Every Car Powered By The Chevrolet 454 Big Block Engine

Few vehicle phrases roll off the tongue as beautifully as 'Chevy 454 big block.' This selection of words can and has put a smile on many a car enthusiast's face for decades, owing to how good the 454 is. Chevrolet has been around for a while, 113 years, to be exact, and in that time, it has debuted vehicles and vehicle parts that have more than shaken the automobile industry in the right way. From a few motors considered among the most iconic big block engines ever built, like the Vortec 8.1, to some of the most successful Chevys in the automaker's history, Chevrolet has always had a way of making products that stick. This is where the 454 comes in, an engine that, while no longer in production, was so good that the company fitted it in 14 vehicles.

Chevrolet introduced the 454 in 1970, presenting a piece of machinery that would win many hearts across the globe and rocketing the Camaro, Corvette, and Chevelle to several race wins. However, that doesn't mean that these were the only cars to receive the venerated engine. Let's examine the 454's engine specifics and which cars came with it fresh off the factory line.  

Chevrolet's big block engine family saw its infancy in 1958. This particular engine was a 348-cubic-inch, eight-cylinder beast with variants that could produce north of 250 horsepower. As the years passed, Chevy added more members to this family, like the 396 and 427. As the company entered the '70s, Chevy debuted the 454 with the C3 Corvette, among other full- and mid-sized vehicles. Thus, the Chevy 454 big block, an engine that would reign for years, was born. 

The original 454 was a 7.4-liter, 454-cubic-inch V8 engine that produced 450 horsepower and up to 500 pound-feet of torque. It was a gem during the golden age of American muscle cars, with its bore and stroke measuring 4.25 inches and 4 inches, respectively. Its block and heads were made out of cast iron (later models would use aluminum instead). While later variants of the engines would exist down the line, this particular one premiered in the 1970 C3 Corvette. 

The first batch of vehicles with the Chevy 454 big block engine, including the C3 Corvette, was produced between 1970 and 1976. Chevrolet released the C3 toward the end of February 1970, incorporating a few new design choices, like squared-off parking lights, that set it apart from its predecessors. However, one of its main crowning features was the 454, which made the car turn heads on and off the track. Alongside the C3, Chevrolet released the 454 with the Caprice, a vehicle that stands among the most underappreciated Chevrolet muscle cars of its time. With the 454, the Caprice could produce up to 390 horsepower, making it a fast car for the seventies. 

The Monte Carlo, another entry that should have been appreciated more, had a 454 engine option. Its 1972 variant (also 454-powered) could clear zero to sixty in only 6.8 seconds. Alongside it were the Chevelle and El Camino, notable entries featuring the 454 big block engine. The Chevelle recorded 360 horsepower at 4,400 revolutions per minute, while the El Camino could cross the zero-to-60 mark in 7.6 seconds. The last of the 1970 to 1976 batch is the GMC Sprint, which debuted in 1971 (the other cars came out in 1970). The Sprint had several engine options, including the venerated 454. Alongside the other vehicles, it would open the floodgates to what wound up being one of the best engine runs in automobile history. 

The next batch of vehicles fitted with a Chevy 454 big block engine was released between 1985 and 1993. The first of these was the Chevrolet C/K truck, which debuted in 1985. The Chevrolet R2500 and V3500 followed in 1987, each having options for the 454 engine. In 1989, General Motors released the Chevrolet/GMC 3500 van with a 454, and a year later, the Chevy 454 SS truck debuted with a 454 as well. It had a net horsepower of 230 and marks the last of the second batch. 

Chevrolet released its last batch of vehicles with the 454 big block engine between 1996 and 2001. These included the 1996-2000 Chevrolet C/K and GMC Sierra 2500, 3500, and C3500 HD, the 1996-1999 Suburban 2500, the 1996-2000 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana 3500, and finally, the 1998-2000 Chevy Kodiak and GMC TopKick. 

The Chevy 454 engine is one of the most iconic engines ever made. Since its infancy in the '70s, it has undergone several revisions, with a number of variants like the fifth-generation 454 big block and Gen VI Vortec 7400 truck engines, rated at 230 and 290 horsepower, respectively, cropping up in later years. Although the engine is no longer in production, Chevrolet sells several 454 crate engines at varying prices.