Bracket racer from the 90's and early 2000's here. Always ran a tunnel ram on my 468's with about 12:1 compression, average size solid roller cam in a back-halved '69 Camaro. Car was very consistent and ran 6.08 to 6.14 depending on air and track temp. When I got out of racing the engine was pulled and sold to a guy with a '69 El Camino street car. The dude dropped it in, added cast iron manifolds (!) and drove it on the street for years. LS engines and swaps are great and all the rage but, there is just something special about a big block Chevy.
For a towing motor / daily I'd bet your best combo would be bigger displacement, great flowing heads, airgap, and then pick the cam for the rpm range you actually use to maximize the area under the curve where you need it. A while back the engine masters guys did a stroked small block comparo with a small cam (like 212/224) and AFR heads of different sizes and ended up with something that looked like an incredible real world engine combo. Duplicate that ideal w/ a BBC and you'd be a happy camper (except for MPG).
Hell yeah! I have acquired two 454 powered vehicles in the last year, 1997 suburban k2500 and a 1986 georgie boy air cruiser 33 ft rv. Would love to see more done with the stock gen 5 fi, with the stock intake manifold and heads, with maybe a camshaft swap and adjustable valvetrain put into the mix? Rock on !
My motor home @62mph spins about 2400rpm. The downshift kicks it up to about 3200 rpm. I'd like to see what does good at these ranges. I suspect that the 454 peanut port tbi would be hard to beat at 2400rpm.
Thanks for the big block videos i have a 454 that needs put together and a 496. That is already built. And ran low 6s in the eighth in a buick regal that was not gutted. So i think it has a pretty good combination in it already.
only the first 454 had a suitable cam for towing in my opinion. especially with an automatic. The other two would make killer street machine engines. Now if you could start them off with a nice short first gear like an allison 5 speed or something, then it could work. With a Turbo 400 the 3 gears don't give enough range and you cannot use a 'loose' converter for towing.
I've pitched this in past vids but was shot down " No one runs wide open throttle at low RPM " ( Like 1500 to 2000 ) Well, pulling out from a traffic light on a hill towing a trailer will certainly end up in WOT at low RPM with a TH400 which has a tall 1st gear and stock non lockup converter.
@@bobroberts2371 I believe Richard has said before the dyno they use struggles to load in properly at rpms that low on a motor making 500ft-lb. I think Nick at Nicks garage uses the same dyno and he too has said he can't load in the 400+cid engines down below 3000rpm.
@@bcbloc02 Thanks for the info beyond " we don't do that " I wonder if the loading issue is caused by the number of vanes in the water brake. RE: Needing more vanes at low RPM to prevent cogging / less vanes at high RPM to allow for enough braking action.
@@bobroberts2371 water brake capacity is most effected by diameter but of course more rotors can be used to increase capacity as well. More rotors tends to cause issues with testing lower powered engines because they become quite sensitive to the amount of water in the brake. Larger diameter units become limited by rpm because their own mass can cause them to explode at high rpm. Everything is always a compromise. 😎
@@bcbloc02 I was thinking more along the lines of the smoothness of power absorption relating to vane count. As for being sensitive to water volume, I'd think that flow meters on the inlet and outlet plus valves on the inlet and outlet along with some software could solve the problem however could be beyond the scope of a typical race shop dyno.
I would trade some low speed torque for mid range power for a tow motor any day. Nothing worse than a gas engine that is out of power after take off. Mid range is where its at for towing. You need mid range guts.
I agree! My 496 comes alive around 3,000 rpms, but at 4,000 rpms that monster 👻 torque kicks in and then up to 6,000 rpms it pulls like a freight train.😆
Could you make a 496 that has a great single pattern cam run on methanol with some compression say 13 1 and dump it and see how much HP and tork it can make for the drag strip
I hear the old sbc 350 Tune port injection produced a lot of torque you should have one made or a few versions made for the big block chevy see how much torque you get
Richard, these tests were done over 20yrs ago. Given the advancements in technology, what do you think you could make if you did a mild-ish 496ci BBC with todays cams and heads?
Your mistake is to think the test was trying to get maximum power-it wasn't-the intake test would still show the same results as would the mild alum-headed 496 combo
Any way to get the build sheet on this? Maybe part numbers? I'm looking for a new engine fire my 83 Chevy dually and would like to build a clone of the first engine you built.
A 496 is probably the most common stroker BBC (a 4.310 bore and 4.250 stroke), but could a 511 (4.310 bore and 4.375 stroke) or a 525 (4.310 bore and 4.500 stroke) be built from a stock deck height block and the same amount of money??? A tall deck block would make things easier, but... Who has done it???
