i am searching for a 455 for my skylark, and was wondering if there is a big difference between years. which year is the best block/heads to start with? i am planning on bilding a mild street/strip motor. would like to run high 12's, low 13's with it. please help. nate
There are plenty of guys with pro expeience here who can tell you the exact ifs, hows, and buts of the best year 455, but here's my take on it, if my memory is still what it used to be: 1970 455- better heads. better rocker arm ratio. weaker oiling than later 455s. (Buick 455s are high tolerance engines with tight oiling standards) little to no emissions equipment (depending on where the car was sold) Rocker arm stampings may be weaker than later 455s 1971-1972 455 -ok heads. less compression than the '70. Emission controlled to some degree 1973-76 455- 'double scallop' block. Heads and blocks from different years (for instance a 1970 and 1976) may not work together without modification such as plugging a coolant hole. Low compression, poor heads. Better oiling. Rocker arm ratio is slightly down, to 1.55:1 from 1.60:1, to make a stronger rocker arm. Makes the cam seem slightly smaller than it's true dimensions. Emission controlled engine All Buick 455s are in the same 'family' as the 400 and 430. Do not confuse the 401 and the 400. the 401 is a 'nailhead', easily distinguished by it's vertical valves and valve covers that stick up straight. I beleive that due to the corporate ban on engines larger than 400 cubic inch displacement, Buick called the 401 a "400" for a year or two. The parts do not interchange with a 455. All Buick 455s have a higher nickel content in the block and heads than say, a Chevy. Therefore, a 4 bolt main wasn't really needed, (and you won't find a vintage Buick 455 with 4 bolt mains anyway, as far as I know there is exactly one) and the heads do not experience a high degree of valve recession with unleaded fuel the way other engines might. basically, you won't have to install hardened valve seats in a 1970 455, for example, whereas other engines from this year may need hardened valve seats fitted. All the blocks can be considered "good" blocks, as far as I know there is no real issue with one block over another on the 455s. the only catch is the double scallop block, but it is not a huge problem, guys have been using the old and new parts together for years with no trouble, you just need be aware of the need to avoid the potential issue with the extra coolant passage in the double scallop block. You just plug it, no worries, I'm told. Mine is all 1973 455 except for a few aftermarket things, so I've never tried the older/newer combo. But it's done all the time. Stock, in factory form, I suppose the 1970 455 Stage1 was the "best" of the 455s. Big valve 430 heads are best for an iron headed 455, I'm told. In the aftermarket world, TA Peformance has aluminum 455 heads with redesigned exhaust sides that enable Buick engines to flow more air than race prepped iron heads. They take 60 pounds off the front of the car. Stock intake and exhaust manifolds bolt to some of them. Also this design makes it a possibility that cam designs that in the past Buick 455s could not take advantage of are now viable options. These heads from TA are considered the best heads around. Click on their banner on the home page, or do a search on the boards for more info. For the "best" Buick 455, you'd have to take many factors into consideration, and pick and choose the right parts to reach your goal. But like I said, in stock form, the '70 Stage 1 is "best", at least on paper.
wow thanks for all the info 462. never dreamed of getting such a thurough reply back. the help/info is much abliged. thanx again. nate
70 is best for heads, the 74 -76 blocks have better oiling but very low comp. heads, the earlier blocks can be modified for better oiling, or there is after market oil pump parts that fix that, i would just look for a 70 moter , a 71 ok a 72 still ok its just the comp. drops as years go up. you can take a 70-72 and make it go 12's even with standard valves if you set the car up right. ITS ALL IN THE COMBO!! meaning matched gears, converter, cam, ect.. then just get all that torque to hook!!!! also 67-69 moters had the 1.59 rocker, 70-76 455 had 1.55 that isnt a factor tell you have heads that have had some port work, you can match a cam to your rockers and springs. just my 2cents
Hey Chris.How is that engine running now?? Hey Nate.If you locate a `75-`76 455 you can at least keep the block,crank and rods.The heads...forget it.You can use them for porting practice.Later,Tony.
