430 questions

[Dr. Frankenbuick]

I would want a pump gas 430 more like this. It is for sale at $14,000.

[stubnosebrock]

I would want a pump gas 430 more like this. It is for sale at $14,000.

Wow I bet that runs!

[stubnosebrock]

Brandon

The 455 will certainly give you more displacement to work with and the TA Stage 2 SE heads IMO are the best heads to work with.

Tell us more about what you are thinking for the internals for this engine build.

Paul

Unfortunately the 455 was seized up. The guy failed to mention that to me. He wasnt too interested on coming down on the price, so needless to say it still sets there. Looks like I may be sticking with building the 430 after all. Im thinking about freshening the bottom end with a good set of forged pistons. Its mainly just going to be a street brawler with occasional track time.

[pmuller9]

Unfortunately the 455 was seized up. The guy failed to mention that to me. He wasnt too interested on coming down on the price, so needless to say it still sets there. Looks like I may be sticking with building the 430 after all. Im thinking about freshening the bottom end with a good set of forged pistons. Its mainly just going to be a street brawler with occasional track time.

The 430 in the previous post #7 is a 448. The reason is: there aren't any "off the shelf" forged pistons for the 430 so you have to buy custom pistons.
Since the pistons are custom you have the choice of paying $295 to have your factory rods reconditioned or pay around $400 for Eagle forged H beam steel rod for BBC. The Eagle rod (CRS68003D) is 6.8 inches long. The pistons are made for the BBC .990 piston pin and the compression height is so you don't have to deck the block very much to get zero deck height for good quench. This saves on machining cost on the block which offsets part of the cost of the rods.
The pistons are spherical dish which is the best overall design.

Where the extra displacement comes in is: The BBC rod journal is 2.20 versus the BBB 2.25 so you offset grind the crank rod journal and pick up .050 in stroke.
430s have thick cylinder walls compared to 455s and if you sonic check your block for core shift and the walls thickness is even,
then the block can be bored to 4.25 so the piston can use the BBC ring set with modern 1/16 rings instead of the BBB thick rings.
You end up with 4.25 bore and 3.95 stroke and a bottom end that will easily handle 500 hp or 6500 rpm.
Factory rod are marginal past 500 hp.

Add the Stage 2 heads and you can have a killer combination.

Paul

[stubnosebrock]

Paul, thanks for the insight, It sure sounds like you have messed with a few Buicks! I think Im going to seriously look into some aftermarket parts to help hold me over for the time being. This engine seems very sound, and if it checks out good after a compression test, it like to get a bit more power out of it without rebuild for now. Im thinking along the lines of a good intake, long tube headers, good ignition, electric fan, and possibly a good cam. Any thoughts on any of this stuff?

[pmuller9]

Paul, thanks for the insight, It sure sounds like you have messed with a few Buicks! I think Im going to seriously look into some aftermarket parts to help hold me over for the time being. This engine seems very sound, and if it checks out good after a compression test, it like to get a bit more power out of it without rebuild for now. Im thinking along the lines of a good intake, long tube headers, good ignition, electric fan, and possibly a good cam. Any thoughts on any of this stuff?

Brandon

You can start with the MSD 8552 distributor. It is a ready to run unit that only requires an ignition coil to finish the system.
It also has a built in rev limiter if you are using a tach.

If you are looking for good low end and midrange then use the Edelbrock B4B intake manifold.
If you will be more interested in good midrange and upper end horsepower then use the TA SP1 manifold.

The dual plane Edelbrock helps the torque between the 2000 and 3000 rpm range.
The single plane SP1 will help above 5000 rpm if you are trying to make a lot of horsepower.

As you already know the Stage 1 headers will not fit the Stage 2 heads so if you plan to use the Stage 2 heads then you will have to wait.
Same with the cam.
The cam specs will depend on the head flow and choice of intake manifold versus what you want for idle quality, fuel mileage, power band and so on.

The 448 was built for Ed by Jim Weise at TSP by my recommendation.
I work out of Valley Machine Shop in the Spokane Valley.
We are finishing up a re-creation that we started in Jan 2011 and we have a couple of restorations lined up that will keep us busy for a while longer.

Paul

[stubnosebrock]

Paul thanks again. I just bought a book on high performance Buicks, and maybe I can learn a few things. Since my car will mainly be street driven, and very little, if ever any track time, and most likely wont be turning alot of RPM's, my gut tells me to stick with a dual plane manifold. The ignition upgrade you mentioned is spot on to what I was thinking. The more time that goes by, and the fact that im not looking to make real big power(would be happy at around 450 horse), im thinking that maybe stage 1, or even my stockers cleaned up with stage 1 valves will get me there. So im leaning towards the stock style header. My engine is a 67 430, and from what I see has the better exhaust manifolds on it, but still has that heat riser in the left side. Id really like to not have that. I guess once i get all this figured out, than I can talk to somebody about cams. Thanks again. Brandon

[pmuller9]

Paul thanks again. I just bought a book on high performance Buicks, and maybe I can learn a few things. Since my car will mainly be street driven, and very little, if ever any track time, and most likely wont be turning alot of RPM's, my gut tells me to stick with a dual plane manifold. The ignition upgrade you mentioned is spot on to what I was thinking. The more time that goes by, and the fact that im not looking to make real big power(would be happy at around 450 horse), im thinking that maybe stage 1, or even my stockers cleaned up with stage 1 valves will get me there. So im leaning towards the stock style header. My engine is a 67 430, and from what I see has the better exhaust manifolds on it, but still has that heat riser in the left side. Id really like to not have that. I guess once i get all this figured out, than I can talk to somebody about cams. Thanks again. Brandon

OK, let's try plan B

Stay with your stock heads and bring then to Greg Gessler
Let him do the Stage 1 conversion and some port work and chamber cleanup
He is only 120 miles from you in Blairstown, New Jersey and he is one of the best when it comes to Buick heads.
Use the Edlebrock B4B intake manifold with a good quadrajet carburetor.

Tube headers make is a lot easier to make power.

The better you can make the stock heads flow and the better the scavenging from the exhaust system,
the less duration the cam needs to have in order to make a certain power level.

The less duration the cam has, the better the engine's street manners are.

Paul

[stubnosebrock]

Paul, sounds like a good plan here. I guess the B4B and a set of headers would be good bolt ons to start with, and will support my future endeavors. Thanks again for all the help