Richard, love the channel. I copied the 6.0 build from the “500HP Recipes” video, so thanks for that! My buddy and I always argue about “best” engine for a particular application, & for me, pricing is the main factor. I was always an SBC guy, but have moved on to the LS platform. Can you include some basic pricing in these vids to help my argument? Weight, perhaps?
I talked to a racing shop a long time ago, and he was running a 496 with NOS, so I am curious if a 496 can handle a shot of 200 NOS because it's bigger cubic inch displacement, or a shot of 200 NOS could still hurt this motor. I ran dry NOS on my Toyota truck, but I was told to use a shot of 60-80 NOS because only a 144.4 cubic inches displacement, so I figure a bigger motor can handle more NOS right?
@@richardholdener1727 I was told to run 1 step colder spark plug, so I did, and I was told to run a CD system to burn the NOS, so I did, and I installed a dual Center force clutch. What I am missing to run 200 NOS on a 496 please?
@@RudyRamos-fc2fm If you haven't built the engine yet, use forged pistons and premium head gaskets. Head studs wouldn't hurt either. The key is the tune. Make sure you get enough fuel with the nitrous system.
@@scotttimpany2845 I had an aftermarket mechanical fuel pump rated for about 8 PSI, and I had an 800 CFM carburetor on my 350 motor, so I am curious is this enough fuel for a shot of 125 or 150 NOS?
@@RudyRamos-fc2fm It helps to think of things in terms of a system. Fuel pressure is only one part of it. Volume is the other. Make sure the pump flows enough for your combo. Make sure you have large enough lines on the supply AND the return size. Make sure your filters are clean AND that they're designed to flow good amounts of fuel. Stock type 5/16 or 3/8 lines with stock type filters that have never been changed are not good. You need to do some research to make sure ur good.
Richard you just ruined the nice low end torque.. you don't tow at 5k rpm. Increase the cubic inches to max. Play around with different small camshaft and intake. Try a long long intake manifold runners like custom made cross ram. It allways goes to more HP. Stay on the low end torque. Come on .. we still love you.
It STILL blows my mind that a well-built LS will make "big block numbers" in a smaller and lighter package. It's not too hard to make your mild 496"-ish" numbers in a 408" LS. Obviously, you dropped the compression down quite a bit and that hurt power on the 496. Still, if you built a 408" LS (factory iron block with stroker crank and LS3 heads) with similar 8.2 compression, could you make the 496 power numbers? I think it would be close. You might have already done this comparison.
@@richardholdener1727 Bigger is almost always better down low, but it would still be an cool comparison. I wish I had time to go thru your vids to get some actual numbers at the various rpm levels.
Number one if you want to haul your girlfriend around put on automatic in it. If you want a work truck put a standard transmission in it, also nobody will steal it that way. I've been working with 454s and Dooley's since they first came out, I still own three of them.
![Chino Pacas - Modo Capone (with Drake & Fuerza Regida) [Video Oficial]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zjv8TQ0gBkg/mqdefault.jpg)
That’s an old pic of the dyno guru himself MR. Steve brule!!! What a legend
Love these big block Chevy videos
Finally something non LS
I was getting ready to ask for a ls video like this💀
I'd love to see you do a build up on a Chevy 502 HT engine. Just the out of the box specs show that thing is a torque monster!
BREATHE, RICHARD.... BREATHE!! if you keel over we won't get any more of the awesome videos 😃
Bracket racer from the 90's and early 2000's here. Always ran a tunnel ram on my 468's with about 12:1 compression, average size solid roller cam in a back-halved '69 Camaro. Car was very consistent and ran 6.08 to 6.14 depending on air and track temp. When I got out of racing the engine was pulled and sold to a guy with a '69 El Camino street car. The dude dropped it in, added cast iron manifolds (!) and drove it on the street for years.
LS engines and swaps are great and all the rage but, there is just something special about a big block Chevy.
Really enjoyed the video, for those of us that actually tow, what about a NA-496 thats built to actually TOW!
Love the Big Block Verses 🤘🏾💪🏾👍🏾
For a towing motor / daily I'd bet your best combo would be bigger displacement, great flowing heads, airgap, and then pick the cam for the rpm range you actually use to maximize the area under the curve where you need it. A while back the engine masters guys did a stroked small block comparo with a small cam (like 212/224) and AFR heads of different sizes and ended up with something that looked like an incredible real world engine combo. Duplicate that ideal w/ a BBC and you'd be a happy camper (except for MPG).
