good start for a 454 build?
 

A buddy of mine has some motor parts he wants to move from a truck project he never completed. sounds like a decent deal but not sure if its right for a boat motor. would love for some experienced opinions.

heres what hes wanting to sell me for $800...

.060 over 454 block 2 bolt mains
stock cast crank fresh from the machine shop
canton oil pan, high volume pump, and double roller timing chain
781 oval port heads cleaned up with valve job, bigger valves and new roller springs and some chrome valve covers

i add rods, some pump gas friendly pistons and a marine spec cam and valvetrain of course. could swap everything over from my stock 454/330 right?

only concern is the cast crank and 2 bolt mains should i avoid them in a boat motor? any idea what i could make reliably on pump gas 93

Cast crank will be fine up to 500 hp if things are balanced right, 2 bolts also not that big a deal for lower hp, but 4 bolt would be better..again, a lot depends on harmonics..

A must in any boat motor approaching 375hp and more...... INCONEL valves, don't cheat there, you will pay a price for that.. trust me..

Your 2 bolt block will be fine. If you want some piece of mind, you can swap out the main bolts for ARP studs, have it align bored and balance the rotating assy, and you will be good to go.. Plenty of hot rods running around out there with 2 bolt mains. They just keep it a secret.. LOL

What would you gain from what you have, use the $800 to bore, hone and add 4 bolt caps to yours.

from what he says the heads that hes including are a pretty decent said of heads already with springs and a valve job. then the oil pan, double roller chain, pump and vc's. crank is already machined and block is already bored. seems that would all save me some money there while also getting decent heads. I have a 1989 454/330 i think it had peanut port heads that are junk.

and this way i would be able to slowly build a new motor while still enjoying boating.

you could also put the 781's and an alum oval intake along with a cam upgrade on the 330 while shopping for rods, forged pistons, and trade the cast crank for steel. since the 330 bottom end is essentially the twin of what your bud is selling you. oversize valves in the 781's. the peanut valves will not fit.

The last 1989 454 330 I sold in a boat was a 4 bolt block and forged crank according to the new owner. you may want to check what you have and go from there.