Project Big Block on a Budget

[chevy72blu]

Its crazy to me that I have so many pics that Ive never posted. Im bored.. so what the hell. Mostly these are motor swap pics... but I included a few others of the truck in progress through the years...

Here she is incase you all dont remember her..






Smallblock powered and one-legged... but she sure doesnt look it.


Early racing pics...



Here she is just finished




I give major props to my dad and Rick Andrews for starting me out with such a nice piece. I was blessed. Especially my dad for actually waking up at 5am one monday morning to figure out to get my damn dizzy dialed in so I could make it to school. I was on time. He isnt the biggest wrench head in the world, but I think my passion for workin on that old truck excited him a little. He deserves a ton of credit for it. Hell, it was his truck for years.

[chevy72blu]

I started with



And more recent..




None are photoshopped.





On with the story...
SO I started building this BBC over 2 years ago when I got a job in an engine shop in Las Vegas (Famous for circle track motors for years). Universal Automotive. All they did was motors. I got a job doing engine dissasembly and agreed to be paid in engine parts (for my motor) as well as machine work and know-how. I got the motor out of a perfect 72' which I bought purely for the engine, then resold it on ebay for a loss of only 200 bucks. It was rust-free... anyway, I got a nice, running, BBC with PS and all its accessories for 200 bucks. The name of the project is obviously Big Block on a Budget for a reason.

Now, as you can see I beat up my local race track for two years with my 375 hp 355 sbc (which is now in my buddies 97 TJ - Pics to come, I promise). I decided it was time to step my game up.

This is how she was built:

Mark IV 454 BBC. Machined the block my self.
Stroke: 4.25
Bore: .040 over
Pistons: Speedpro 9.25:1 flat top dished. Hyperneutectic
Crank: Eagle, steel. Balanced and knife edged by yours truely
Rods: stock 454, new. double balanced with pistons

"215" casting closed chamber 396 oval port heads. Heavily worked by a circle track pro- 2.19/1.88 valves. bowls dished, pocket porting, and port matched. Work done by Cylinder Head Service in Las Vegas.
Manely stainless valves.
Intake: Edelbrock Torker - Oldschool sideways carb mount with strait runners. Ports cleaned and portmatched to intake
Cam: Crower 270-H. Flat tappet Hydraulic
Timing chain: Melling double roller
Pushrods: stock (for now)
Rockers: Scorpion full roller assembly
Springs: Comp - fit to cam
Carb: Holley 780. Custom modified by somewhat famous circletrack/drag carb builder. Flows 810 cfm. Choke delete, air horn milled, air bleeds tinkered with. See-thru fuel bowl plugs. Built by Cody (I cant remember his last name... will update)
Fuel Delivery: Summit brand 140 GPH electric pump. Holley adjustable pressure regulator and gauge.
Ignition: MSD Pro-billet HEI. MSD 6A box. Summit 50k volt coil. MSD Superconductor 8.8 Wires.
Delco plugs- crazy sparkplug thread size.

Cooling: Griffin aluminum 2 core. Flexalite 5600 cfm electric fan. Edelbrock Pro series aluminum long neck water pump. B&M super cooler (trans).


Transmission/Driveline
TH350. B&M RV shift kit. Built to the hilt by a pro racing trans shop in town. All kevlar clutches/bands. The works.
TSI 3800 RPM converter with nitrous plate.
Custom 1 piece driveshaft by Dans Driveline in Vegas. Stewart warner yokes/Spicer joints.
GM 8 7/8" 12 bolt truck rear. Auburn PRO series posi, Richmond 3.73's. Moser Axles. Work done by Dan's Driveline also.

Rubber:
P275/60/15 street, Hoosier pro DOT slicks 14.50x28 on the track.



And here is how the fateful night went when BB on a B met Blue. It was a Friday about 7 pm...

[chevy72blu]

Meet the rat:





Yeah, that block and carb is painted Ford blue. Oh well, it looks good. Painted with a rattle can- waited till my mom was out of town and baked the carb to cure the paint in her oven. She would have been upset :p


"alright... lets put her in."


Now, incase anyone asks: im using 73-87 SBC mounts and towers on a 73-87 front member and A arms. It works, but there are some tweaks, of course. Ill let the pics speak for them selves.

[stllookn]

What fun...and it looks like a great group of friends to share the experience with! Keep those pics coming! Great photography too!

[chevy72blu]

Yeah... Thats A.M.








We drilled 2 new holes through each tower into the front member and secured it with 4 Grade 8's on each side. The upper holes in the frame were factory (As I remember). Keep in mind: 72 frame, 73-87 SBC towers and mounts, as well as 73-87 front member and front suspension.

Does an expert see anything wrong with what was done here? I thought about hardwelding the bottom of the mount to the frame but decided to go this route incase I ever put the propper towers in (as the motor sits a little high and is at a slight angle tipping upwards.)

Sorry I dont have pics of it, but the trans cross member moved back about a 1/2" and wiggled a little.

[chevy72blu]

More pics..





The mounts. I have Energy Suspension SUV poly mounts in them.


My heads after machining..



Some bed-off's?


This was during the shortbed conversion...


Crazy rake, since modified.


Forum sig..


Nick's ride (now daytona orange with black z28 stripes)


Olld pic at the track. Me an a LS6 powered 72 SWB.

[chevy72blu]

I have a few more id like to put up, if you all dont mind..


The core BBC motor I started with







Custom sub box my dad and I made for the truck.







Yeah... I cut the dash. But hey, its MY truck, right?




Cut the doors for 6x9's





Hope you liked Blu in Big Block on a Budget!



