Thread: wanted 455

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ok I give up, nobody has a 428. So how about a 455 73 or older. Any other suggestion welcomed as long as there constructive.

email me at transam@lucent.com or chasedome@msn.com
Thanks Bob

Well Bob, once again, you are restricting your search for no reason. Pontiac built 455's up through '76 and those motors will be no different then a '73 other then head and carb selection.
Try talking to a local auto parts store. They may have a lead for you. If there is a speed shop in your area they would be a good source for info also.
Wrecking yards, etc. Don't limit your search to Firebirds either. The big motors came in Bonnie's and wagons also with virtually no difference from the bird engines.
Mark

I thought the difference was more nickle in the block. Just want a nice street motor, not a racer. But something with 400hp, running on regular, with low end torque.And Pontiac power. I thought that there would be more people out there. Trying to stay away from ebay, but have seen some there, would like to buy something in the new england area.

Thanks

Mark is right. There were a zillion big old Pontiacs made with the 455's, you should be able to turn one of these from some boneyard or used car lot. Don't worry about that nickel thing, you aren't building a high reving fuel motor. These big blocks are tough to kill in any form.

Just start calling junkyards in your area and surrounding areas. Every town has that one junkyard that caters to older cars where you can pull the parts off yourself, or at least walk the lot. That is where you will find one of these.

I saw a '73 Olds 98 sitting behind a chain link fence at a concrete plant. Stopped in the office and found out a guy who worked there owned it. He called me, bought it for $ 100.00, 455 and all. He was in some trouble with the law, and met me in an autozone parking lot on his motorcycle. Had his backpack on the back and was headed for parts unknown immediately after we swapped money for the title.

Keep looking and asking people, someone has one they want to part with.

Don

400 horse from a 455 is easy... All Pontiac motors are the same basic block configuration from the 301, 326, 350, 389, 400, 421, 428 & 455. Internals are different from size to size and year to year but a little judicious research will give you some insight.
Here is some info... There is a ton of this stuff on the internet. Do some searches...
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...ine/index.html
http://www.yearone.com/updatedsingle...ontengid1.html
http://www.krepower.com/
Mark

ok, THANKS GOOD ADVICE . How about cranks, and heads are some better than others. Just trying to find out what to look for so I don't buy something I can't use. What I've been reading kind of goes along with what you wrote.I think I read if you use flat top pistons, 72 head's (better breathing heads?) a good cam, headers, 800cfm carb, intake (limited with shaker hood) I should be in the ball park and somewhere around 9 to 1 ratio which should be fine for regular. Does this sound right or should I do something else? Any common problems with these motors I should be looking for? Sorry for all the questions, but need some education on pontiacs.

Sounds like a solid plan. IF you want to spend some money, a set of Edelbrock heads would be the best investment you could make. Instead of throwing money at a set of old iron heads buy a set of these. Take off about a 100lbs with these and an RPM intake and you'll be good to go. You won't have to worry about upgrading heads again.
Here is a link to Rock n Roll Engineering. Lots of info, good reading and Bruce will work with you on setting up your block for a long life. He has some good advice for clearances and building these motors to live on the street.
http://www.pontiacpower.com/
Mark

found a 455 out of a 73 grandville with 400 turbo for 200 dollars, but it's 600 miles away. He said it still has points would that be right for that year? Any easy way to have something like that shipped? He say's it had 79000 miles on it.

I ship back used motors all the time, and it is a little problematic. All of the oil has to be drained, as well as gas. The engine has to be on a pallet and secured against shifting. The engine has to be covered with at least shrink wrap, and it has to go to a location that has a forklift, not residential.

The problem is getting the guy to go through all of that for $ 200.00. I wouldn't do it. I think you should do the math before you take that 600 mile drive, the gas and lodging for a night may put this engine in the expensive column.

Don

Called 8 junkyards in my area, no pontiac 455, and if they did they only last a day. You think it's only a couple of hundred to ge it shipped? Is the 73 better than a newer 455?

Any motor built after 1971 will be a smog-laden, low compression turd, but it should have hard valve seats. If you choose the right pistons and pay attention to the deck height, you should be able to achieve your 400 hp goal. I'll try to help you choose some parts if I get a chance.

Pontiac 455. 4.150" bore x 4.210" stroke. Crank centerline to deck 10.250". Rod length 6.630". KB hyper #KB222 piston compression height 1.500", 6 cc's of valve eyebrow. With a stock deck block, the piston would be down in the bore 0.015" at TDC. With KB222, static compression ratio would be 8.5 with a 111 cc chamber, 9.5 with a 96 cc chamber and 10.3 with a 87 cc chamber. Buy yourself a burrette and check the heads yourself. Here's a paper I wrote to help you...........
http://www.streetmachinesoftablerock...opic.php?t=124