I need a few questions answered

First off, if you didnt know, im trying to find a descent condition 70 chevelle ss. i want to drop in an engine in there than can burn a honda....which wont take much... but anyway...i was wondering what is more powerful, a 454 or a 502. i also need to know where i can get this vehicle i want in descent codition. i really only want to swap engines. im not very good at working on cars. where is the best place to look for them. also, where is a good place to find reliable engines?

what is more powerful, a 454 or a 502.

Three easy ways to make power are; displacement, revs and compression. A 454 with 13.5:1 compression is going to be well over 400 horsepower in stock form. At 8.5:1 it is going to be maybe 230 H.P. or so. The low compression motor will also burn about twice as much fuel. The comparison needs more detailed information to be of much use.

well budy id say a 502 with aluminum head has alot more power
also if you have alot of money have edle brock biuld you a 502
i know, thoose are powerfull

and also uuuuuuummmmmmmm i pretty sure you are only going to need a 396 to beat a honda but hey whatever you want

summit has alot of chevy crate engines in it. I have the zz4 crate that gives you 355hp 405ft/lbs torque out of a 350! they have the 454, 502 and now the huge 572! Oh yeah baby!

nice lookin car

summit has alot of chevy crate engines in it. I have the zz4 crate that gives you 355hp 405ft/lbs torque out of a 350! they have the 454, 502 and now the huge 572! Oh yeah baby!

Of the four motors there is easily one best choice for the Chevelle. That is the zz4 350. Why? Because all of these motors produce way more power than normal tires can put to the road. In that case the lightest car wins and the lightest is always the one with the small block. Besides that the zz4 has the highest compression and that means lower fuel consumption. As I recall the small block Corvettes of the sixties could give 30 mpg if set up right. The small block is just a better all around choice for most things. Especially to power a nice looking Corvette or a Chevelle.

look on ebay too-great place

Murray has a good point. The LS6 Chevelles with the 454's would easily smoke the Bias ply's all the way through the quarter. Big blocks mean big sticky tires, unless you wanna race from rolling start. :)

Well, Murray's experience doesn't match mine. Big block cars are ALWAYS quicker in street trim. Traction could be the limiting factor, but not usually. There are plenty of good tires for street cars today. Bias plys are long gone. No need to use them for comparison.

Well, Murray's experience doesn't match mine. Big block cars are ALWAYS quicker in street trim. Traction could be the limiting factor, but not usually. There are plenty of good tires for street cars today. Bias plys are long gone. No need to use them for comparison.

My '69 Wildcat (full size Buick) came with Michelin 225X15 Steel belted radials from the factory. My 430-4 with 360 H.P., 490 lb. ft. of torque and a 3.23 rear end could easily smoke the tires. A Skylark with the same engine better have M&H Racemasters or something, otherwise it is just going to make lots more smoke.

Traction is no small problem for something like a 450 H.P. Nova.

let me tell you alittle story about hondas. one summer evening me and a couple of my freinds where in a well hhhhhhhhuuuuuuummmmm i cant remember oh well it was a inline 6 whith an auto tranny. oh yah a 65 ford falcon and some one in a ricer civic came up reved the shit out of his car :lol: so we decided it would be hilariously funny to race him so we patiantly wait for the light to turn he goes blasting one wheel into full spin (yes one wheel most civics only had the front right on turning like his) now the ford didnt have enough power to respond to the squilling of the car next to us (plus there where six people in there at the time the civic only had a driver) but by the time we hit the next stop sign we where a car length ahead

thats funny, all you need to beat a honda is a 350.

hell you can beat a honda with a 305 or a 307 too, a honda doesn't have much to them, the only thing they've got on domestics is weight, that's why they appear to be so fast, i've raced them with s stock ford 302 and win everytime

you guys are stupid. "all you need to beat a honda is a 350."......

.. that's 5.7 liters. "Honda" (the ones you are talking about) is less probably less than 2.0 liters.

S2000 can kick most of your asses unless u rebuilt ur engines with better components, and that's only 2.0 liters, N/A.

yeah, i'm defending Honda. not defending ricers who think they're the shit (unless they are the shit... but most aren't). Economy Car. Muscle Car. Difference.

if it will make you feel better my little3.8 buick smokes hondas

if you're talking about crate 454 and 502 motors
you can get a gm performance parts 502 with 502
horsepower

Our experience with crate motors is the same as anything else in life. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is...
We recently had a potential customer decide to buy the GM 502 horse 502. He wanted a cam upgrade. Because he bought a crate motor from Summit instead of a "custom" from us, he was too embarrassed to bring it here for the cam installation. He took it to a good race shop a few miles away. $7,000 later, his $7,000 crate motor was now a $14,000 motor. The steel Chevrolet crank was bent .005". The main bore tunnel was .0015" too small. The decks were out .010". Four intake valves leaked.
The moral of the story is this: The first thing one does to a Chevrolet engine, to make it race-worthy, is to take it apart and "blueprint" it. Chevy's factory machining can be very "spotty". Why would a crate motor from the same production line be any better? It isn't...
Some of the more expensive craters are pretty good. Heard good reports on the Eagle 383. The Merlin is also excellent.
Bottom line is, craters are more convenient. They are NOT better than a quality build from a reputable shop. In fact, they are seldomn anywhere near as good. Bear in mind, I build engines, so craters are stepping on my "toes". But my experience has shown them to NOT be what they're cracked up to be.
As for the Honda/ GM debate, well, two things. A Honda that REALLY runs 12s, is nowhere near stock. And if you think it's expensive to build a high performance V8, wait 'til you get the bill for a 300 HP Honda... good friend builds these. For the same money a race ricer costs, to run a few weeks at the high level, one can have a BBC that can run 5 years at the SAME level.
All engines have their good and bad points. But the laws of physics and logic must intervene. To make the same power from 2 lrs. as 5.7, something's gotta give! And be certain you understand, a Honda racer weighs 1,000 lbs. less than a Chevelle. Power-to-weight is another factor in the illusion that 4 cylinder cars are as fast as V8 cars.