I threw a rod in my 350 on Friday the 13th... anyone ever rebuild a 455?

Hello all,

Completely unbusiness related question here.

I recently had what sounded like a box of wrenches thrown inside my engine. It is a time worn, less kick of the pants than I'd like anyway 350.

I have a 455 I own sitting in some guy's backyard. Problem is then I want forged this and new that.

Anyone ever rebuild a 455? I'm looking to go non-stock, so what are the first few things you would change around? Here's the basic setup I'm looking at...

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0010_eng/

actually that's a setup that makes me drool. But I would like something of a buildup in that direction of power.

Only I'd rather spend less than $3000 for slightly lower numbers while they went with edelbrock heads, etc and topped out at $5,500 or so...

To start, I was thinking crank, pistons, and some head work. What else do I have to replace/change around in order to run it hard?

Application: street fun, occasional trips to the drag strip, groceries, scaring the neighbors.

To clarify... looking for a torque monster. 400+ lb-ft all over and 500+ at the peak. But nothing to go over 5,800-6,000 rpms.

Thanks,

Erik Lukas

P.S. I'm not going to rebuild the 350. I may be giving it to a friend with a Buick Regal who wants a little more than his 307, but it's not for me anymore. If I didn't go with the 455, I think I would get started on a 383, but a 455 is what I really want and I guess here's my chance to build it.

... the people who post to this coming right out of a Jeff Foxworthy routine.

(I can't help but wonder if that Buick Regal mentioned has non-stock "Cragar" Rims on it)

Sorry - I just couldn't resist.(hope you'll take this with a grain of salt).

-Anon

I remember this guy named 'Rooster' from another site. He is a retired mechanic. Here is his site:

http://www.rockerwisdom.com/

Good luck!

Just as a reply,

My boyfriend had a 455 he put into a '78 Trans Am. Big and LOUD! Can't remember how he did it. The car is gone now. But I'll bet Rooster can help you.

Debra

> Hello all,

> Completely unbusiness related question here.

> I recently had what sounded like a box of
> wrenches thrown inside my engine. It is a
> time worn, less kick of the pants than I'd
> like anyway 350.

> I have a 455 I own sitting in some guy's
> backyard. Problem is then I want forged this
> and new that.

> Anyone ever rebuild a 455? I'm looking to go
> non-stock, so what are the first few things
> you would change around? Here's the basic
> setup I'm looking at...

>
> http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0010_eng/
> actually that's a setup that makes me
> drool. But I would like something of a
> buildup in that direction of power.

> Only I'd rather spend less than $3000 for
> slightly lower numbers while they went with
> edelbrock heads, etc and topped out at
> $5,500 or so...

> To start, I was thinking crank, pistons, and
> some head work. What else do I have to
> replace/change around in order to run it
> hard?

> Application: street fun, occasional trips to
> the drag strip, groceries, scaring the
> neighbors.

> To clarify... looking for a torque monster.
> 400+ lb-ft all over and 500+ at the peak.
> But nothing to go over 5,800-6,000 rpms.

> Thanks,

> Erik Lukas

> P.S. I'm not going to rebuild the 350. I may
> be giving it to a friend with a Buick Regal
> who wants a little more than his 307, but
> it's not for me anymore. If I didn't go with
> the 455, I think I would get started on a
> 383, but a 455 is what I really want and I
> guess here's my chance to build it.

Hi Erik: You should remember the old adage:"How fast do you want to go?..O.K.How much money do you have?"...

That Car Craft article is very good and makes a very good point here:" Engine technology has come a long way since the '60s. The biggest advances have been in cylinder-head and camshaft design. That's where the power is, and if you're on a budget, that's where you should spend your hard-earned bucks."...I couldn't agree more with this...

I owned a 72 Buick 455 and the one thing that held it back from great performance in it's stock form was a very mild hydraulic cam and a poor flowing iron intake manifold (plus the Q-Jet sitting on the manifold)...If I were doing this I wouldn't worry too much about the lower end, (ie. crank and pistons) but would instead opt for the high dollar heads, a good intake manifold and carb plus a good high lift hydraulic cam along with a good roller timing chain...

