[Chevelle-List] Big block building questions?

[NoNeck]

Hey gang. I pulled my 454 today as it was making bad noises. I've never had a motor apart before, but it seems to me that the rod bearings on #6 $ #7 are pretty worn. I have a ton of questions as I am preparing for the rebuild. First it is a 2 bolt cast crank motor. I plan on putting a forged crank in it. I do not think I am going to need any machine work on the block. Maybe an overbore or hone. I think I found a used GM 454 forged steel crank. The guy wants $300. Is this a fair price assuming it checks out ok? I am hoping to use my rods and buying new pistons. (It's a 73 Suburban truck motor. 8 1/2:1 compression.) I want to bump up to 10 1/:1 CR. Should I buy forged pistons or hypereuctectic?  I also plan on having the heads ported and gone over. The roller rockers, and springs have less than 50 miles on the and were installed with the Comp 280H cam and match the cam per mfg. specs. I am shooting for around 550 HP. Do i need to spend tons of cash on new rods or will mine be ok asuming they are undamaged? I also plan to put all new bearings in the motor and use ARP main, rod and head bolts. Thanks for any insight. This is my first motor build. (It will be supervised by an accomplished pro mechainc.) I want to get the most performance for my money. I don't want to spend cash on stuff that will have no benefit to me for a street cruiser, but by the same token, I don't want to do this again and would like to be able to occasionally take the car to the track and not be afriad to whoop on it! I was also plannig to have the rotating assembly balanced. I'm running Hooker Comp headers, a Performer RPM intake and a Holley 750 DP. (It's a 4 speed with fresh 12 bolt posi with 4:10's. Thanks again! Josh Gin (NoNeck) Visit my Chevelle website www.NoNecksChevelle.com