DURANGOKID59

Okay guys, long story short, something in the lower end of my 454 mag let loose, and the mechanic is thinking probably a big mess down there based on the metal in the pan, and on the distributor shaft. So, it just so happens my neighbor has a 454 out of a truck sitting in his garage that he wants to get rid of cheap. Will the lower end- block, crank, pistons, cam, yadda yadda, work in my boat? Im thinking that going this route will be much cheaper than doing a rebuild, or getting a short block. I just had the cylinder heads of my 454 mag redone less than 10 hours ago, so the top end should be fine. Is there anything I would need to change to make this swap? Thanks.

Pat McPherson

A truck engine is a lot more like the low output 330HP than a 454Mag.
You will need to change the flat top pistons to get the compression up and change the cam to have more lift and duration.

DURANGOKID59

Thamks for the response. Thats what I was wondering about was the pistons. The ones in the truck would most likely be flat, where the 454 has domed pistons if I remember correctly. So I would need to change out the pistons and cam, but the rest should work then?

Wobble

You will need brass freeze plugs and a supercharger

awesomecat26

ran a complete vortec 454 out of a truck with the addition of zz 502 cam and a carbureated intake for a whole year and beat the snot out of it , still runs fine

stevesxm

wouldn't count on top end being " fine" . if it was a rod/bearing issue, you could very well have some valve/ head damage in that cylinder.

DURANGOKID59

You are correct, but at this point everything appears okay at this point, but havnt torn it down yet.

DURANGOKID59

So, it sounds like what you guys are leading to is that it will work, and it should all bolt up just fine? The things I may need to change are the pistons, and cam, but everything else will work just fine?

Pat McPherson

One other thing is that you do not want to do is mix the heads from a Gen V or VI (1990 and newer) with a Gen IV (1989 and older) block. Or the other way either, Gen V block with Gen IV heads. There will be leaks at the water passages...

DURANGOKID59

Thanks, thats a big help as Im not sure what year the engine is out of the truck yet. Ill have to see if I can get some stamping numbers and see what I can come up with. Do you know off hand if say the truck engine is a 90 or newer, it will be the same as my 92 engine?