I've been going to the Buick-Ford Shoot Out at Noble,Oklahoma for 4 years now and have the fever to build a big block street-strip Buick.After watching all the 455's run at Noble this year I just have to have one.I have both an 85 T-Type and 86 T-Type Regals but prefer to build a 455 powered car. Tomorrow I'm going to go look at a 69 Skylark that has a 455,Turbo 400,12 bolt Camaro rear,etc.Its not running and can be bought for a little over $1,000. What will it take to put this car in to the mid-low 12's on 93 octane if thats possible?Need ideas on compression ratio,heads,cam,carb,what stall convertor,rear end ratio,slick size,etc. I need a fairly low maintenance car that I can drive to work some and run on the strip a few times every year.There are no hot Buicks in my area. Thanks for any info.
So many possibilities, so many ways to go. What kind of budget are you working with? My handy-dandy calculator says that for a 2 ton car to run 12.50 1/4 @104MPH requires about 350HP. To put a big block Buick in the 12's is fairly simple. Nitrous comes to mind but not necessary. You want "looks stock" or just fast? A well prepped 455 with a mild-ish cam and streetable gears should be able to pull this off. I'd be surprised if a decent 455 Skylark wouldn't do a mid 13 with a good tuneup alone on street tires. Just ballparking it, I'd say one way to go would be but a set of 3.73s (4.10s if streetability is lower) in the rear, a nice little cam like the hemi-killer (purely your choice), a set of mildly ported stage1 heads, aluminum T/A intake, 10-10.5 compression, any header that you like, a crossover pipe, 3" exhaust/mufflers, a mid-2000 stall, quadrajet works if you have a good one or anything you are comfortable with that flows 800cfm. I believe 9" slicks will do this although getting a 10" under it will probably make suspension mods less needed. Call up someone like T/A and see what they recommend. I'm sure they'd be happy to get you well on the way to a healthy, yet pleasant engine. That way they will be able to make sure the cam is matched to your needs and recommend supporting components. Lastly, don't skimp on the block work and keep the tolerances tight.
Hey Regal Luvr, that 69 Skylark you're thinking about already has a 455 and 12 bolt? Unless it's a sickly unbuilt smog engine and that 12 bolt has less than a 3.xx ratio, I'd say that car would already be pretty close to 12's and if it isn't would be EASY to get there! If that 455 has a good lower end and good oil pressure, all you'd really need is a cam kit, a good converter, aluminum intake, headers, a good ignition, tune up, and a decent carb...basically bolt on parts. Head work helps, but if the heads work fine I bet you could get 12's without having to pull them if they have good seals/valve job. Hopefully the suspension is halfway decent and the 12 bolt has posi traction, then all you'd need is a pair of slicks. As far as specific parts, I got most of my stuff at TA Performance, just do a web search and order a catalog. I built my engine almost 2 years ago and it has ~430 hp. Lucky for you a Skylark is nice and light compared to the 4800 lb Sport Wagon this engine has to push. Even so, with stock suspension and 3.23 gears, no posi, street tires, and a lazy th400 it ran the quarter in 14 flat! As you can see I have a few things holding me back from 13's, pretty much the heads and traction is it. Here's some specs on my layout: Rebuilt 69 430 block bored to 455 with forged slugs Dual groove cam bearings, 3/4 grooved main bearings All necessary oiling mods Stock 69 430 heads rebuilt, back cut valves TA 1 7/8" headers, 2.5" exhaust Stock distributor w/Petronix2, MSD 6AL, Accel coil 850 Speed Demon carb TA SP1 aluminum intake TA 292-02H cam 230/245 dur@.050" .496 lift 112 L/C TA 1125 Valve springs/chrome moly retainers TA High pressure oil pump Billet double roller timing set TCI ~2600 stall convertor (I think it's the Street Fighter, I can't remember) Good luck with your endeavor! Once you feel the power of a well built 455, you'll never look back! -Andy
Guys, Thanks for all the 455 info.Went and looked at the car yesterday.Its rust free but steering wheel is gone,grill is gone,and has a pretty good dent in the right rear quarter. The owner wasnt home (car was at his cousins place)so didnt get to make an offer.I dont know if its worth $1000 or not.At another place he has another 69 Skylark with 350,auto,and no title for $600.May shoot him an offer for both cars. By the way what are used Stage I heads selling for?
Regal-luvr Check out this post , this guy may still have this Regal for sale http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?threadid=27376&referrerid=589 Hope this helps
Aaah... I might be all wet, but... weren't ALL Camaros leaf spring rears? A '69 Lark would be coil. Possibly a 12-bolt Chevelle rear? Just checking. Guys selling stuff often don't really know what they have. Buyer beware.
Chris, Thanks for the link.I do have a real nice 82 Regal body with a shot turboed V-6 that I could put a 455 in.Really want a late 60's-early 70's Skylark body but they are scarce in my area.May end up going with the Regal body. Gary, After looking at that car I'm sure its a 12 bolt Chevelle rear end.I once had a 66 396 SS Chevelle.Have never been around Camaros but have a buddy at work that probably has owned 50 of them including a Yenko at one time.Sold it for $10,000 in the early 1980's.What would it be worth now?
I haven't run my car on the strip yet, but from the dyno numbers it should be a low-mid 12 second car, and on the street it will destroy a new LS1 F-body pretty easily. The build I have is very close to stock - 1970 455, TRW forged pistons (10.2:1 compression with block decked), mildly ported/polished non-stage 1 heads, Edelbrock Performer intake, Straightline Performance "small" cam topped off with an 850 CFM demon. I have 3.73 gears w/ Auburn Posi in the 10 bolt, and it had a beat TH350 w/ a stock stall converter which is currently being converted to a 200-4r. The car idles awesome and makes power to about 5800 RPM. If you are interested I could post my dyno sheet.
If you can get it for a grand GET IT!!!! That would be a great deal. No point in buying used Stage 1 heads, unless they just fall in your lap. In case you didn't know, they are the same castings as regular heads with bigger valves. Stage 1 conversion on your cores is about $500, and then you have fresh heads. Most everything said so far is right on track, although there is NO need to go over 3.73 on the rear gears. 3.42 or 3.55s would be fine.
