Ive had the 455 in the garage for over a year now. It came out of a 72 Riviera. It has an edelbrock intake, and HEI ignition. Everything else is unknown. I have been biding my time and trying to figure out my next project car. I have finally decided to put it into a 240-280Z. I wanted something light weight and nimble, and from what I have been reading, the 455 should fit quite nicely. Plus, I wouldnt have to build the engine to much to make the Z quick.(Im wanting 11's). I NEED reliability So here are my questions. Keep in mind, I am on an extreme budget. I want to spend 3-4k including the Z. That leaves 1k-1500 MAX on the engine/tranny. 1)I dont know what kind of condition the engine is in. Never heard it run. I was told it runs, and I trust the guy I got it from. What things do I need to look out for? Anything I need to do before firing? Im not wanting to tear the thing down, because then I would want to build it. 2) What would be the best way to spend my money? What is a nice streetable cam with the most gains? A good carb? ect. I have mechanical experience but very limited machining experience. 3)I dont know CRAP about auto trannies, but am considering one for this car. What do most guys go with? My local 1/4 track is over 60 miles away, so I was considering a 700R4, but will it last? 4)My engine is 8.5:1 correct? How boost friendly is it stock? I have tons of turbo experience that I can make good use of. What kind of pistons are in it? I hear the rods are strong enough to about 600 hp? The boost will wait till later down the road, but I was just curious. Any help you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated. Dont worry, I am reading everything on this board(and everywhere else!) and soaking it up like a sponge, but so far, I havent found anything specific enough to answer some of my questions. -JOEL-
Joel If your engine is in decent shape and you can shoehorn that baby into a Datsun Z/car then you probably don't need much cam at all. With a stock 455 rated at 500 foot pounds of torque your problem will be traction. I have a very mild cam in my car, with highway gears, that runs 13.6s in a 4000# car. Don't know what the gearing is in a Z/car but if it's high enough I'd go with a 350 turbo, smaller than a 400 and strong enough. I wouldn't try boosting a thirty year old engine with cast pistons if I were you. Dave Berry
What was your trap speed on the 13.6 run? 60'? What are the HP/TQ specs on the 72 Riv.? I thought it was like 260/330. If so, where did most of the power go? Compression and heads? I know what you mean about not boosting it. I should have said with forged pistons. I have the easy access to the turbos I want, but Im not about to boost it until I build it. I dont have that in the budget just yet. The chevy small block in a Z is a very common swap. From what Ive read, the 455 is similar in dimensions and weight(with a few aluminum parts) to the Chevy. It is actually supposed to be a better fit due to the front distributor vs the Chevys rear. I would have to fab up mounts, and maybe headers. I hope that a mostly stock 455 should get me in the 11's off the bottle. With the Z weighing in at 2500-3000#(depending on model) I dont think I will have a problem. Like you said, traction is a big issue. So is strengthening the chassis so it doesnt twist like a pretzel! That means subframe connectors and a cage.$$$ I want something fast, but I am sick of the unreliability of previous projects. Thanks for the reply. I realy appreciate it. Anyone else?
He races an opel with a twin turbo v6. It runs 7's. His name on the board here is opeltwinturbo Super cool guy...:TU:
Ahh, gotcha. The Opel and even a TR-7 were a few of the other cars I was considering! Running 7's huh. Damn. I guess he got that traction problem sorted out!:laugh:
Quite a few years back (decades, actually), a couple of my friend's dads shoehorned a tripower 400" Pontiac engine and tranny into an old Datsun 240Z. The car was an absolute terror!!!:TU: :grin: And that was with a 'stock' engine - not too shabby!!:Brow: Buick 455" should be just about right!!:TU: :bglasses:
So what is a good way to spend the cash? I found a turbo 400 with shift kit and stall(dont know rpm yet) for $145. Is that good? What should I do to the motor?
