buick 455 transplant

[kelly cotter]

Hello, i have a 1967 chevy short bed and want to put install a buick 455 any info would be helpfull thanks kelly cotter

[hugger6933]

Should'nt be to hard, plenty of room . You may need a angle finder to set the engine before making trhe motor mount location but that won't be much of a problem if you install the trans with it and use the rear mount as a guide to set the location [or setback] My long departed brother , who had a love for these body style of trucks , out of nessesity one time put in a pontic 455 to ride. One other he put in a ford motor of some sort because he was desparate. No need to thrash the man for doing that I did it enough for all of us . Back to the Pontic motor he had to put a chain on it to hold it in the frame motor mounts kept breaking[shades of the factory recall limit strap]

[PanelDeland]

I did several Olds/Buick 455 to (69-72) 1 Ton swaps years ago.I don't remember all the details but I do remember that I bought NOTHING to do them with.I did however have the donor cars and used the tranny also.All the parts came from the donor or the receipient.I did them all on my own so it wasn't a really hard process either.The tranny to engine flange is different between Buick/Olds/Pont but they do make adapters if you need one.

[Longhorn Man]

my longhorn has had a pontiac and now a cad motor in it, the 73 - 87 engine stands are great for this kind of swap, they are flat and have ample room for drilling holes into for odd ball mounts.
Things you may, or may not have to worry about, but need to look into...
trans bellhousing. You will need a BOP tranny, or an adapter plate.
Fuel lines... if the pump is on the other side of the engine, you'll need to run some hard line
Starter location. If it is on the passenger side, no problem, if it is on the drivers side, then you'll either need a real long positive cable to reach the battery, or relocate the battery. The aux battery tray can be found and bolts in, and hardly anyone will ever notice it since it looks (is) original.
Fan to radiator room. Since a shroud is going to be dificult to come up with, I recomend placing the engine in the truck while hangine from the hoist, with the fan bolted in place, and adjust the motor for or aft to get the fan an inch or two from the back side of the radiator. The 'finger guard' metal cover can be used from an inline truck to make it look better and to help keep fingers and tools out of the fan when it is running.
Headers may be a no go, but you might get lucky. Manifolds should probably work fine, don't forget to budget new exhaust, or at least paying to have someone hook up the engine to the existing pipes.
If the alt is on the wrong side of the engine, then expect to reroute and extend some wires.
Guages shouldn't be too hard, esp if you have after market pieces.


A buick 455 is a torque monster, and will be perfect for a truck, be it a hot rod sort of truck, or just a work horse truck.

[kelly cotter]

thank all of you that replied this will make my decision easier kelly cotter