hello all, first time in here and have ?

[dwaite72lnghrn]

Welcome to the board. The 402 when new had more torque and HP than the stock 350 in our trucks. BBC have more torque in the low end and make "EASY" hp. The 402 in '72 had more HP and troque than the late '70 454 because of the pollution control on the later engines. 454 is larger bore and longer stroke than the 402, The longer stroke on the 454 can make more torque than a 402 when built up. The BBC also feel stronger than a 350 on the ramp up in a heavy truck. But a built SBC will wind out higher and stay there longer than a BBC. In an empty truck of 4000lb's or more the BBC and a SBC will be about the same but if you are hauling anything or towing the BBC will do it easier, cooler, and more economically.
Rebuilding a BBC is about $1200 in parts alone and to rebuild a SBC you are probably looking at $500 in parts.
As far as rare goes all old BBC 396/402/427 are getting harder to find, But the 454 are still plentiful as most people today are going with the gen V,VI block 502-572 cubic.
inch.
I have been running mine for about 23 years and with a BBC you can really be running on 6-7 cylinders and not even know it because of the power on these things. I went to change plugs 1 time and found 1 loose in the head(like only being held by the plug wire) and 1 boken plug wire. I had been hauling a slide in camper (truck weight around 8700lb) all over hill and dale and never felt the drop in power.
Have fun.