ok, i got my 455 torn down all the way yesterday, a couple hours of work and a few cuts, scrapes, beers, and cuss words and it is all done. now i need to know what i should do next. i can have a shop around here dip it and magnaflux for any cracks. but beyond that i need to find someone to rebuild all the internals, i dont have the equipment to boar it (if that is needed), shave/port the heads (if i have enough money), and i dont wnat to mess with pistons, crank, cam, etc... boltons i haved done and can handle(intake, headers, exhaust, etc...), but i dont want to fu** this motor up. i dont have a ton of money to spend so i cant go outrageous on it. this will mainly be a street car with a few trips down a track, so i am not looking for 500 or 600 hp (would like sub 13's if possible). just want a reliable street motor that has more umph than stock. i know its not all about motor, i will also be doing exhaust right away, and change my rearend, gears, and tranny later. so.....what pistons, cam, etc... should i put in, and does anyone know a good reliable builder in the midwest? any other ideas for boltons will also be greatly appreciated. Nate. p.s. i would like to give a shout out to P.D. Gropp and his brother for selling me the 455, he is a great guy and made the transaction great. thanx again guys.
I hope you were meticulous labeling parts- for example which caps go with which connecting rods, etc. Honestly, I like to let whoever does the machine work also do the disassembly. Basically you need to assess each component and it's condition- are the cylinders tapered? Do they have any thin spots? Any cracks? How are the rods- are they straight? Are they stretched? How did the bearings look- did one cylinder (or all of them) have a problem? An experienced builder will be able to tell. Really you need to bring everything to a machine shop that will do the work for you. I would suggest you have them: Hot Tank Bore/Hone cylinders Flatten the deck Maybe align bore or hone Depending on your goals, possibly sonic check the cylinder walls Check the crank, and probably grind it 10/10 and polish it Flatten the heads Valve job Reassemble the short block (so they can check clearances along the way), or the long block Why did you tear the motor down if you don't want to replace pistons and stuff? What are you trying to accomplish? -Bob Cunningham
Being in AMES and not far from me here in Topeka I can recommend Eric Ruge he is close to me. He is a TA performance parts accessable machine shop. He has built all my engines and has redone the 535 I have hurt several times. So his work is well tested. Please feel free to email me and get his phone number. mike@mrbuick.com
It is some of the best spent money you will ever lay out if you have the assembly balanced! Especially if new pistons or rods will be used.
