I got a best of 11.7 from a mild 455 with heads similar to those posted by Ron. It was running a UD 288/296 hyd cam, an L88 converter stalling around 2200, and 4.10 gears. TII intake, 850 DP, 1.5 roller rockers, advance all in at 2000.
It was 3750 going down the track then, I hadnt done much to lighten it at that point. 4.10 was too much gear, it ran out of rpm before 1000 ft. I ran it that way because 12.0 meant I didnt need a roll bar and related stuff for 11's. Shifted around 5800.
It picked up a solid .2 in the 1/8 by switching to 3.42, from 7.7 to 7.5 using only 2nd and 3rd. It was having shifter issues that night. Chucked a rod after 7 years of abuse with stock rods and ARP bolts. Dont over gear it, a 455 makes more than enough power to move the car off the line, after its moving the deeper gears are hurting you. Its not a small chevy. Another bud with an 80 Formula ran 2.56 gears with a 6X headed 455 and was getting 8.3 - 8.2 1/8 mile times, and his was heavier than mine.
I would lighten your 77 using as much of the tips Ron posted, including sanding to bare metal and shooting tractor enamel on it. 77-78 are the heaviest 2nd gens.
Build the 455 with tomahawk or cat rods, those 670s Ron posted, RPM intake if you dont mind a cowl or shaker hood, TII if another hood is out of the budget, XE284, 3k tight stall not a B&M shelf pos, and 3.08-3.55 gears with 27"-28" tires. Sounds mild but it will run pretty damn hard, and provided you have a posi already it will most likely have gears in that range as it sits.
Its tough to beat the price on those heads, if I had the cash right now they would be gone. I have $1400 in mine and they arent matched to the intake. That right there is a steal if you dont mind the antiquated 670 chamber, and I dont mind it.
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