are Big Blocks still available?

flargin

flargin

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I have noticed that you see a lot of SBC's available, but BBC 454/502 etc, had very limited availability. Are they moving away from the BBC?
 
H

HT32BSX115

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

Well,

You can still buy 454/502 long blocks but I think Merc and VP only offer the 8.1 (496) new nowadays...
 
flargin

flargin

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

TilliamWe said:
Yes. And the 8.1 (496) currently used in the marine world will go out of production after 2010, unless something changes.
Click to expand...

What will they go with then? are the Small blocks producing enough power that they don't need the extra weight of the Rat motors?
 
FreeBeeTony

FreeBeeTony

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

I have an '03 GMC Denali with the 6.0L engine............would think this might be a great engine to marinize!!! Wonder if any thought has been given here by GM/Mercruiser.....
 
45Auto

45Auto

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

Are they moving away from the BBC?
Click to expand...

I think the over $20,000 cost differential probably tends to move most people away from the big block. As you can see from this Crownline MSRP, you can get a 350 for around $60K, or you can have the high output big block for over $80K (that is, if you could still get one) .....

The 375 HP bigblock is still over $10K more.

cl.gif


Website is http://www.crownline.com/models/msrp09.php?model=23_SS
 
J

jkust

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

I saw on the Mercruiser site that they are offering or will offer a supercharged marine engine now. Having an SC in my car, I would bet the performance will be noticable. I get big v8 performance with a medium sized
v6. I wonder how that translates into the marine environment.
 
H

haulnazz15

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

jkust said:
I saw on the Mercruiser site that they are offering or will offer a supercharged marine engine now. Having an SC in my car, I would bet the performance will be noticable. I get big v8 performance with a medium sized
v6. I wonder how that translates into the marine environment.
Click to expand...

They've had SC'd engines for a long time, but they were marketed under Mercury Racing. The newest is something like a 1015HP SC'd with the newer Six drives.
 
J

jkust

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

Ok good to know. After I posted I tried to doublecheck on the Mercruiser site to be sure I didn't dream it and I couldn't find an SC engine. I must have stumbled on the racing site and thought I discovered something new. I only recall the words new in the engine description.
 
T

TilliamWe

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

The 6.0 LS engine is indeed already sold by GM to a few marinizers, just not Mercruiser or Volvo Penta, yet. If you go to gmpowertrain.com, you can look up all the engines GM currently offers in marine form.

The simple answer to what will replace the "big blocks" is "the small blocks".
 
flargin

flargin

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

TilliamWe said:
The simple answer to what will replace the "big blocks" is "the small blocks".
Click to expand...

I was getting that feeling. You have to be putting a lot of HP through a SB to make it equivalent, but I guess that is and will be the way of the future.

As said above, the Super Chargers will likely become more common.
 
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mylesm260

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Don S

Don S

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

With what is happening at GM, who knows if we will have SB's or BB's for the marine industry in the future. :eek:
 
JustJason

JustJason

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

I think in the future we may see Mercota's or Merconda's... Maybe even some Mercarus. :)
 
Bondo

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

With what is happening at GM, who knows if we will have SB's or BB's for the marine industry in the future.
Click to expand...

Ayuh,...

Even if that were to Happen,...
I doubt they'd miss more than a week or so changing the Signage on the foundries to something other than GM....

I just read somewhere of 150,000 SBCs a year, not sure if that was total, or just Merc's share,...
But either way, with a 150,000 unit market available,... Somebody will be building Motors...
 
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rodbolt

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

hechen en mexico baby
hechen en mexico.
almost every SBC non high performance motor from crusader,marine power,PCM,Volvo and merc has it cast into the block, crank and heads.
only ones I havent seen it cast on is the 325-330 HP versions of the 5.7 and the 6.2L sbc's.
seems merc builds them for GM in stillwater OK.
the 7.4 went out of production about 2005 or so and the 8.2 not long after.
jury is out on when the 8.1L motor goes away but GM has been making noises about ceasing production of all cast iron gas V motors in the near future.
time will tell.
I just ordered a pair of Volvo 8.1 motors and a pair of crusader 8.1's. will be interesting to see whats cast on the blocks.
in the meantime buy american but remember mexico is still in north america.
 
Don S

Don S

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Re: are Big Blocks still available?

What an instructor at a Volvo tech school shared with us about 7 years ago was that GM would gear up the engine assembly line and produce all 5.7 MARINE engine orders for every manufacturer in one day. Probably another day for 4.3's, another for 8.1's and probably a long day for the 3.0L, and yes, I think it was something like 150,000.
 
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