 with a little work. It will bolt right up to any GM Chevy transmission.

The Onan gensets are capable of being used as stand-alone units. You'll need a provision for a fuel tank, and you'll have to do some rewiring to locate the output on the generator.

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

I have a motorhome 454 in my 65 Impala.
Yours is a low hp,high low end torque(RV cam) with probably a th-400 trans.The trans may or may not have a trans brake on the rear.If it has,the tail shaft and housing will need to be replaced for use in a car.Otherwise,the trans will work in a truck because of the bolt on yoke.
I have a 86,G-30 motorhome with the 350 like yours.It has been a great engine,but like the 454,it is low hp and high low end torque.Also has the th-400 trans.
The motorhome style Onan generator is usually set-up for 120 volts only and most are not convertible to 220 volts.They also have the points style ignition.
I'm an electrician and find them very easy to use anywhere by adding to the wiring.They have their own fuel pump too,so like said,all you need is a tank.
You'lll be lucky if one is a 7000 watt unit-very desirable!
Mike.:chevy:

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

Thank you. I figured the 454 would, but never dealt with a motor home before.

On the Gensets, what rewiring would be required?

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

Did you rebuild the 454 before dropping it in the Impala?

My guess is the 454 could be rebuilt into anything you wanted if it were to be dumped into a car or truck.

I am NOT an electrician, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night... so, what wiring needs to be added? Point ignition is easy, just file them a bit.

The Onan model plates can hardly be read.
Class C is a Emerald I, 5000 Watt.
Class A is a 6.5RV (I guess 6500 Watt).

Bill

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

Take a good look at the trannys as some of them came with gearvendor overdrive boxes on them.

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

Just saw some pictures of the overdrive boxes, and will be easy to spot.

Bill

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

Just longer wiring for receptacles to use the 120 volt output.You can use the start/stop on the gen-set and/or use the remote.
The motorhome engines have the low compression peanut port heads.You'd need better heads/cam/intake,etc. for performance.
I haven't rebuilt mine.It is low mileage and runs good as is.

http://i962.photobucket.com/albums/a...ket/006_10.jpg

Mike.:chevy:

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

Wiring outlets and the battery. Nothing very complicated.

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

I'm guessing you could pull a mountain with that in there?

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

If the Class A sits too much longer, I will probably pull the Onan and rewire it. Although, I do not know what I will do with it after that. I will also pull the remote start just to have it.

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

Used Onan generators still command a pretty good price. If you don't intend to use it you could always sell it. A little bit of maintenance (oil change and tune up) goes a long way with those.

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

Any good outlets (Besides Sleazebay and Crapslist) for the posting of these Gensets?

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

The 4000 runs about $500.00 around here.The 6500,$700.00 +
They're good for boats,hunting camps,homes,rv's, just about anywhere temporary power is needed.Onan is a well built generator!Much better than the box store variety.
Check the refridgerators in those rv's too!They are worth a lot if they still work!
And, the tilt steering wheels!
Truck people like the P-type frames for the forward steering frame to use under C.O.E.'s.
You got a lot of good parts there!
Mike.:chevy:

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

Thanks, but if I started parting it out stuff would take a ton of space which I do not have.

I would love to find someone redoing a COE to get them anything they need for ridiculously low prices!

The one big RV dealer near here has closed or moved to an unknown location. I guess I have little to no outlet for selling these gensets or parts.

Bill

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

UPDATE:

Got the 454 running on 9/1. Ran it without drawing fuel from the tank due to unknown age of gas.

Posted both motorhomes on Crapslist and received a bunch of Emails. Needed to post additional pictures of interiors because everyone wants an immaculate RV for $1,000. or $2,000.

I would love to see the 454 dropped into a classic car or truck!

Hopefully they sell and I can move on to another project.

https://newyork.craigslist.org/search/sss?userid=452742

Bill

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

I'd buy that 454 as a core to rebuild and put in my truck (which really has enough power with a 402, but too much is never enough, heh heh). But you are almost all the way across the country, on the diagonal, yet, and I ain't spending that kind of money for shipping.

Re: What to do with a 454 plus a 4 Bolt 350?
 

If you want one, start searching for older damaged RV's, the big Class A's have Big A'ss Blocks!

Bill