Im building a 455, please give me tips

A member here on the board is gonna let me drive and go pick up two 455 blocks this weekend and I am planning on starting right away on building one.
It'll probably end up going into my planned skylark build.
I want it to have high power but still be somewhat streetable.

My questions:
What are the benefits of boring it out? Is it just displacement? I was under the impression that you get more power if you do and im gonna have to get it machined and cleaned anyway.
I will eventually be getting heads, go with iron and port them or some TA or Edelbrocks? Do those need to have work done on them too? Who would be the best person to send them to?
What is the best cam you think I could get away with for power, but still be somewhat streetable? (basically just some joy rides and to the track)

Any other tips on what to do to the block WHILE IT IS ALREADY APART would be greatly appreciated so that I dont miss out on any potential power. Thanks a lot.
I have a feeling this is gonna be a long thread haha.

 

Nice, thats what I was looking for.
Maybe im confused with stroking it or something?
I've seen a lot of guys on here with like "464" engines or something like that...

 

You get the 464 from boring it. Stroked is a different story. TA sells stroke kits for a 494.

 

oh i see...worth it?
Or is that a lot of money?
Probably gonna turbo it too.

 

Turbo huh? :Brow: You want to go with pretty low compression. PM sent.

 

The 494 inch stroker crankshaft from TA is posted at $625.00, you'd also need a set of rods at whatever cost those would be. It can add up fast, just depends on how wild you want to make it. Good luck:beers2:

 

If you do the math you will see that boring on these engines adds little horsepower proportionally--about 5.5 hp for a 30 over engine.

Also if you are inexperienced you may not want to take on a 455 as your first engine rebuild. They are unforgiving. Many engines shops do not get these to hold together so a novice is asking for trouble.

No do not mess with stroking. There is no need. The additional cost per additional horsepower added is too high.

You are also asking for trouble with your turbo aspirations. You would need to build to your engines to different specifications.

 

ok so stroking is out of the question...really cant afford it.
basically i want to have at least a 12 sec (preferebly less) skylark. Itll be weight reduced roll cage fuel cell etc.
I dont know what kind of horsepower that entails but let me know, if I dont NEED a turbo to acheive that then please let me know what I do need to
What a good compression heads intake cam carb intake etc. combo would be...
I am going to be putting a lot of time into the first one I build and want to make A LOT of power.
The rivi is gonna be a cruiser...want the lark to be a brusier.
Keep that Buick power alive over here

 

Adrian, while you could probably get away with buying one already finished it would take away the fun of building it yourself, and being able to tell people that you did the work.

Part of growing up is learning how to do things, and if you just buy one that somebody else built, what did you learn?

 

Thats why you never look at how much you have spent! :laugh:

 

Username?

 

He is correct. Buy one already turn key. It is much cheaper. Do not worry, he will get plenty of experience just maintaining one already built.

 

thanks for the suggestion but even if it may cost more i really want to do all the parts myself. I can do it slowly, and know every little part that is in it and make the exact combo I want
I dont have the money to just buy one and no one is in my area.
I will probably be building it over the next 2 years.
Ive made up my mind on doing my own...just looking for criticism/ideas for what im looking for powerwise/purpose wise

 

the best thing i could advise is build within your skill set. when i started my first build/swap, i had lofty goals and quickly realized i would be in over my head. i ended up with a mild performance build with A LOT of help from the board and a few local guys. and to be honest, as cool as a twelve second street car would have been, im more than happy with what i ended up with. you will have plenty of time to upgrade and swap parts when its all said and done. :TU: