ok heres the deal. I purchased a 455 on craigslist for 1200, owner said it was rebuilt so sounded like good deal. I have a 1971 cutlass convertible that had a 350 in it so i wanted to go big time. I had engine installed and mechanic said cam was bad so i purchased comp cams kit with springs, lifters, etc. so all installed and now i got overheating issues and oil spewing out of all gaskets and no power. Can anyone tell me if they think lower is also shot?its bored .040 over i could see new pistons but dont know about rings, bearings or rest. it has c heads that owner said were redone too. got tons of money now into install and tear down and etc. should have not been so cheap at start but too late now. please help thanks steve

 

$1,200?!?

Holy #&$*!

You're not cheap - you're generous!

NEVER buy a non-running motor for more than $250, unless you can add up the price in the value of bolted-on components that you can see (heads, manifolds, carb...), which you could sell later, or unless you personally watched it being built, and then watched it every time it was run, to be sure the previous owner didn't blow it up.

We would need more information to give you good advice, and pictures of what you've got.

Why and how was the cam bad? If a lobe was wiped, was the entire engine disassembled and cleaned?

What sort of a cam did you install?

What are the rest of the engine specs, and the brand and model of the various components?

- Eric

 

It never ceases to amaze me that anyone would pay more than the sum of the parts for a motor that isn't running. I paid $500 for a 70 455 4 speed motor 7 years ago that came with a bell housing and a flywheel & I was embarrassed to tell people how much I spent.

 

I started a few post for this I feel for you . Where are you located? I dont know your story as far as you might be a 15 year old kid and 1200 is a lot of money or On a just had a kid
and not much in the cookie jar either way still stings to spend good cash on a miss lead project. Time to Get the hads dirty and know how your car works you will need skills to play with these old cars or lots of cash to pay for repairs owning one of these cars can
be hell on a guy .

 

COMP Cams K42-225-4 - COMP Cams Xtreme Energy Cam and Lifter Kits, it has a torker intake, edelbrock aluminum valve covers, not sure about details on lower end, i know mechanic didnt go past heads when he did cam and lifters and timing chain, would the overheating and gaskets leaking be from something like piston rings or bearings? it has a 750 edelbrock, mallory dist and iginition hyfire, new fuel pump and torque starter. mechanic says the lobes were wore off and that ruined the lifters that were installed.it blew intake manifold gasket twice so far, lots of overheating and pressure, guessing bad rebuild, i guess it would have to go to .060 over unless i can come up with cheaper idea ha

 

I'd be like that old lady and the tire store - throw it through the front door of his house!!!!
You're gonna have to tear it down, to see how bad it is, but you may be able to save the pistons - no boring, just honing!
The rest is up to you!
I'm gonna guess you're in Michigan - but post your location - someone close may be able to help!!

 

That cam is way too big for your motor, the cam/intake combo is wrong for that motor. That's why it has no power.
Did he cut the valve guides?
Did you run the motor beforehand?

As mentioned, we need more info. I might also find another mechanic.

 

Have you run a compression check on the motor? Possibly the intake was overtorqued? What is your timing set at? Does it have blowby, where else is oil leaking?

Before you tear into it expecting that its shot, how about we do a bit of diagnostics!

 

Like I said, more information, and pictures.

We know about what's bolted onto it now.
We still know nothing about what's inside -
Brand, specs, and model of pistons, rings, rods, bearings, oil pump, valves, springs, was the bore size confirmed, what do the bores look like (I know, the heads haven't been off), what do the bearings look like (I know, the pan hadn't been off)?

What about the vehicle -
Converter, transmission, rear end ratio?

We also no next to nothing about symptoms - so far it just seems like "low power," which is very subjective and vague.

- Eric

 

i live in burleson texas originally from detroit, im not really sure of brands of pistons, bearings, rings etc. i took the car to house of hotrods in mansfield texas and im hoping they will figure it out. why is the cam too big for motor? what intake should i have to match with cam?it has th350 tranny with stall convertor and stock rearend. i purchased a 8.5 28 spline with 3.73 gears to put in but still have to get power to turn it. I am far from being a mechanic so sorry for vague answers, trying lol

 

Well Steve I'm in Granbury about 20 mins from you! I'm sure the shop you have it at will be able to figure out your issue, I have never used them, but hear they have a good rep.

 

maybe we can just trade cars ha, i hope they can figure it out without making me sell my kids