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I am certain that at this time I may take the plunge and take on another project. Now that I have said it out loud, I can get to work. Have sights on a 1969 Vista cruiser. Clean dry desert car, very complete, sound, unmolested. No drive train, all wiring and accessory components there. Looking at 455 engine that was torn down, kept in clean dry storage and is complete. What are the pitfalls of such, any special casting numbers to avoid or key in on? Has set of G heads, Close inspection coming in a few days, micro measurements on crank, bores, rod ends, lifter bores. Ready to hear from the forum, long live OLDSMOBILE. Next is the transmission. What are the best and worst selections I could make? It is all so easy on paper and speculation but that's what we live for in bringing Olds back to life..
There are a few of us wagon lovers here and we'll help with wagon-specific questions.
The factory installed the T-400 transmission on Vistas with the 400 or 455 engine. That would be an easy install for you. At the most, you would need to shorten your driveshaft if your Vista came with a T-350.
The frame is drilled to accommodate the cross-member position required for either the T-350 or T-400 position.
If you go with the T-400, be sure to source one with the long tailshaft. And if you will be using dual exhaust, be sure you have the double-hump cross-member.
Any 455 is good as long as long as all the clearances are nice and everything mag fluxes good.
The older 455s 68-71ish are usually more desirable. The larger valve non-smog heads 68-70 are more desirable.
The 425s are good too. If you can find a forged crank that is good. Hell a 350 or a 403 can be built for good street power and are lighter.
A good machine shop that knows Oldsmobile can make anything work. Just make sure they know Olds. Pistons are available in several flavors from low to high compression. Stroker kits are available. Custom heads are available etc...
As far as a trans do you want to row your own or not?
A TH400 with a GV OD is a good choice(for me)
A 5 gear Tremec or an M20 is good. A 455 VC with a stick...now that's cool!
Just be aware if you are going with a stick have the crank drilled for a pilot bearing.
Gary is spot on.
'69s would have come with a 400, the G heads are from '71, so my guess is the block you have is a '71 which will be (in stock form) 8.5:1
Gary is spot on.
'69s would have come with a 400, the G heads are from '71, so my guess is the block you have is a '71 which will be (in stock form) 8.5:1
The 69 400 engine is the small bore long stroke motor. Not good for making power.
Can anyone list specific part numbers to help discern the good stuff from the undesirable? I can acquire a Turbo 400 for the trans application, is $400 a fair price for a useable trans? More desirable than a T350? 400 is currently on the backend of a GM diesel small block. Enlighten me!
A T-400 has greater torque capacity than a T-350. That's why Olds used them on their larger engines.
The T-400 was made with different bolt patterns to mate to the engine block. The one you referenced has the Chevrolet pattern. This will not fit an Olds engine.
You want a T-400 with the BOP pattern (fits Buick, Olds, Pontiac blocks). You can tell the difference by looking at the ID plate on the transmission, which has a large 2-letter code. If the first letter is O, it's from an Olds.
Further, you want a T-400 that has a long tailshaft. The tailshaft is the bolted extension at the end of the transmission. The tailshaft you want is 10" long. You need this long tailshaft to reduce the length of the driveshaft so it is easier to balance. Thankfully, this is a common trans because it came on all wagons and full-sized Oldsmobiles with the tall-block engine, like your 455.
You will not need to pay $400 for an Olds T-400 unless it is recently rebuilt with receipts.
As an example of what they are worth, you can have the one from my Vista Cruiser. It has 30,000 miles since rebuild (not sure of the quality of the rebuild, but it worked fine for me). Just arrange for someone to pick it up who is traveling along I-10 through Texas toward LA.
This picture is of the correct-length T-400 tailshaft.
Any 455 is good as long as long as all the clearances are nice and everything mag fluxes good.
The older 455s 68-71ish are usually more desirable. The larger valve non-smog heads 68-70 are more desirable.
Agree that any 455 would be good. I think there's a little bit of misinformation here.
The 68-70 engines had higher compression due to smaller piston dishes; the piston dish volume increased from 71-76 to achieve 8.5:1 compression (not an issue if the engine is being rebuilt with new pistons), but the heads were essentially the same from 68-72, until the J heads in 1973 that had more restrictive exhaust ports (but still had the same size combustion chambers). "Non smog heads" would likely refer to 68-72 heads, and "smog heads" would refer to the 73-76 heads.
October 12th, 2021, 05:36 PM
Big Block in a basket.
