If you want a rare bird......Build it!

I read an uplifting article in a Chevy High-Performance magazine. This guy loved 427s and wanted one for the Chevelle he was restoring. As we all know 427s are expensive and rare, and are usually snapped up by Corvette restorers. And the new 480 hp / 427 Crate motor sold by GMPP is priced over ten grand. What to do?  This guy found the solution. The 427 and 454 are the same bore size. He bought a used 454 out of a Suburban, bored it .030 over, and installed a 427 rotating assembly-crank, rods and pistons-that can be bought from Eagle, Scat, and many other companies. He had it internally balanced as well. He used a factory solid-lifter cam, oval-port heads, and an Edelbrock Torker II intake, with an MSD HEI distributor and Hedman Headers. His goal was 500 hp, which he just missed-it made 492 hp on the dyno. However, he built it for less than $3,500!! ( He only paid $300 for the wrecked Suburban ). You could do other rare birds just as cheaply. If you wanted a 302 Chevy for a Z/28 clone or a 327 for an early '60s Impala, Nova or 'Vette-a 350 block has a 4 inch bore. GMPP, Scat, Eagle, Lunati, and others sell cranks with 3.00 or 3.25 inch strokes so you could build a 302 or 327 if you wanted. ( You'd need the proper pistons, but those are plentiful). If you want a 421 Pontiac for your '62-'66 Catalina, 2+2, or Gran Prix-you can buy a 4.00 inch stroke 421 / 428 crank and put it in a 400 block. ( These are offered in both stock 3.25 inch mains and 3.00 inc mains-which is 400 size. ) If you want a Boss 302 or Boss 351 for your Mustang- Edelbrock and Trick Flow offer aluminum "Cleveland" style heads that will bolt up to 302 and 351 Windsor blocks. They also sell matching intakes so you can create a "Boss" engine at a reasonable price-probably 1/5 of the price of a real "Boss" Ford engine-if you could find one for sale at any price. And you don't have to just do this for some "Old school" hot rod-think about this you can meld "old-tech" and "new tech"-a high-winding 327 with Vortec heads and a solid-roller cam could be a real rocker in a light '80's Camaro or "G" body Mote Carlo or Malibu. You could build a stompin' 340 Mopar with Magnum style heads for your Dart / Duster, or '60's Barracuda. Something to think about-you'd have big power for low bucks and have a unique combination-not a "Cookie-cutter" 383 Chevy or whatever. Mastermind