Hi all. Just purchased a '57 Olds super 88 w/a 1971 455' Olds. G heads, nothing spectacular. need advice whether I should rebuild and massage the engine a little, or go w/another (newer) BB application. Think i would like to keep it "OLDS"! Planning on using a 460L or 480L trans. Stock 342 gears. Just want a responsive,comfortable cruiser. And if i do keep the '71 455", what mods should i strive for. Should i look for "F" heads, etc. Would love to achieve around 360-400 HP. But smooooothe HP and Torque. Realise this is rather a vague question. thanks.

 

A stock 71 455 short block with a cam, NHRA legal valve job/CC heads will make that kind of power easy, you would want to fill in the heat cross over at the same time.

 

Good Lord, dont comprimse your Olds with a chebby swap! A very mikd 455 will acheive your horsepower goals easily, and have more torque than a LS swap every would. Forget about the F heads, the G heads will easily support your goals. For what you would spend on F heads you could buy a set of Edelbrocks, a camshaft, intake manifold and headers and have money left over!

 

You have a good platform to begin with. If you want an overdrive transmission stick with a built 200R4 it is nearly the same size as a Turbo 400. the 460L or 480L are larger and you will end up with trans tunnel mods and most likely troubles with the X frame where it narrows to the "X". You can build the 455 any way you want and the G heads are fine if they are big valve thats even better. The flow rate on all bid valve heads are nearly the same. You have several options on cams, pistons, rods, etc just depends on how much money you want to spend.

I did the conversion on my 57 myself and built a 455 with port matched aluminum heads with bowl work. keith black piston, H beam rods, roller cam valve train, etc. Total cost was right at 5K. nice semi-stock rebuild 2k to 2.5k