Hell yeah! I have acquired two 454 powered vehicles in the last year, 1997 suburban k2500 and a 1986 georgie boy air cruiser 33 ft rv. Would love to see more done with the stock gen 5 fi, with the stock intake manifold and heads, with maybe a camshaft swap and adjustable valvetrain put into the mix? Rock on !
Big block chevy has been dominating for 50 year's. Even in baja 1k the gibs big block is doing well also. 6k to 9 k for 18-22 hrs.
Thanks for Sharing 👍👍✌
I’d love to see this same series with BBF
My motor home @62mph spins about 2400rpm. The downshift kicks it up to about 3200 rpm. I'd like to see what does good at these ranges. I suspect that the 454 peanut port tbi would be hard to beat at 2400rpm.
Very nice right around 565 HP.. I would like to see that set up with 9.5 or better compression.. The spacer was a great add..!
Yah I bet that could push it over 600 or be real close
Exactly what I was thinking.
Thanks for the big block videos i have a 454 that needs put together and a 496. That is already built. And ran low 6s in the eighth in a buick regal that was not gutted. So i think it has a pretty good combination in it already.
Looking forward to seeing the 496 on a little boost!
coming next
only the first 454 had a suitable cam for towing in my opinion. especially with an automatic. The other two would make killer street machine engines. Now if you could start them off with a nice short first gear like an allison 5 speed or something, then it could work. With a Turbo 400 the 3 gears don't give enough range and you cannot use a 'loose' converter for towing.
I love tunnel rams...
Very cool but I wish you had run the 496 down at 3,000rpm to compare bottom end torque with the "towing" 454.
I've pitched this in past vids but was shot down " No one runs wide open throttle at low RPM " ( Like 1500 to 2000 ) Well, pulling out from a traffic light on a hill towing a trailer will certainly end up in WOT at low RPM with a TH400 which has a tall 1st gear and stock non lockup converter.
@@bobroberts2371 I believe Richard has said before the dyno they use struggles to load in properly at rpms that low on a motor making 500ft-lb. I think Nick at Nicks garage uses the same dyno and he too has said he can't load in the 400+cid engines down below 3000rpm.
@@bcbloc02 Thanks for the info beyond " we don't do that " I wonder if the loading issue is caused by the number of vanes in the water brake. RE: Needing more vanes at low RPM to prevent cogging / less vanes at high RPM to allow for enough braking action.
@@bobroberts2371 water brake capacity is most effected by diameter but of course more rotors can be used to increase capacity as well. More rotors tends to cause issues with testing lower powered engines because they become quite sensitive to the amount of water in the brake. Larger diameter units become limited by rpm because their own mass can cause them to explode at high rpm. Everything is always a compromise. 😎
@@bcbloc02 I was thinking more along the lines of the smoothness of power absorption relating to vane count.
As for being sensitive to water volume, I'd think that flow meters on the inlet and outlet plus valves on the inlet and outlet along with some software could solve the problem however could be beyond the scope of a typical race shop dyno.
Another great video!!
I would trade some low speed torque for mid range power for a tow motor any day. Nothing worse than a gas engine that is out of power after take off. Mid range is where its at for towing. You need mid range guts.
I agree! My 496 comes alive around 3,000 rpms, but at 4,000 rpms that monster 👻 torque kicks in and then up to 6,000 rpms it pulls like a freight train.😆
Apparently there are not any steep hills that a truck must pull from a dead stop.
Need torque to move a heavy truck+ load and to climb hills
Thanks for the big block content!
Try an adapter/ 1050 Dominator on the Air Gap !
Vintage Brule-o shot!
OG B
Could you make a 496 that has a great single pattern cam run on methanol with some compression say 13 1 and dump it and see how much HP and tork it can make for the drag strip
Can you do more on mopar 440. I remember you did a mild turbo but not really high power builds or cams etc.
I hear the old sbc 350 Tune port injection produced a lot of torque you should have one made or a few versions made for the big block chevy see how much torque you get
More ford content please. Great vid as always!
Rich I am friends with Chris over at Torqstorm, how does one get ahold of you to ask a simple question?
Ask away, join the live feeds or killerbe16@aol.com
Richard, these tests were done over 20yrs ago. Given the advancements in technology, what do you think you could make if you did a mild-ish 496ci BBC with todays cams and heads?
Your mistake is to think the test was trying to get maximum power-it wasn't-the intake test would still show the same results as would the mild alum-headed 496 combo
Love the first combo for camper special. Too bad crane cams no longer exista
similar cam specs are avail from anyone
Would t this have made more midrange torque with tighter lobe separation?
you can make more with a different cam
Stepped headers vs non stepped headers please
Steve looks so young
We need follow up on summit 5.0 cams B and F
Any way to get the build sheet on this? Maybe part numbers? I'm looking for a new engine fire my 83 Chevy dually and would like to build a clone of the first engine you built.
