Will Big Block be TOO MUCH?

[benbloom]

Hey all, i am currently looking at a truck with a BIG BLOCK 454 and a TH400 to back it. The truck looks to be a good deal and is all around what im looking for, BUT im going to be using to for daily driving, and i wonder if that setup is going to be too much. So, for guys that have had big blocks, how is the cab drone and overall noise when your driving around? It always drove me crazy in a DD after a week of fun, when your sitting in traffic and you cant hear yourself think. could i make it decently quiet with the right muffler? (SORRY) Are the vibrations going to be much worse? and as far as fuel, is it going to be much worse than a 350/ th350 setup?
please let me know your opinions, seems like i might have to act fast on this one.
Thanks!

[46stude]

Um, a big block isn't any louder than other V8 motors. That all depends on your exhaust system. A single outlet system w/ a factory style muffler on a 454 will be quiet in comparison to a 283 running open headers in a hot rod.

And yes, a big block will burn more gas. But the smile on one's face when one floors it should make up for that...

[MARKDTN]

I may get flamed but I would never even consider a BB for a daily driver. The fuel mileage will be worse than a 350/TH350, probably high single digits. As far as noise, with proper mufflers it wouldn't be an issue. Vibration is not really an issue either. But poor mileage and harder to cool are real issues-especially for a DD. My .02

[El Dorado Jim]

Originally Posted by MARKDTN

I may get flamed but I would never even consider a BB for a daily driver. The fuel mileage will be worse than a 350/TH350, probably high single digits. As far as noise, with proper mufflers it wouldn't be an issue. Vibration is not really an issue either. But poor mileage and harder to cool are real issues-especially for a DD. My .02

X2 on that, I have a 454 in both my K20's, suburban and pickup, they don't get very good mileage,I get about 8 mpg on my suburban average, I only have them for towing heavy trailers....I am keeping with a 350 for my 72 K20, don't plan on working it at all, just cruising around...but if you want the power, get the 454

[dennislbrooks]

Yea, agree that mileage will be poor especially with a 400 turbo --OD would help---- but unless you pull some weight everyday the extra cubes just burn more gas.

Ask him what mileage he gets. Maybe it has a 3.08 gear in it which would help. What year truck is it 72?

[Stocker]

It's been a very long time since I owned anything with a BBC (1969 El Camino SS, 396/375HP, TH400) but the above comments are spot-on. Do you need a big block? No, but gobs of torque = great fun. Yes, fuel mileage suffers a bit, but my 350/350 K20 gets lousy mileage too. As to noise or vibration, no worries as stated above. It's loud if you put loud exhaust on it.

My two cents, if you like the truck and don't mind shelling out a bit more for gas.... buy it and enjoy.

[Grumpy old man]

If your worried about mileage and engine noise buy a Kia

These probably aren't the best dd you could pick you'll be able to quiet it down but to get good mpg you'll have to drop a 6 cylinder in it .

[bigdog55]

My truck is a dd. I have a 350 with a th400 trans. I just checked my mileage today and got 11 mpg.. But I have a blast in it and is a conversation piece when I go anywhere,

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Depends on your cam, manifolds and mufflers I'd guess. Speaking for my 402, smooth like a switch watch, and I haven't taking a timing light to it since......since....never mind. As MPG goes, the 350 Vs 402 Chevy blocks got about the same. What, 10-13? That 454 probably gets what, 8 MPG?

[El Dorado Jim]

Originally Posted by dennislbrooks

Yea, agree that mileage will be poor especially with a 400 turbo --OD would help---- but unless you pull some weight everyday the extra cubes just burn more gas.

Ask him what mileage he gets. Maybe it has a 3.08 gear in it which would help. What year truck is it 72?

My Suburban has a t-400, I have a gear vendor overdrive I am going to put on it, we use the sub more on the highway than our other rigs, and a 350 doesn't get very good mileage either, but that is what you get when driving one of these old carbureted rigs,you can expect to get around 10-12 mpg with a 350/350 is my guess

[summitflier]

There is such a thing as too much?

[palallin]

Neither my 1999 (350) Tahoe nor my 2001 (5.3 whatevertheheckitis) Tahoe get much better mileage than my '69 (327) K10, which has achieved 14 MPG Highway.

