Mac,

my wngine is Fusick's 455 Blue. You will find there are many opinions on what is the correct shade. It's on page 66 of their catalog.


Also, not 12 pt, but here are my 6 put ARP intake bolts

 

Oh, I'm sooo past everything looking "correct", lol. I just very much like the color of your engine. I mean, you know, I want it to be blue. I'm just not that worried about the exact right blue.
I don't suppose you have a part number for those bolts? Everything I find for this intake and 455 are for a Pontiac. Are they the same?

 

Mac, I looked at several engines at car shows, and every time I liked the color it was the Fusicks 455 blue.

I looked at my machine shop bill, but it did not list the part number. I will try to give them a call in the next day or two. I need to follow up with them any way on another part.

 

The color looks very similar to my 455 i got the paint on ebay from thorntons

i dont see any ebay listing but its on his www

http://thorntonmusclecars.com/produc...m-engine-paint

I used about 2.5 cans w 3-4 coats this isnt my pic but you get the idea

 

That's perfect. Thanks fellas. I like how it's sitting next to a notched valve cover.

 

That blue is such a pretty color. I can't believe Olds chose that boring bronze for the mid 60's engines.

 

Because Olds gold is fun to say?

 

Hey Troy, what kind of fuel pump is that? I mean, besides fancy-schmancy chrome? I deleted my carbon can long ago so only need fuel in and out.

 

Mac get a robbmc fuel pump. Best 185 bucks you can spend on fuel supply. No one makes a good chrome pump anymore. Holley used to and thats what i had but it pooped out and no rebuold kits anymore.

 

And the Holley / Mr Gasket mechanical fuel pumps are prone to cracking.

 

This one?

http://www.robbmcperformance.com/products/olds550.html

 

-No room for the top outlet port if running air and looks like I'll need a 90* AN fitting coming out of the front in order to clear the AC bracket. Same size fitting as stock? I just spent $65 on braided line and AN fittings so would like to reuse.
-Is the inlet on the back? Doesn't show in the picture.
-Any estimates of the horsepower this 455 beast will have with Copper's 512/512 cam, aluminum intake, 9.5 CR, and full length headers? (I have a line on a used set of headers. Pre-massaged!, Lol).

 

 

Meh, 180 - 210 ...........

Just kidding. What heads are you going to be running?

 

It was a Holly, part number: no work.

Dyno day- Engine test great on Dyno fuel delivery system. Hooked up this fuel pump 15lbs at idle, drop to less than 2lbs as the engine wound up. Engine not happy with that. "Pretty" went back. That was the machinest idea, thought he was doing the right thing for an Oldsmobile given the 850 carb. I still have not bought the fuel pump yet to run in the car.

That was was the part that I needed to talk to the machine shop on. He was still waiting on the refund from the supplier.

 

Oh yeah, heads might be a small part of that equation, eh?
They're J heads but have been ported, polished, bowl work, AIR bumps removed, spring seats deepened, all sharp corners removed in chambers, crane everything. Ready to bolt on but they have a strange copper-colored paint on them. They do have the smaller valves but I'm fine with that. 442.com says the large valves can sacrifice low end torque.

So, kind of like how my small block chrome valve covers were a perfect seal (not!).

 

Hmm, do I see a Dyno in your future????????

 

Maybe. Numbers are cool but I'm more interested in the ol' butt-dyno

 

Brought it home today! A thing of beauty.

 

Crank has the small CN on the front counterweight. Guess I got lucky (if there is really a difference).

From 442.com:

"Has a big ol' N (or smaller CN) cast onto the side of the front weight. Best 455 crank you can get, unless you count the elusive 'forged' unit"

 

From a Hotrod.com article:

"At the bottom of the list is a standard cast-iron production crankshaft, which typically has a tensile strength of 65-80,000 psi, and is fairly brittle with an elongation rating of some 3 percent. Some OE iron cranks were made from nodular (ductile) iron, an improved cast iron that ups the tensile strength into the 100,000-psi range, but more importantly improves ductility to about 5-6 percent elongation before failure."

 

There is a question on strength vs the non "N" crank but if you have the CN or N, you know it is a nodular iron crank. The only reason GM would have eliminated the nodular cranks is if it saved them a cent.

 

The "Small valve means better torque" is a load of bs. Most all my builds are equipped with a 2.125" intake valve and more cam than yours, which is also supposed to hurt "low end torque". However this last one made 595lbft at 3800-4000rpm. I'd say that's pretty good "low end torque", wouldn't you?

