Trying to piece together an engine can be a sobering experience, especially when you're on a shoestring budget. We wanted to build a new powerplant for our project Elco (which we still don't have a name for), and since we're trying to keep this hay hauler on a cheeseburger allowance, that meant we needed to stay focused and to spend our green only where it made sense for us.
Our initial thoughts went straight toward a small-block; however, after a little investigating we learned we could get into a 454 big-block for a few extra bucks. The bulk of the budget was split nearly in half between the bottom end and the cylinder heads. We started off with a Larry's Track Pro two-bolt main short-block that included stock GM shot-peened rods, Seal-Pro Speed-Pro domed pistons, and a stock cast crank. Up top is where we spent a little more for a quality set of RHS 320cc cylinder heads, and between the cubic inches and free-flowing top end, there was no doubt this baby was going to make some serious power. And given that this is our Nitrous issue, there was no way we wouldn't give this rat a hit of the gas.
When it came down to D-day, we used 91-octane for all the pulls-even our nitrous hit. So what kind of numbers does a stock-style, flat-tappet big-block produce? This budgeted bad boy churned out 553 hp and 518 lb-ft with 38 degrees of total timing. And on the nitrous...well, you better keep reading, 'cause it turned out to be a nice surprise.
 | 
We kicked things off with a freshly bored, honed, and align-honed Gen IV big-block from Larry's Track Pro Products. To keep things on a budget, we threw in a fresh set of King silicon main bearings and utilized a factory crankshaft ground to 0.010/0.010. Once the bearings were saddled, we used conventional oil to coat the surfaces and torqued the main caps to 100 ft-lb. | 
Because our aluminum heads have a large 119cc combustion chamber, we had to utilize a domed piston to bump the compression up to 10:1. These pistons have a 0.340-inch dome with two valve reliefs and coated skirts for durability. |
'Stick of choice was a Comp Cams flat-tappet with 236/242 degrees of duration and 0.568/0.578 inch lift at 0.050. Prior to installing the cam into the block, we coated the lobes and cam journals liberally with prelube. | 
Next, we installed our timing gear and chain, making sure to line up the timing marks between the timing gear for the cam and the lower gear on the crank nose. We locked in the cam to the gear with the cam plate and folded over the tabs on top of the bolts. The timing-chain cover from Pace Performance ($30) was next. We set our Fel-Pro gasket in place, laid some sealant down, and locked the cover with ARP timing cover bolts, no torquing required. | 
Once the pistons were hung onto the rods, we coated the inner walls of the cylinders with a thin layer of oil to help prevent galling the rings on the cylinder walls when installing the pistons. We then used a ring compressor to slide in the slugs, torquing to 45 ft-lb. |