Tony: It's running great. I need to get the digital camera and post pics of the six valve keepers that failed. 5 of them are split in two! Four of those have had the shape of the valve stem pounded into them. Bad heat treat cycle on the keepers? I dunno. They lasted for six years, I had the heads done in '96, I think, by a good pro. You'd think if they were bad, they would have failed before the 50k+ miles I put on them, lol. A bit of work, but no real damage to the engine. Only took 23 hours to do everything. I got lucky, the valves didn't fall deep enough in the cylinders to hit anything, but they were low, one was lower than the keepers! The rocker arm shaft breaking seems to be an unrelated co-incidence, it didn't break near the keeper that was above the valve stem o No: But it goes like a scalded cat again:TU: I must have over revved it, I had been driving, um, enthusiastically, let's say:laugh: I fixed it all just in time to put it away for the winter
Hey Chris.I have to admit that you are one of the guys who drives his Buick quite a bit so we all get to see how things work on a daily type basis.I mean that in a good way.I have heard stories about weak stock keepers/locks and bending/breaking stock rocker shafts.I bought some TA springs recently for my fresh engine and TA adviced using the moly keepers which I did. On the other hand,I have pushed my original 455 to 5200-5300 in the past with stock valvetrain and have been o.k.I think building this other"Play" engine I spent a lot of $$ but it should be tough enough for the odd over zealous loud pedal attack. Have you kicked the idea around some more about the upgraded bumpstick from your TA212??That TA290-94H I bought seems to work quite fine and has a slight "Lump" to it after it warms up. Pretty good for that "Sleeper" thing that I dig so much.Should be o.k in a daily driver also I would think.Good to hear you have it running o.k.Who needs to put their Rod away knowing that a unavoidable repair is looming under the car cover in the spring?? Later,Tony.
:laugh: I don't even have the 212, I bought the RV cam by mistake. I do plan on swapping in the TA 212, though. If I'm not mistaken, without notched pistons, this is the largest cam I can run (the 212) That RV cam makes lots of low end torque, but it's the recreational vehicle cam, in other words, the tow vehicle camshaft :grin: See, when I looked at the cam specs, and I saw RV, I recalled that the Rivieras were rated at a slightly higher hp amount than the GS cars, and since the Riviera is a heavier car, I thought that the RV cam was the Riviera cam, and that it would be a good match for my heavy convertible. Live and learn But that means I'll see even bigger performance gains with the head and cam swap:TU: Thankfully, my engine issues have generally turned out to be easy fixes since the re-build. Some of my problems are my own fault. To make a confession, I think that maybe I'm to blame for my latest problem. My tranny kickdown doesn't work, and I dropped the tranny into first around 35-40 mph to get into heavy traffic about a week before this latest problem. I guess I shouldn't pretend I don't need a tach!:laugh: I've actually kicked around the idea of presenting to Jim W the notion of a sort of Buick driver's diary for the Build Sheet, sorta kinda a log for driving a mild Buick 455 on a daily basis, noting problems, that sort of thing. Wrong time of the year, though...
Hey Chris.Dugh...on my part.I thought you had the TA212?? I was considering that cam,but some of the guys led me to believe it was a bit mild.I use a Poston RV type cam in my smogger 455 and it comes on strong with lots of torque off the line.Selecting a cam is a tough choice for sure,if you use TA`s heads you might be able to go a bit bigger on the cam..yea...stall and gears....yea(Is it getting costly yet??) The TA212,on paper anyway is a big improvement in profile.You should consider a Buick Driver Diary we would all read it for sure.Later,Tony.
big valve 430 heads? These big vavle 430 heads I was just wondering exactly what they were did all 430s have the. are they better than 455 heads? thanks, will
I don't know for sure...but I *think* that the 430 heads in general have more material and can be ported more and more easily, some castings accept bigger valves than the 455s can, even with stage 1 valves, and the combustion chambers are smaller, making more compression. My guess is that the coolant passages were re-designed on the 455 heads and that's a major difference from the 430's...but that is just what I gather, I can't say that for certain.
any block and heads if your just planing to run low 13-high 12 most any block-and matching head should be good as long as you know any oil mod-update to engine you would need to make sure it holds up.the 76 heads dont really low comp that much if your building a lite street motor. plus you could always upgrade to ta alum heads in future for more potential.:beer andy
