455 motor rebuild and turbo 400 trans

[Timmy-Boy]

I have 1972 skylark that i bought about 7 or 8 months ago, It came with the original motor and trans (350 2bbl). It has under 80,000 original miles. I've been wanting to put a 455 in there for a while. I went to a local pick n pull to snag a couple electrical parts off of a 1971 riviera. I remember the car having the 455 motor and trans, but i figured It would be long gone by now. But just in case i gave them a call this past Friday It so happened they still had It so I got up bright and early the next day and went and pulled the motor and trans myself. It was only missing the carburetor, distributor, fan, and a few other small parts. They told me when they first got the car it ran good. I got away with a smoking deal on the motor and transmission. I payed $355 for everything you see in the picture where the motor and trans is sitting on the trailer. After going out and buying a shop crane i was able to get it all in my garage and start ripping it apart. It was clear that some water from rain had gotten into the intake but i plan on having the heads and intake ported. Once i got the heads and intake off I was able to get a better look at everything. The lifters appeared to be in great shape, however the push-rods and valves didn't look very good. I haven't got the cam pulled out yet but that looks pretty good too. The rocker arms are in good shape just need a good cleaning. Shocking to me the cylinder walls all looked to be in really good shape. I feel i can get away without boring It. The pistons didn't look to bad but I'm gonna throw some new ones in anyways. After pulling off the oil pan though i found a good amount of metal shaving in the bottom. Nothing appeared to be damaged by the shavings but Ill found out for sure later. I'm pretty sure the shavings came from the opening in the intake valley just above the camshaft. The timing chain was also sloppy. I'm obviously planning on rebuilding this motor and my reason for writing this thread Is to find out what you experienced Buick guys would recommend me doing with It. I live in AZ so I'm very close to TA performance. I plan on having them do oiling modifications on the block and doing all the porting for me. I want to have this motor pushing right about 400hp. A nice thumpy idle but still nice to cruise on the highway with. To achieve this I'm going to have to raise the compression obviously. How would you guys recommend doing this? I want to reuse as many parts as possible. But I'm not gonna make acceptions for things that clearly need to be replaced. I am only 17 so I'm not trying to go crazy with spending I have a job and I'm funding this project myself. Feel free to throw out your opinions.

Thanks guys
Tim

[bobc455]

Why replace the pistons?

It seems like you have a few routes to go:
1) Go through everything, clean it up, and put it back together with all of the same parts (or maybe replace a few minor wear items like bearings and rings)
2) Just bite the bullet and do a complete rebuild - rebuild the heads, bore the cylinders +0.030, grind the crank 0.010/0.010, etc.
3) Run it "as is", until you hear a rod knock or something.

I think it would be smart to measure the cylinders with a micrometer before deciding whether the cylinders "look good". Wouldn't surprise me if there is some taper / ovality. I'm also skeptical when water gets in the engine.

With a motor that old, I would do a complete rebuild - to me, that's the best way to ensure you have a reliable, enjoyable motor for years to come without it becoming a hassle. On the other hand, running it "as-is" is the cheapest & easiest route, just being aware that you'll probably have to rebuild it at some future date (and this way you don't disturb the seals & gaskets that are currently in place).

Of course the ultimate decision is yours, depending on your knowledge & confidence with the parts that you have.

Sounds like a great project!

-Bob C.

[carmantx]

Your goal of 400 hp is easy, but what is your budget?
I agree with above, either bolt it back together and run it till it quits, or rebuild it right.
go with aluminum heads instead of spending dollars on rebuilding and porting iron heads.

[Timmy-Boy]

Thanks for the input guys. I plan on rebuilding It right. There is no way I was gonna try and
throw It in my car as It was. I've got the whole motor torn down to the bare block.
I'm probably going to have It bored 0.30 over and put some forged pistons in their. The crank
will defiantly need to be ground down some. I would love to put aluminum heads on their but that's
out of my price range right now. In order to achieve my 400hp I was thinking of doing forged pistons,
0.30 over bore, a comp cams cam and lifter kit, Rebuilding and porting the heads, porting the intake,
a Holley 850 double pumper, headers and a 3 inch dual exhaust. You guys have any other ideas or
disagreements with this set up?

Thanks
Tim

[bobc455]

A couple of things here...

1) How are you going to port the heads? It is easily possible for porting, when done incorrectly (even by people experienced in porting other brands of heads), to reduce flow. Do you have a flow bench, or do you have a lot of porting experience? Or will you have this done by someone experienced?

2) If you aren't going to drive the car on the street much, and don't mind a slightly "racey" motor, consider the TA 413 cam. TA has a cam for every need, and they will even custom-grind you a cam for no extra cost if you want something else. They know their Buick cams!

3) When designing a motor, instead of thinking about 400HP, think about torque! Buick motors make great torque, and designing a motor to have a broad torque curve will make it very enjoyable to drive.

-Bob C.

[texasekberg]

I would do this to get you where you want:
- rebuild the motor and heads, and make sure to balance the rotating assy.
- put a set of hypereutectic pistons for a -70 which will give you 10,25:1 comp with the -71 heads. (they are alittle more heavy then the forged).
- find yourself a Edelbrock RPM or B4B alu. intake and a -71 800cfm quadrajet carb. (rebuilt).
- use TA performance ta112 hydraulic flat tappet and put it in 3 degree retarded.
- spend the extra money on a TA front cover with oilpump assembly set up from TA.
this 400hp combo will run for ever and will tuck nicely under the hood of most cars.
Br Anton

[Timmy-Boy]

A couple of things here...

1) How are you going to port the heads? It is easily possible for porting, when done incorrectly (even by people experienced in porting other brands of heads), to reduce flow. Do you have a flow bench, or do you have a lot of porting experience? Or will you have this done by someone experienced?

2) If you aren't going to drive the car on the street much, and don't mind a slightly "racey" motor, consider the TA 413 cam. TA has a cam for every need, and they will even custom-grind you a cam for no extra cost if you want something else. They know their Buick cams!

3) When designing a motor, instead of thinking about 400HP, think about torque! Buick motors make great torque, and designing a motor to have a broad torque curve will make it very enjoyable to drive.

-Bob C.

1. I will have the heads and intake ported by TA peformance.

2. I plan on having using the car as a weekend pleasure car. Maybe a trip to the strip once in a while. So if that cam would be good for my usage then ill consider it for sure.

3. I wasnt really worried about torque since the BBB are like tractors when it comes to torque. If i raise the compression to say 9.1 or so wouldnt that raise the torque quite a bit?