Just want some opinions here.
My car currently has a nasty 406,BIG solid roller,(over .650 lift,220 Pro Topline aluminum heads,Forged crank,J&Es,11.0:1 compression,LOTS of goodies).

I also have a recently freshened 468,10.0:1,.544 lift hydraulic cam,ported oval ports,dual plane intake,just a good,mild for a bigblock engine.

The smallblock really screams,but it would be nice if my car was more street friendly.If the headers weren't so pricey,I'd dump the bigblock in just to see,but finances dictating,whats everyone's opinion here?
I've actually preached against a bigblock in these cars before,but now I wonder how it would work out,given that I own both engines.Let er' rip,and don't hold back!

 

Define "street friendly". Are you including fuel economy, handling in the mix, or just ease of getting it moving?

Which dual plane is on the BBC?

The extra weight is bound to change handling characteristics.

Maybe you should just look for another 3rd gen, put the BBC in it with a beefed-up TH700 behind it, let that be your "street" car. Then you could stay nuts with the 406.

Or, buy an El Camino to put the BBC in. Use it to tow the 3rd gen to the track. A few years ago, there was a guy at the track who did that, except he towed another Elky to the track. One night, the "race" Elky broke so he raced the tow vehicle - I was really discusted, because his tow vehicle was still faster than my "race" car.

 

Ouch!!....that sucks. lol

I toyed with the idea of puttin a big honkin BB in my car too, but decided against it. I was actually wanting to put a 500 cid Caddy engine in....but for a strip only car.

But it's gotta effect handling like 5-7 said. Gas milage, exhaust, cooling system, etc will all have to be modified.

 

By street friendly,I mean a milder,less contankorous engine.Not looking for MPG,just wondering if I'd have a car nearly as quick without the added maint. of the solid roller cam,**** poor idle quality,(I know, it sounds really cool,but it gets a bit old.)

Cooling system is not a problem,bigblock has a highflo mechanical water pump,car has a 31x19 aluminum radiator,never a cooling problem in this car.

I'd love to start another project as a driver,but I have an 8 week old son,so funds and time are fairly limited.Just wanted some opinions on what I'd gain/lose performance wise,while attempting to gain a little streetability.

Any and everyone chime in here,I love opinions and theories,even when I don't agree with them,it's fun to ponder.

 

For 2 years I walked right around all my buddies with a step above mild BBC's powering their cars, not to mention I have the full interior with bumps in the trunk vs their gutted stuff. My amintenance regiman: change oil every couple months, change plugs twice a year, and set lash before heading to race track.

Could've gotten by wihtout changing plugs, but I just felt warm inside by doing it, could've gone months without setting lash, but I need to know on race day everything is perfect to help the cause.

 

You can build a 406 SBC and a 402 BBC and they'll be roughly the same in performance. The BBC will be slightly heavier but will make slightly more torque.

Jumping up to a 468, you're going to a much bigger bore which will produce more HP. A SBC can be made to produce the same amount of power but it's really screaming and really needs some race parts to do it. The 4" stroke of the BBC also produce more torque and that's what gets you moving quicker off the line.

The biggest advantage of the BBC is the potential it has for more. Typical SBC performance heads flow where stock BBC heads start. Feeding more air into the engine will produce more power. bigger heads or port work allow the BBC to easily gain more power.

There are many BBC engines that don't make the same amount of power that a good SBC does but that doesn't mean they can't. My daily driver 454SS truck is only producing about 300 hp but over 400 pounds of torque. The engine rarely gets over 4000 rpm unless I'm on the track. Although it's a gas pig in a 4600 pound truck, it'll last a long time with nothing more than routine maintanence. I don't need a 500 hp daily driver but do need the torque to get the heavy truck moving plus it's my tow vehicle.

There's always that impression factor too. Pop the hood just to show someone a huge engine sitting there. I've seen 434 SBC that could blow away my race engine but I look at them and still say, ya it's just a SBC. To get a small engine to produce that much power, you need to invest a lot of money to make sure it stays together. Most of us don't have that kind of coin.

