Hello, A while back I asked about putting a 455 in a ford motor home. Well we finally got the motorhome now and its a 1977 ford van type front end with a very sick 460. My question is has anyone out there ever put a 455 Buick in place of a 460 in a motorhome or a 3/4 ton van? To me it looks like a real pain to work on, and I hate to admit it but I am thinking of just sticking with a 460 just for alot less work. I do have a 76 455 here that is all complete and a 400 trans. Any expiriances or ideas on how bad a deal this swap would be? Stuff like Buick pan fitting, oil filter having room, exhaust manifolds fitting, airconditioning compersser fitting in there. I know this would be a odd swap so I won't feel bad if no one has ever tried such a swap and can't help me. What would some of you do out there, just fix the 460 or really consider changing over to a 455? [which I really want to, but not sure if I want all the extra work to do it] we also have a ford tech in the family with 460 expiriance and has told me some things to do to the 460 to make more power/torque and help milage some to. [low budget project also] OK you can laugh at my dumb idea now if you think it is a dumb idea. Tom
i would stick with the 460 ford engine , overhaul it & juice it up a bit . remember the requirements for hauling that heavy motorhome (truck chassis) are for high torque a lower rpms . my dad , in the late 70's had two new f150 pickups with 460 ci engines . fast as fast , but a little thirsty on fuel . will probably be easier & less expensive to upgrade that 460 that doing the same to a 455 buick .
Hello, I am pretty sure after sleeping on it I will leave a 460 in it, I don't need the headaches of doing a switch to a 455. I will get the 460 out and see how bad it is and if its toast I have a line on a used good one about the same year. I think the motor that is in it has some burned pistons and maybe a loose wrist pin, oil pressure is good and all the noise is from up high in the block like bad wrist pin or really bad piston. I guess I need to get heads off to get a look in there. Tom
