I am wonder what is the highest horsepower that anyone has seen/ produced in a 455 buick. I am curious to see what can be done. Tim
My engine builder, Scotty Guadagno of PeeGee Performance, built the most powerful Buick V-8 so far.....950 HP! This was back in the mid-90s with a set of T/A Stage IV heads, dual 1050s on a sheet metal tunnel ram, and around 505 CI. He still holds the title of "World's Fastest V-8 Buick", having run 7.68@176 mph in 1996 in his ProStock-style '92 Regal. He is bringing his car out to the BPG Buick Nats in August, which will be the first time he's had it out (Buick powered) since the late '90s. He'll be running it with a T/A intake and single Dominator this time. He ran the car as a ProMod for a few years with a BBC motor with EFI and nitrous, and ran 6.96@205.
Only 950 horsepower. I thought I read he was topping 1000 somewhere. Anyways pretty good, plenty more where that came from with the new block.
power Im not sure if you are talking about natural, or power enhancers, but the time slip section has that blown skyhawk at 172 plus at 8.0s , so that has to be atleast 1050hp or so at 2900 lbs.Would be curious to see if he has dynoed it.
Re: power If your talking about Rod Hendrick's (sp) Skyhawk at the Chicago Chapter dyno meet he did a part throttle run and shut the dyno down when it pegged something like 850 hp. I unfortunatly went home and missed it, but heard it was quite a show. LOL :grin:
Actually, Scotty's dyno was always on the conservative side. The Moroso power-speed calculator says that it would take 1000 HP for a 2400 lb car to go 176 mph in a 1/4 mile. I think it's safe to say that Scotty made 1000 HP. On the subject of the aforementioned motor, I just happened to see that particular shortblock at Pat Musi's tonight, when I went down there to drop off a fuel pump to Scotty for his Regal. He had lent it to a friend of his to go street racing with a few years ago, and he called him last night to get it back to he can freshen it up, put the StageIV heads on it and the big roller cam back in it. His buddy was running it with a smaller cam and Stage2 SE heads. Scotty said he's dropping the Regal off at the body shop to get it re-painted this weekend so it'll look sweet at Salem. The beast will be running soon! It'll be cool to see that thing fly down the track again. Regarding Rod's blown, alcohol-injected moter....I believe Rod told me that when he had it dyno'ed, it tore up the dyno in some way. I don't remember if he broke it or what.
I dunno about buick 455's, but I have heard that Jim Burek(I think) is making a 573 CI Buick engine(with it's own block, etc.), that should be making around 1,200 horses, and if that's the case, when it's done, would be the biggest buick V8.(correct me if im wrong on anything up there.) Note this:Chevy has a 572 crate motor that makes 720 HP, buick has one more CI and is making a-lot more HP and torque than that. That explains everything!!!!!!!!!!:laugh: -Cody
Buicks are known for their low end grunt, and im no expert here but i think that when it comes to factory engines we can be proud as buick owners to have the king "510" ft lbs. After market motors compete for the highest HP, but isnt the technology based on the factory engineering. I for one believe that buick did an outstanding job with their head designs and those specs are still good technology today. Yes the block design has flaws that are still being worked out, but lets think about how much R@D has gone into the Chevys and Fords. I think that sums it up right there. Not mant people build buicks, but the people who do get to go fast with class. T-
The future of big horsepower in a Buick once the block is done won't be the block it will be the heads. If the heads cannot support the cubic inches it won't matter how big the block is. This is just a factor that super flow gives to calculate horsepower. It seems to come out low but I will give it to you anyway. Hp = .27*(corrected flow)*(25/test pressure) .27*400*.892=96.33*8=770.68hp That number seems low for a 400 cfm head but I have also heard that if you multiply the peak by 2.2 that will get you close and that makes 880 hp which is still a long way from 1200 hp. We built a 464 and ran it then built a 494 with the same heads and intake and cam it only made and extra 15 horse power but it pick up about 60 foot pounds. I don't mean to burst any bubbles but once we have a block then we will need heads that will flow better than 400 cfm or it will be a waste of time to build a big motor to make huge power. You will be able to make a dependable motor with big inches but airflow is the key to HP.
The demand for high HP is in high demand right now, so as time goes on, I guess will will see what is done as far as the buick market goes. Heads are a, or should I say, *the* Key factor in flow, so one of these days, us buick guys/gals will have something to work with! I guess if ford is making some major HP with a 281, Maybe someone will do something for us 231 loversp That would be awesome:beer -Cody
I do agree power adders are the way to get past the flow issue. I had that in the original but rewrote a portion of the post do to the fact I found my super flow book I have at work. I did not have the formula so I was not going to try and remember it so when I found it I changed a good portion of the post my apologizes
As we all know, TA has a selection of heads. Stage I and II have been the most popular, but I know they have additional offerings- Stage III for sure, and I think that the TA wagon used some Stage IV. Also, if I remember correctly, about 5-6 years ago I think that Mike once told me about some stage V and VI heads- I don't remember whether those were in the design phase or he had actual prototypes, but suffice it to say that I feel comfortable that there will be heads available for much higher of airflow than are commonly used now, if the demand is there. Personally, I'm a fan of power adders- I'd love to see a twin turbo setup pushing 25 PSI into a 5-hundred something inch motor. The V6 guys do that pretty frequently now, the same basic ideas (with some tweaking of course) will make the technology available for a big block. Of course the exhaust side is a lot harder to boost. FWIW, since I already have FI on my 455, turbocharging wouldn't be a big stretch for me. I have already looked into a twin-turbo setup- I was given a price by one of the best-known Turbo-6 engine builders of around $6,000, including custom intercoolers and custom headers. But since I already have nitrous, I decided to stick with that as my power booster (unless I happen to get a spare $6,000). -Bob Cunningham
The TA Wagon used Stage V heads as it says on the buildup for it on the website. The link is http://www.taperformance.com/tawagon.htm As for the Stage VI heads, I think I read that there was castings or prototypes for them on this board, and they were to be some sort of Pro Stock style head. We need a Buick in the Pro Stock field, Anderson needs to be taken down, either way GO GM!
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33549&highlight=Aluminum+Cylinder+Heads Read down to the post by Buick Power. Just what we need to be attached onto a new 572 inch block. We'll be running sevens all day.
I'm using a computer dyno calculator and I'm entering a few numbers into it. Sure, its not as good as Scotty's dyno, but it could give a good indication. I have heard several different weights for the car and several horsepower levels. I'll use a few different numbers. Horsepower=1000 Weight=2400 E.T.=8.2 MPH=164.3 Horsepower=1000 Weight=2000 E.T.=7.71 MPH=174.6 Horsepower=1200 Weight=2400 E.T.=7.71 MPH=174.6 Horsepower=1250 Weight=2400 E.T.=7.61 MPH=177 Horsepower=1100 Weight=2000 E.T.=7.59 MPH=177.4 Please come to your own conclusions.
Then by calculating the horsepower from weight & MPH, you get numbers like this: Weight=2400 MPH=176 Horsepower=1228 Weight=2000 MPH=176 Horsepower=1024
He'll be running it with a T/A intake and single Dominator this time. [/QUOTE] Also, I read in a GSXtra that he ran an 8.01 with a single carb setup. Everyone to Salem, you're in for the best Buick race in the world if all the big dogs are going to be there.