If I were you I would use this article as a guide...For instance you can often come up with a cheaper piston that will do the job just as well as the high dollar forged ones...If I remember correctly you are in northern Indiana near Chicago...There are TONS of speed shops in that area!...Why not contact some of them and explain what you would like to do and how much money you want to spend?...I will bet you that you will get some surprisingly good ideas in this manner...

I don't know how much, (if any) of this rebuild you were planning to do yourself or just what your mechanical skills are...I do know this: If you hire some body to do this for you you can save some money by stripping the thing down to a bare block your self...An engine rebuild is labor intensive and the more you can do yourself the more you will save...(The first thing a rebuild shop will do is strip the thing to the bare block and then "hot tank" it to clean the block)...

Let me know what you plan to do and I will help you in any way I can...

Rooster
www.rockerwisdom.com

Hello all,

> Completely unbusiness related question here.

> I recently had what sounded like a box of
> wrenches thrown inside my engine. It is a
> time worn, less kick of the pants than I'd
> like anyway 350.

> I have a 455 I own sitting in some guy's
> backyard. Problem is then I want forged this
> and new that.

> Anyone ever rebuild a 455? I'm looking to go
> non-stock, so what are the first few things
> you would change around? Here's the basic
> setup I'm looking at...

>
> http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0010_eng/
> actually that's a setup that makes me
> drool. But I would like something of a
> buildup in that direction of power.

> Only I'd rather spend less than $3000 for
> slightly lower numbers while they went with
> edelbrock heads, etc and topped out at
> $5,500 or so...

> To start, I was thinking crank, pistons, and
> some head work. What else do I have to
> replace/change around in order to run it
> hard?

> Application: street fun, occasional trips to
> the drag strip, groceries, scaring the
> neighbors.

> To clarify... looking for a torque monster.
> 400+ lb-ft all over and 500+ at the peak.
> But nothing to go over 5,800-6,000 rpms.

> Thanks,

> Erik Lukas

> P.S. I'm not going to rebuild the 350. I may
> be giving it to a friend with a Buick Regal
> who wants a little more than his 307, but
> it's not for me anymore. If I didn't go with
> the 455, I think I would get started on a
> 383, but a 455 is what I really want and I
> guess here's my chance to build it.




"Don’t get ripped off!"...

> ... the people who post to this coming right
> out of a Jeff Foxworthy routine.

> (I can't help but wonder if that Buick Regal
> mentioned has non-stock "Cragar"
> Rims on it)

> Sorry - I just couldn't resist.(hope you'll
> take this with a grain of salt).

Haha, understandable. I wouldn't normally consider the Regal route unhumorous. Guess I'm just used to it. To clarify, I have one friend who has a Buick Regal, not more than one. And no mullets.

-Erik

> I remember this guy named 'Rooster' from
> another site. He is a retired mechanic. Here
> is his site:

> http://www.rockerwisdom.com/ Good luck!

Yes, I've heard of him :) Actually, I got my original thoughts of a 455 boat from a brief email discussion with him.

Thanks!

Erik

Loud!?!?!

Well, that's it, I'm out.

:)

-Erik

Is there something wrong with that? I don't remember everything he did with it, but when he cranked it up, the windows in the businesses up and down the street rattled and people came outside to see what the noise was. It made my ears ring.

I'm not a mechanic, so I just gave my impression of it.

Debra

> Loud!?!?!

> Well, that's it, I'm out.

> :)

> -Erik

> Is there something wrong with that? I don't
> remember everything he did with it, but when
> he cranked it up, the windows in the
> businesses up and down the street rattled
> and people came outside to see what the
> noise was. It made my ears ring.

No, no, Debra. I was just kidding. I like loud. Loud is good. And I'm sure that was how he wanted it to sound :)

Have a good one,

Erik