olds 455 vs buick and pontiac 455s?

[Ziegelsteinfaust]

I would do a Olds or Pontiac. They have more torque under the curve, and stop. Due to there very long strokes.

Depending on gear ratio it won't effect mpg to much with tires since they do not seem to notice.

If you are turning some rpm over 2750 the the short stroke Buick has an advantage with mpg.

All are good engines, but I would look at my truck to decide on my engine.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by greg64

I wish the General was still making all sorts of engine designs today, but it's understandable why they don't.

One of those monsters would make a great GMPP crate engine. Unfortunately, the only old school engines they make are Chevys. I'd also like to see a small block 400.

[naphtali5725]

Olds 455 is a bolt in, and with minimal effort will make 400+HP and approx 600 ft/lbs of torque... i have one in mine...

my personal favorite would probably be the Pontiac 400 block stroked to 461, the 400 block has smaller diameter mains, so more meat in the block.. also there are aftermarket blocks, and there are better heads available for the Pontiac...

[naphtali5725]

Originally Posted by greg64

I think all of these b-o-p-c swaps are neat, and I researched it myself. It's definitely possible, but the transmission options seemed limited, compared to a Chevy. Th400, no problem. Overdrive possible with a 200-4R, but I wanted stick, and that gets messy. For example, some of these engines don't have the crank drilled for a pilot bearing. Ya, it can be added, but that's a lot of work. I'm not in love with bellhousing adapter plates either. Stock bellhousings exist, but are likely tricky to find and are setup for a Muncie M20.

One thing that seemed clear is to find the one vendor that exists today that specialize in that particular engine. They all have one, and no doubt that outfit would be a fountain of knowledge and parts.

Other interesting tidbits; the Buick is 100 lbs less than the others, nearly the weight of a SBC. The caddy is light for it's displacement. The Pontiac blocks are all externally the same, so that might help with headers, etc. the pontiacs also had a long run, relative to the others (the engine design, not the 455 specifically). The Olds seems to be the torque king if we ignore the caddy. Some of the engines need oiling system modifications if you're going to rev the snot out of them, others don't. It's all quite interesting. I wish the General was still making all sorts of engine designs today, but it's understandable why they don't.

if you wanted a manual transmission for BOP, McLeod makes a bell housing/clutch that is a no brainer... good setup for any manual
the pilot bearing on the Olds motors may/may not be drilled.... also some Olds 455 motors don't have the clutch pivot ball thread hole drilled in the block, so you'd have to do hydraulic clutch...

for the Pontiac look no further than Jim Lehart at http://centralvirginiamachine.com he's building me a stroked 400/461 now, roller cam, eagle rotating assembly, forged pistons etc. that will rev fine with stock 6x-8 heads, and factory intake manifold to 5800rpm, also in the 400+hp, 500+ft/lbs range
price was right around 5000.00 complete

was 4000.00 for just the short block for my Olds 455, they're pricey! LOL

my Olds builder is in Winter Haven, FL. he's an EFI tech with Accel, Olds specialist... if you want an Olds motor built, or need parts let me know

these other GM big inch motors are more interesting and a lot of fun to make big power with for me... total different animal than a Chevy SB/BB/LS or whatever, they are a dime a dozen, cheaper etc. etc. nothing bad about that, it is what it is...

[mud.man.rj]

So did you ever mention what you actually want to spend, odd engines cost a lot more, no surprise everyone runs a small block when trying to save a few $.