No build sheets avail unfortunately
Can you explain how much horsepower a 5.7 with a 4.8 crank and rod run and what the compression ratio torque and if it’s even a good idea to try
ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT A 5.7L LS1 WITH A 4.8 CRANK AND RODS-IF SO, SEE THE LS3 WITH THE 4.8 CRANK VIDEO
Part number for MLS gen 6 heads to gen 5 block?
632 Torker?🤔
A 496 is probably the most common stroker BBC (a 4.310 bore and 4.250 stroke), but could a 511 (4.310 bore and 4.375 stroke) or a 525 (4.310 bore and 4.500 stroke) be built from a stock deck height block and the same amount of money??? A tall deck block would make things easier, but... Who has done it???
THE 4.375 STROKE IS PROBLEMATIC (WINDAGE)
@@richardholdener1727 I did not think of that. Very interesting stuff!
Is that a pic of Brule as a teen on the intro???
Were these test designed by Charles Nelson Pogue?
or Charles Nelson Riley?
Richard, love the channel. I copied the 6.0 build from the “500HP Recipes” video, so thanks for that! My buddy and I always argue about “best” engine for a particular application, & for me, pricing is the main factor. I was always an SBC guy, but have moved on to the LS platform. Can you include some basic pricing in these vids to help my argument? Weight, perhaps?
Where is the graph on the tunnel ram combo?
SUPPLIED IN VIDEO
@@richardholdener1727tunnel ram horsepower and torque numbers were mentioned but no tunnel ram graph
I talked to a racing shop a long time ago, and he was running a 496 with NOS, so I am curious if a 496 can handle a shot of 200 NOS because it's bigger cubic inch displacement, or a shot of 200 NOS could still hurt this motor. I ran dry NOS on my Toyota truck, but I was told to use a shot of 60-80 NOS because only a 144.4 cubic inches displacement, so I figure a bigger motor can handle more NOS right?
a 496 can easily handle a 200 shot if properly tuned
@@richardholdener1727 I was told to run 1 step colder spark plug, so I did, and I was told to run a CD system to burn the NOS, so I did, and I installed a dual Center force clutch. What I am missing to run 200 NOS on a 496 please?
@@RudyRamos-fc2fm If you haven't built the engine yet, use forged pistons and premium head gaskets. Head studs wouldn't hurt either. The key is the tune. Make sure you get enough fuel with the nitrous system.
@@scotttimpany2845 I had an aftermarket mechanical fuel pump rated for about 8 PSI, and I had an 800 CFM carburetor on my 350 motor, so I am curious is this enough fuel for a shot of 125 or 150 NOS?
@@RudyRamos-fc2fm It helps to think of things in terms of a system. Fuel pressure is only one part of it. Volume is the other. Make sure the pump flows enough for your combo. Make sure you have large enough lines on the supply AND the return size. Make sure your filters are clean AND that they're designed to flow good amounts of fuel. Stock type 5/16 or 3/8 lines with stock type filters that have never been changed are not good. You need to do some research to make sure ur good.
On the dually did u run 2.5 or 3” exhaust and why
2.5
@@richardholdener1727small
🥝✔️
how did the 454 do below 3000??
very good
Richard you just ruined the nice low end torque.. you don't tow at 5k rpm. Increase the cubic inches to max. Play around with different small camshaft and intake. Try a long long intake manifold runners like custom made cross ram. It allways goes to more HP. Stay on the low end torque. Come on .. we still love you.
It STILL blows my mind that a well-built LS will make "big block numbers" in a smaller and lighter package. It's not too hard to make your mild 496"-ish" numbers in a 408" LS. Obviously, you dropped the compression down quite a bit and that hurt power on the 496. Still, if you built a 408" LS (factory iron block with stroker crank and LS3 heads) with similar 8.2 compression, could you make the 496 power numbers? I think it would be close. You might have already done this comparison.
A 496 MAKES MORE THAN A 408-ESPECAILLY DOWN LOW
Big block torque is a whole 'nother animal.
@@richardholdener1727 Bigger is almost always better down low, but it would still be an cool comparison. I wish I had time to go thru your vids to get some actual numbers at the various rpm levels.
No one will put 2 carbs on a towing motor. Efficiency loss
Number one if you want to haul your girlfriend around put on automatic in it.
If you want a work truck put a standard transmission in it, also nobody will steal it that way.
I've been working with 454s and Dooley's since they first came out, I still own three of them.