silent warrior

Will a Chevy big block fit into a C4 corvette if so where can I find
information on this swap?

They were calling it a ZR2, named after the ZR1, of course.

http://www.50yearsofcorvette.com/preview.php?storyid=47

The article says it will run you $5K to $6K.

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ricseyler

Neat! But that sounds awful dang conservative on the parts price don't
it....
I'd dump the heavy ass marine MarkIV and go with a 502/502 :-)


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vetluver

There is an outfit in Mena Arkansas that specializes in Big Block swaps for
C4s. I considered it a few years ago and thought I might do it when my L98
gave up. 80K miles later the motor still runs perfect and I loss interest. I
think they have the parts needed to do it with least amount trouble. Here's
the link: http://www.hotrodlane.cc/

Hope this helps
Rob

silent warrior

Sounds like the C4 swap is more hassle than its worth What year corvette
would be an easier swap to big block?

vetluver

C2s and C3s came with big blocks and I believe are fairly straight forward
to make the swap. I would however recommend finding a used BB C3 and start
restoring. This would definitly be cheaper than altering a small block car.
Rob

tom in missouri

Like vetluver said, the '65 through '74 had big blocks as optional engines.
Converting from a small block to a big block wasn't that hard because all
the pieces were available, and not all were necessary for a backyard swap.
'63 and '64 had frame clearance problems but a '75 to '82 should work like
the earlier ones.

Check http://vettenet.org/ and try to find the archives. Years ago (1995?)
this was discussed in detail, with one person listing almost every part you
needed to change from SBC to BBC.

The problem with the C4 is that the engineers designed around the size of a
SBC. So your first big problem is hood clearance. The factory prototype BBC
installation around '86 or '87 had to increase the height of the hood bulge
considerably. It was in several Corvette magazines of the time as everyone
was hoping for a BBC Corvette. Unfortunately, most were thinking
free-flowing horsepower-making Rat from the '60s as opposed to the
choked-to-death just-large-rotating-mass big block of the '80s. The torque
would have been exciting, but only getting 300 hp out of it would have been
a real drag to have to haul that weight and throw the balance off so far to
get a minimal horsepower increase.

That is why you see so many 383 and 406 conversions - you get nearly BBC
displacement, torque, and horsepower with SBC physical size.

Also note I said "nearly". A good running Rat will tear your head off and
fire the car down the road like it was shot out of a cannon! There is
absolutely no small block that feels the same, and I've been in a lot of
them. You need the late '60s heads to get the power. The '80s heads are
boat anchors.

However, the trade-offs to get that are often not worth it.

Basically what you have to deal with on a C4:
1. Hood clearance
2. Exhaust - custom exhaust needed
3. Engine management - Computers have to be completely reprogrammed
4. Fuel delivery - where do you find a BBC TPI? how do you match a TBI to a
Vette? Toss it all and go to a carb?
5. Length and width - BBC is about 3 inches longer and 2 inches wider
6. Weight - BBC is about 200 lbs heavier than SBC
7. Transmission - Stock 700R4 and stock 4+3 OD will not live behind one.
8. Dana 36 rear needs to be replaced with the Dana 44.
9. Heat - not sure if the stock radiator will keep up

Finally, why bother if you can buy someone else's? Keep an eye on eBay as
there have been a few show up.

ricseyler

Weight would be a big thing is a complete iron setup was used..

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