[truckster]

Not a truck, but I had two identical GM cars I built. Both were full-sized wagons and were almost identical (consecutive manufacturing years). One got a 455 Olds and the other a Chevy 350. I could reliably get at least 50% better mileage out of the 350. Of course, the Olds was much more fun to drive... that might have had something to do with the mileage as well.

[snj8198]

Empty my 489 is getting a solid 12mpg on the highway w/ OD, but in town it gets around 9-10. I have sqweeked out 13mpg before but not with my current 650AVS carb. The truck weighs 6,000lbs. As soon as I put a load on it drops to single digits and when I have 10,000lbs+ behind me it drops to 7mpg but man does it sound awesome getting the job done! Heaviest I've hauled was 19,890lbs total gross through the Rockies.

I've owned less than 10 small blocks in my life, primarily 350's and at various build stages from stock smog era to lightly warmed over to a mini blown 383. The best mileage I have ever gotten with any of them was 14mpg and that was a lot of parts matching and engine tuning. So I am very happy with my big block mileage numbers, the work that it can perform, and the 600+ ft/lbs of torque it builds.

Steve

[turbotruck]

i daily drive my 750hp small block. doesnt bither me a bit, gets 12 mpg on e85

[68350]

If this is a stock 454 with a well tuned Quadra jet and a 3.08 gear, there should be no reason it won't pull 12 mpg. My 72 gmc with a 67 corvette 427 gets 10 mpg all day long. I used to have a 72 shortbox with 3.73 gears and a 402/400 combo and it got 10-11

[biketopia]

not a truck..but still somewhat of a comparison. My brother has a 80 Pontiac grand safari wagon, it has a fully built 496 BB, 950 double pumper, TH400, ford 9inch with 3.90 ish gears, set up to go in a straight line as fast as possible. We rolled up to Ocean City last year for Cruisers (about 170 miles each way) and knocked out 11-12 the whole way up at 65mph. He also had a bunch of luggage stacked on the roof to add to the sleeper look, so it was about as aerodynamic as our trucks.

[NoNeck]

I love to feel the raw torque of a Big Block, and with sensible carb/jetting and OD transmission you can get decent (for a non-fuel injected) mileage if you keep the right foot under control.

Besides, you can't beat the look of that beast under the hood!

POP

[benbloom]

thanks for the input guys, il let you know how it fairs with dding!

[frenchy51]

Go for it! If my 350 didn't run so well, I'd have a 396 or 454 in mine....

[Valarius_Starchaser]

Originally Posted by NoNeck

Besides, you can't beat the look of that beast under the hood!
POP

Agreed

(and it doesn't look half bad on a stand)

[leddzepp]

No

[67chevy1]

I had a 67 swb fleet side with 454/400 combo 3.08s outback and it would run 11 mpg when I treated her nice but when the right foot got heavy my wallet got light. As far as the noise mine was pretty quite again until the right foot got heavy, but boy was it nice to listen to that bbc bark. The cooling thing though you do need a 4 core radiator if your going cruising in stop and go traffic, but I think more of that was caused by the blue anodized miniature fan I was running without a shroud. I liked it well enough I'm building another one now, although it won't be a dd.

[General23cmp]

big block = happiness

[Alex V.]

Noise and vibration - no more an issue than a small block. My '85 1-ton (454/Turbo 400) glides pleasantly down the highway. Before the suspension and drivetrain had the wear on them they do today, the wind through the old, dry weatherstrips made much more noise than the drivetrain did.

There's more room for a 350 to get better fuel economy than a big block, but recently my '85 (with 4.10 gears!) does 11.5 or so, light to moderately loaded, on long trips. At one time I could dependably get 12.25 to 12.5, empty, on the highway. Mixed driving is 10 or a little better, but I rarely lay into it. My '67 Suburban w/350 and 4-speed manual gets no more than 2 MPG better, and it's a stock engine breathing through a little Rochester 4G in a vehicle weighing 700 lbs. less (4,600 vs. 5,300) with a manual trans.

A big block insures your truck's limitation is never its engine. Whether it's showing somebody what-for at a light or towing your FIL's '03 1500HD 40 miles without a sweat, a healthy big block will never be on your list of downfalls.