455 engine in 1965 c10

[65truckowner]

Has anyone does this swap? Thought it might be fun to do. I am going to build a patina 65 and was thinking about a 455 olds or buick

[350TacoZilla]

Seen a few done but never did one myself. Unless you already have the parts laying around or deep pockets I don't know if I would really suggest it. It's not that they are bad or anything but a 427-454 will be cheaper to make more power and easier to get parts for almost anywhere.

[RustyPile]

Parts to rebuild either of those engines are expensive. Performance parts are more readily available for the Olds engine.. Back in the day, I've built a few Buick engines (they're available in an assortment of displacements) for traditional hot rods.. If you're a good welder and fabricator, build a log type intake manifold and put a half dozen small 2 bbl carbs on it.. Nothing is cooler than that setup with all the motion created by the throttle linkage..

[jayoldschool]

If not Chevy, Cad 500/472 would be my choice.

[65truckowner]

Did not think about the caddy

[crazyjeenyus]

I love the idea of running an alternate GM (car) company engine in a truck, especially if the truck is a GMC.

Its true that BBC performance parts are more readily available and therefore less expensive, but if I were going to do it I would go with a Pontiac 400 block.

The Pontiac 326 - 455 blocks are all the same size physically and would be comparable in dimensions to a BBC. The reason I would use a 400 block is that it has a smaller diameter main journals than the 455 and therefore will have less friction on the crank mains which means less cooling required by the oil.

Another reason is that aftermarket stroker cranks for these blocks are readily available, so you can still get close to 500 cubes with the 400 block. Check out Butler Performance on stroker rotating assemblies.

Because these blocks are beefy to begin with, very little modifications are required to install a longer stroke crank.

We installed a stroker crank in my brother's '68 firebird 400 block (pictured) and there was only one small area near the front that needed to be ground down with an angle grinder to allow for the larger counter weights.

With a +.035 bore and the stroker crank he ended up with 461 cubic inches!

Besides a new rotating assembly, the biggest expense would be the heads and you could go with some decent Pontiac 6x iron heads, or spend some money and get some aftermarket aluminum performance heads. The rest is just bearings, carb / EFI and bolt-ons which at this point would be close to the same prices as you'd have when building a BBC.

There will be a bit of mod work for the engine mounts to fit your truck, but you may be able to find a conversion kit.

Keep us posted on which direction you go.

[verdell]

If you're considering the Pontiac, the rear main seal replacement should be considered. It is a lot more involved than say, BBC. Just had it done on a '68 GTO with Butler Performance parts. It was a pain.

[65truckowner]

The thing is I have a perfectly good 350 and 283 in my shop. Just though a big block would be cool

[Backpayne]

Here is a video of my olds '64 with an Olds 455 bored to a 468. It was mean.

https://youtu.be/3DvJ1n3kQPA?si=Z0gw0dGUixbdgFQ5

[65truckowner]

Nice!!