Switching engines

[nice72]

I currently have a 1972 cutlass with a 74 455. I have know someone selling a buick 430 and am wondering if anyone knows if anything might still work from the olds 455 over to the buick 430. I am doubting anything does but not sure. Things such as headers, flywheel(manual), dist, starter, bellhousing. Any input would be great.

[gearheads78]

Things such as headers, NO flywheel(manual),NO dist,NO starter,NO bellhousing YES

Save the Buick for a Buick

[redoldsman]

Keep the 455, spend half the money you would spend on putting the Buick in and wind up with a better car.

[nice72]

Ok i completly understand the idea of keeping it olds in an olds i even agree. But i can get this buick 430 that is a fresh rebuild putting out 400hp for around 2000. Now my question is what do you think it would cost to rebuild my 74 455 with j heads on it up to about 400-425 hp. I know that even though the buick engine is 2000 i will have A LOT more in it then that due to starter, dist, flywheel, and headers so i much rather keep my 455. I have a friend that will help me rebuild it but he is not an oldsmobile guy so i have been doing a lot of reading on here to learn about the 455's. I have learned a lot but am not sure on the prices of the parts or what an average machine shop would charge to either work my j heads to larger valves or if i bought a set of c heads and had those redone as well as what they would charge to go over the short block and possible bore .30 over.

[gearheads78]

By the time you buy all you need for a Buick it will be close or slightly cheaper for the Olds. Build the Olds. 400 HP can be made with a close to stock rebuild with a cam.

[nice72]

when you say close to stock rebuild with a cam what else do you think needs to be done. Because from what i understand a 74 455 was only around 270hp stock and a cam can't take me up to 400. I might be wrong on the hp on the stock 455 but if you think i can cam it and do something else my first thought is i might not need to rebuild the engine. What do you the think?

[68conv455]

Buy the buick 430 and stick it in your garage. Then rebuild the 455 and put it back in your cutlass. When everything is running good, Drive your cutlass around while searching for a sweet buick body for the 430.
Problem Solved!

[redoldsman]

One other thing that has not been factored in is the decrease in value of an Olds with a Buick engine. On top of the cost of the Buick engine, I bet you will spend and additional $1,000 plus a lot of mental anguish.

[Oldsguy]

Originally Posted by nice72

......Because from what i understand a 74 455 was only around 270hp stock and a cam can't take me up to 400. I might be wrong on the hp on the stock 455 but if you think i can cam it and do something else my first thought is i might not need to rebuild the engine. What do you the think?

All advertised numbers, which don't mean much in the real world. Have you ever experienced the torque of an Olds Big Block? If it is running well (re-built or not) it is impressive. If you don't need to rebuild the Olds then you are better off yet financially. I say take a pass on the Buick engine, leave if for a Buick man.

[Omicron]

Originally Posted by nice72

... Now my question is what do you think it would cost to rebuild my 74 455 with j heads on it up to about 400-425 hp... I have learned a lot but am not sure on the prices of the parts or what an average machine shop would charge to either work my j heads to larger valves or if i bought a set of c heads and had those redone as well...

I have J heads on my 455 and am not getting what I want out of the engine, so I started looking around for what to do about it. In another thread on the site (if you're interested, here) I discovered that my J heads, which were sold to me as "ported and polished" must have been mildly worked over if at all. Since I know everything else about the motor but the heads and cam, I made the leap that where most of my power was lacking was in the heads, and started looking at fixing or upgrading them. This lead me to pricing out what it would cost to make them flow as well as "C" or better Olds heads, and in this part of the country (North of Denver, CO) it'll run around $800 for the head work, larger valves, hardened seats, etc. Then I found a set of fully built "C" heads for literally half that, so I bought them instead.

Overall, I'll ballpark it for you based on what I found locally: If you pull the 455 yourself, you can have it built up with higher compression pistons, better rods, block work etc, for around $2K - or a lot less if you do it yourself and only farm out the block work. Then buy a set of complete worked "C" heads for say $500, then headers, cam, intake manifold, carb etc etc for another $500-$1000. All told you're looking at $2-$3K depending on your tastes and budget, and you'll wind up with a Olds motor putting out AT LEAST 450 HP and 500 ftLbs of torque.

Well worth it, IMHO. Hope this helps.

Oh, and I too would buy the Buick motor and put it away for a rainy day.

[Omicron]

Originally Posted by nice72

But i can get this buick 430 that is a fresh rebuild putting out 400hp for around 2000.

Were I you, I'd be skeptical of this HP number unless you've see then dyno sheet and know for a fact that it matches the engine you're looking at buying. Everyone likes to quote big HP numbers on their stuff, but the reality of what they're really putting out often winds up being quite a bit lower.