I would guess your combination will make about 400-425hp.

 

That would not be the first piece of misinformation on that site...

 

400-425? That's more than I hoped for but I wouldn't want much more. My trans is only rated for 500.

Understood. Thanks fellas.

 

Just an update:

School started two weeks ago so work slowed significantly but I'm ready to get back to it. The new main bearings are on back order from Summit but CopperCutlass lent me his piston ring filer so I'll be getting to those real soon.
Is it still a good practice to use an old piston with a ring in place to square-up the filed ring in the bore before checking the ring gap? I have two of the old pistons; one with a ring in the top groove and one with a ring in the bottom. I'm not really sure if that puts them exactly where they need to be, though.
I'm having trouble finding the spring pressure recommendations for the Howards cam. All the card says is to check with a Howards tech so I'll call them in the morning.

More updates coming soon... I hope!

 

Hey guys, I'm ready to do the final install of the crank. I was watching Bill Trovato's vids and he says not to bother using RTV on the rear main seal ends (thus gluing them together).
Thoughts?

 

I used RTV, helps seal and won't hurt unless you go nuts.

 

Unless I go nuts? Haha, you don't know me very well.

Thanks for chiming in.

 

Made a little progress last night and today. I did the final install of the crank and file-fit all my rings. I thought I'd maybe get through half the rings today and half next weekend but I got on a roll. The first ring took an hour. The other 15 took another 2.5 hours, lol. Wiseco says minimum of .0166" end gap but I wanted to err on the side of caution so went with a tight .018".
Looking for recommendations on ring install. Spiral them on by hand or ring pliers. Remember, I've never done this before.
Felt good getting something done for a change.

 

Looks like you're making head way. Just read all 4 pages. Got some good info in here I'll have to keep in mind. Heck I need to save up some cash so I can get a bbo. I think it would really move the wagon down the road.

 

Just a small update: I took a little more off the second rings. I called Wiseco for recommendations and they said the 2nds should have a bit wider gap. So now I have .018" for first ring set and and .022 for the 2nd.
Progress is very slow but my wife dislocated her shoulder and is now in a sling. I'm doing most of the housework on top of my full-time job. I'm still hopeful that it'll be ready by next summer.

 

Did she dislocate both shoulders.........

 

Lol, no, not yet anyway. But she's a bit of a clutz (and she agrees) so I wouldn't put it past her.
Actually, she's on her second knee replacement. One knee gave out and she fell down a couple stairs (brick, outside). she's okay though, other than the shoulder. They said the knees are good but physical therapy will take longer.

I feel like I'm doing good work on the engine. Slow but good.

 

Another update:
The rings are filed and installed on the pistons. I bought ring pliers (expanders) but didn't like how it felt so coiled them on by hand. Wasn't too hard. I was ready to install the pistons but hit a big road block. The rod caps are stuck. From what I understand this is common when having them reconned with ARP bolts. I tried several different things but with no luck. Of course I fear damaging the rods so haven't been real aggressive. I went ahead and bought a rod splitter tool. That with my brass hammer ought to get 'er done.

 

Mac what are those pistons? have any info on them you would like to share, CR etc and where you bought them?

 

Mark (cutlassefi) turned me on to these. He knows his schtuff! Pricier than the 2323f's that a lot of guys use but lighter.
Part # 5537A3 for the piston. PTS537A3 for the kit that includes chromolly rings and wrist pins. The rings are file-to-fit. That part made me nervous. The first ring took 2 hours, the other 15 took 2.5 hours, lol. I believe the pins are press fit. Honeslty, I don't remember. The machinist put the pistons on the rods for me.
A few places sell them online, including cutlassefi (private message him here on CO) but my machinist sort of insisted I buy them from him.
Specs can be found here but I'd bet cutlassefi could get you a better price:

https://kmjperformance.com/wiseco-pt...ore-4-155.html

 

Mac what did your heads CC at? How far in the hole? What head gaskets? Curious what your compression will be.

 

Well 307, assuming all my measurements are correct, with a .038" crush on the head gaskets, I'll be right at 9.78. So let's call it somewhere between 9.75 and 9.8. Right where I want to be.
The chambers are a whopping 83 CC's, the pistons are .004-.005" in the hole, the pistons have a +15 CC dish, 4.155 bore, 4.25 stroke (right?), and .....uhh....is that it?

 

your compression will slightly go up with carbon build up lol