 

Never had the BB on a dyno,but I'm sure the 406 would smoke it on numbers.Just pondering power/drivability in my street/strip car.How bad is the handling of a bigblock 3rd gen?And be honest,because I was told that 3rd gens w/manual steering drive like ***,but I'm running an S10 box/pitman arm and still think it drives pretty sweet.I can live with a lack of creature comforts,honestly I can live with the radical 406,just wondering what the car would act like with the 468.Damn I wish headers weren't so pricey,I'd have a set in stock.

 

The 406 might have a higher peak HP #, but that's about it.

Acclerating a car of a given weight is a function of the "area under the curve", or how much power/torque it makes within its operating band. The BBC is bound to have superior torque/HP at lower RPMs, and that's what gets you moving.

Peak #'s are pretty much meaningless, unless you can keep the engine operating at that RPM at all times.

 

Area under the curve!

According to DD2000, my new engine produces 590 pounds of torque at 2000 rpm and peaks at 765 from 4500 to 5000 rpm. Almost impossible for a NA SBC to do that but then that's also with 540 CID. Even my 469 produced high numbers.

 

how fast is the 406?

i prefer big blocks and mine has driven fine.i don't slide corners though as i run 4inch front wheels.

as healthy as your small block is i would think it would be faster than your mild 468,but...put a solid roller in the 468 and a single plane and i think it would be faster than the 406.i have had from a 427 to a 598 in my 85 and have never regretted it.

 

See statement below, and you'll see there is no possible way the 468 as it sits will even be a match for the 406.

Not saying somebody could'nt take some factory bb iron and make a runner out of it, but they're going to go to extreme's to do so. For this case, opting for the BBC will result in slower overall ET/mph than the sbc will produce, but will be a better combination for street driving. If lift on the sbc we're talking about was a little less, than I dont understand why that is'nt a decsent street motor, what is the duration on that thing also? I was at 11.5:1 running pump premium with 255/262 duration, so assuming duration is a little higher and darn near same compression your losing more with overlap than I did. Trying to understand why this 406 is'nt streetable??

 

your post was worthless by directing it at me.maybe you should reread what i wrote...i said the same thing you just did...like i told you before i could have busted your *** with an iron head bb while i was still high school.

 

I misread/interpreted what you were saying intially, so I apologize about "directing it at you" as you have taken it. But, I will say it's going to take more than just solid roller and open plenum intake to make that heavy 468 with factory heads outperform his 406. both are torque motors, and no matter what, the factory iron heads will not flow what the heads on his sbc are flowing, so it's a mute point....only so much air can be pumped through period no matter what the cubes are big bore or not, but we both know that and this fella is using what he has and not talking about reconfiguring motors.

kooto's on being a very knowledgable engine builder back in high school, wish I would've had the same opportunities as you had back then.

 

he still hasn't said how the 406 runs on the track.

fastest i went with iron oval heads was 11.00 in a solid lift 427 with 12.1 comp.it was alot cheaper to race back then.LOL

 

I've only heard stories about the "good ole days" and sounds like we're a looong ways away from that time

I'm already bummin about the way the racing is going now...it's changed quit a bit in just the last 4 years with entries/purses and with parts costing more and more, along with machine work gradually rising, this original hobby for everyone is slowly turning into a hobby for guys with coin. Supposed to be an even playing feild, but I'll still put money on a guys car that is not back woods hacked just so he can race...seen too many of this kinda try it and often casue us down time with clean ups...but it sure is nice to pair up with 'em though quack quack

 

As far as Times,I've pulled a 10.50 and 10.54 out of the 406.It runs awesome and I'm sure it can pull even better times.I'm not complaining about performance,just,as I said earlier,wondering how much I'd give up with the bigblock.

I wouldn't really call my 406 "unstreetable",just not something my wife can hop in and drive to the store,and lord help me if I drive it to work and it rains,creating the nightmare of driving home on wet pavement.

As far as flow #s on the heads,I've been around a flowbench before,and it's real tough for a great set of smallblock heads to flow with a decent set of bigblock heads,it's just purely a size thing,bigblocks have bigger ports.