Major mods coming soon:
Hydroboost brake conversion
Adding a Line-loc
Full manual valve body in the trans
Front disk upgrade (something slotted and drilled) as well as caliper upgrade
Adding rear disks would be nice
Fuel cell (and remove intank cab). [Id love to see pics of fuel cells installed under the bed.]
Nitrous Express Hitman N20 kit
Custom center console enclosing the shifter covered in black vynil (to match the dash pad). Itll hold component speakers and have cup holders.


Major mods ONE day:
Electric cutouts rigged to a WOT switch
4 wheel Re7 bags, twin compressors. 4 link rear suspension with drag shocks and tubular A arms up front [I would LOVE to talk to someone about the details of what this would incur]
Cadillac tails
Repaint: im thinking shave all of the trim, handles, tank filler, and painting a flat suede dark purple and grey ghost flames.
Suicide doors (always wanted to do this...)
Some comfy racing buckets (with the nitrous bottle in the cab between the seats)
Replacing cam/pistons and a small blower would be fun (371?)
NV-4500 5 spd rock crusher when my TH350 explodes.
Mini-tub

[ChevyDude]

Great job...nice pics & truck...best pic GF on her back!!! LOL!!!

[glock35ipsc]

Looks great! What was your best 1/4 mile time?

[chevy72blu]

Best time with the smallblock, if memory serves was a 14.77 with a terrible 60ft @ around 90. No times on the BBC yet and she is awaiting a major brake upgrade, driveshaft loop, and a few other things to make her race worthy.

[chevy72blu]

A few more of Nicks ride. I have a lot of time in this, so I feel the need to post a few pics of what it looks like now.

This is in my garage.

73 split bumber RS camaro. Factory AC. High compression 406 with some mismatched equipment. Struggles on pump gas, but shes quick.







If memory serves, and if its currently running... it should put down some solid 12 second timeslips out at LVMS. Correct me if im wrong.

[chevy72blu]

As promised, here are a few of Mike's 355 SBC powered TJ which is still under construction. We pulled the old gear and had it the way it sits now in 2-3 days with the help of some bad-ass aftermarket motor brackets.







and his 4 link which I can take zero credit for:

If you notice, thats a F*rd 8.8 rear dif.

[chevy72blu]

100% self serving bump

[Bishops Trucks]

Nice truck, Good friends, HOT babe, what more could you ask for. I like your buddys Camaro, real nice.

[72BlckButy]

Great thread, the truck looks great!

[sargentjones]

dynamite work..keep it up

[chevy72blu]

Bump

[jkaylor68gmc]

Pics are awesome, got any more?

I like seeing more people our age building vintage trucks, yours looks great!

[chevy72blu]

I have a ton more. Ill throw a few more up in a day or two.

I would like to see a little more discussion in here though...Especially answers to my above question.

How old are you jkaylor68gmc? Its rare to find someone my age who is into these trucks

[westbrookw]

You all are really young to be so interested in these old autos. That is cool as hell. I bought my when I was 16. That was 13 years ago, to see you doing the same **** I did at your age is awesome. That truck looks pretty tight. Keep up the good work. Wish I had friends my age that wanted to run the older stuff. They all bought the reliable imports. I worked my ass off to get where I wanted to go. That's the price you pay for buying classic, beautiful rides. One of mine.

[chevy72blu]

Originally Posted by westbrookw

You all are really young to be so interested in these old autos. That is cool as hell. I bought my when I was 16. That was 13 years ago, to see you doing the same **** I did at your age is awesome. That truck looks pretty tight. Keep up the good work. Wish I had friends my age that wanted to run the older stuff. They all bought the reliable imports. I worked my ass off to get where I wanted to go. That's the price you pay for buying classic, beautiful rides. One of mine.

Gorgeous man, my hats off to you. I appreciate the compliment- we really are a rare breed. But, as you know, there is nothing better than watching little turbo imports get their doors blown off by a truck that weighs more then twice as much as their rice wagon. And... in 20 years, the 67-72's are just that much more bad ass. Say that about a Civic...

[chevy72blu]

I at least want to have 2 pages! lol. Damn I cant wait to get back home and finish this thing!

I've decided to go ahead and modify my 73+ frame towers so the motor sits more level. I should have noticed on the FAQ about how to adapt them that it only worked for 67-71 trucks

[slammed1]

I built a 454 for my 72 as my first engine as I bought my truck as a no engine no tranny project. I built the 454 pretty mild but did some head work and had a good cam. I lived in Tulsa and was pretty close to the strip so I ran quite a few midnite drag race sessions there. I had trouble hooking up like most pickup trucks do but I was beating and hanging with some stount Chevelles,Camaros,and Novas making most of them work to catch me.

Kudos to you and your girlfriend(cutie),nice to have a partner stay by your side on your hobbies.......my wife(cutie too!!) is the same way and would sit in the cold ass garage helping or watching if needed.

[bad68bowtie]

Dang not sure how I missed this one, just read through it.

But hell now I feel worthless, I'm 19 myself and also on the college kid budget though all I got to show for it is a truck with rusted out rockers and a worn out 305 . I guess that's what I pay for having it as my only mode of transportation.

Your truck definitely looks awesome dude, I know I'd be proud as hell of it. I like to be able to show older folks that kids like us enjoy these trucks as much as they do, I agree we are a rare breed.

Let us know when you get a time slip in on the big block

[Yukon Jack]

What an entertaining post! I dig they way you told us about who helps you with your project.

Great friends working on great projects - it doesn't get any better than that!