454 big block rebuild

CODY JARVI

MEMBER
1987 CHEVROLET BLAZER
V8
4WD
AUTOMATIC
220,000 MILES

Hello, I was wondering what all in your 454 large block YouTube series that you took to the machine shop to be honed and resurfaced. I was also wondering if the machine shop needs to bore to.40 over if I already have it bored once to.30 over from the previous owner since I will need to order and send pistons with the block. I was also wondering roughly how much the build was for the engine just for the parts so I can try to save up and do something pretty close to what you guys did. I have already talked to a machine shop but is it really worth the $1,000.00 to take to a machine shop or can I do some home inspections on whether I need to take it in or not.

Saturday, July 2nd, 2022 AT 10:33 PM

2 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
110,176 POSTS

Hi Cody,

The video was done by the site owner and his son. I will forward your question to them. It may take a day or so (4th of July) for them to respond, but I assure you, they will.

Take care and have a great 4th,

Joe

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Sunday, July 3rd, 2022 AT 12:11 AM

RYAN L

ADMIN
269 POSTS

Hey!

Thank you so much for watching the series and for using the site!

So, if it is already 0.030 over, I would just have the machine shop take a look at it and see if the crosshatching and machine work is still good. It really depends on how the block was stored or how used it is.

As far as build cost goes, ours was decently expensive due to us spending around $1,800.00 on new aluminum heads. Here is a link to the build sheet for it if you want to add everything up:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/big-block-build-sheet but I believe with the machine work it was like five thousand or so.

There are definitely some home inspections you can do; I would test first for ridge reem at the top of the bore. If you can catch your nail on it that is usually a good indicator that the block needs machine work. Also, I would look in the cylinders themselves, if you cannot see distinct crosshatching anymore, I would say it is time for a new machined surface.

Barring that, $1,000.00 for machine work on an engine is quite cheap when you fire up the engine for the first time and nothing goes wrong. You do not want to cut corners and have to redo everything and pay for the machine work anyways.

If you have any other questions, please let me know! You can also upload photos to your post if you want us to give a more detailed opinion!

Best,
Ryan

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Sunday, July 3rd, 2022 AT 12:35 PM