I am just looking for info on what people are doing for streetable performance. This will be my first serious attempt at building an engine. I have a 455th400 and a 2.56 peg leg. If an 11 second car is possible on pump gas, without getting too exotic I would like to achieve it. Being a first timer, I would like to know how other people are obtaining similar results. What parts, tools, theories. I have read some basic engine hot rodding books, but were dated. Obviusly I will need to do something with the diff, I am considdering an od trans. 700r4? can a 200r4 stand up to a 455? where can I go to do my own due dilligence? I probably have a year or two before the bodywork is done so I am not in a hurry, I just don't want to make any rookie mistakes, or throw good money after bad so to speak. any help is apreciated. Thx Chad

 

I forgot to mention the block is a 72 f4 nickle content with ga heads. I would like to get the edelbrock heads, but will probably be a long way into the future. intake is currently a factory unit with a holly carb unknown model or cfm. There is galling in the jugs so machining is a given, I have talked to the local speed shop about this already. They quoted me $755 for machining and 838 for the rebuild kit using a roller timing chain and torque cam. springs were not in the estimate. I did not know what questions to even ask so this is where I am standing. or was before I got cut off in Gary with a pair of 20 thousand pound coils on the deck. now all the toy mony I had is money for living while we get back on our feet. You would think people would at least fear trucks, if they don't respect them.

 

Why do you want to buy Edelbrock heads? The Ga heads are good enough for a strong street engine.

Personally, I don't know how to get your Cutlass to run 11s but I know there is someone here or on ROP that would know.

I suggest you ask your machinist if he is just going to bore and hone your cylinders or if he would also line hone your main caps and machine your crank. These are important steps in rebuilding an engine and shouldn't be omitted.

You definitely want to replace that peg leg 2.56 rear end if you are looking for off the line acceleration. Also, a 200 4R would explode behind a mildly built 455. 700 R4s are strong but you need an adapter plate for them to work with a 455. I suggest you keep your TH 400. They are pretty much indestructible.

 

check out this link:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ance-book.html

I bought one and enjoyed reading through it. You might get some good ideas from it as well. John

 

I've been watching the tranny posts and kind or assumed that was the case,but wanted confirmation. As far as the heads, i thought they would save weight and are supposed to flow better. First time so I am guessing at a lot of stuff and can't afford to get it wrong. My expectations are probably high and I know that. But if there is a way I'd like to find it. The machine shop quoted for a bake/blast on heads and block, cyl pressure test heads and block, mill heads, liners ?, prep block/partial ?, cyl bore block & power hone, R&R pistons to rods, grind crank. I am to do a complete disasembly and reasemble. As I said this is uncharted territory for me so I did not ask too many questions and am not familiar with what options I have. So I am trying to get as much info as i can before I have to commit.

 

One option would be to contact Rocket Racing located in Wisconsin. They specialize in OLDS and build very respectable horsepower motors.

 

John
Thanks on the heads up I posted a bid on evilbay. Don't know what the deal was with that, but hopefully I will have it coming soon.

tonycpe
Thank you too. I will look them up! they may be neighbors I never knew I had

 

Just looked them up on google. They are within 30 miles! How cool is that

 

Rocket Racing fits my definition of a "competent" machine shop, very well.

In this case, they are the only option.

Norm

 

Coming from you I'll take that as high praise indeed. I'll have to make a point of getting over there and check them out.

Are there any question I should be asking when I do? I really hate looking like an idiot, and it seems silly to me to walk into a speed shop spouting off about I want i want and knowing barely enough to get myself into trouble if that. Is a streetable 11 second car a reasonable goal, or should I be setting my sights lower? I would think with a bbo this should be atainable with the right tuning and relatively easily obtainable parts. The jugs are chewed up a bit, but I am guessing .010 /.020 should clean it up.( i think that is right) I don't know if i should go any more, or would want to. Or can I just tell these guys that I havent seen the inside of an engine in roughly 14 years and expect to get a crash course in currant options and methods Any input is apreciated

 

At the beginning they will be asking the questions. You tell them what you have and where you want to go. Then they can help you find the best (for you) way to get there. Do not be afraid to ask about anything you do not understand.

If you talk about what you do know, and ask about what you do not know, you will be fine.

Do you walk into your Doctors office and tell him/her how to cure your ailment?

Yes, very reasonable, but keep in mind, that it's not just the engine. The drivetrain and suspension are responsible for most of that ET.

And "a streetable 11 second car" is where you will start your dialog. Be prepared to tell them the weight of the car and what rear end gears you can live with.

Any competent machine shop, can get you anything you want, or need. Do yourself a favor, and let them.

Carburetors have been called "jugs" since the '30s. that I know about. Pistons, have been called "slugs" for just as long.

I have found that, by using the proper terminology, there is less confusion.

Unless you are captjim, It is impossible to know what is inside until the engine comes apart. Once it is apart, you will know everything you need to know, without "mocking" anything up.

You have been spending too much time on the Internet.

This is an example of how it might go.

But, since I don't work in a machine shop, you can be assured that Rocket Racing knows a lot more about it than I do.

Norm

 

Thanks Norm This helps out ALOT.

 

CSS,
Regarding the transmissions, the Th400 is the only one that will stand up in stock form. With that said, keep in mind the TH2004R will work in modified form and is in use behind 9 second cars. Remember the powerglide that no one wanted. Racers use it after beefing it up. Same goes with the TH350 and many times it is preferred to the Th400 in racing because it is lighter and uses less HP...But only after it is beefed up. The TH2004R is the same. Have an expert build it right and it will give you the best of both worlds (Overdrive and Strength). Don't have an expert build it and it will give you a headache. A TH400 remains the high strength value play.

 

thanks 68conv, I was thinking that the 200r4 was standing up to the gnx's and despite their size, they were violent little cars. I had read some forums that had suggested that done right they would survive, but suggestions are not confirmation. I am going to have to do something with rear gearing to meet my performance goals, but am not made of money. This is intended to be a driver, not a drag car, so economy is going to be an issue even if it is minimal.

 

Just got the book today, leafed through it quickly. Looks like alot of good info. Thx.