I do not post much but this site has been a treasure for information. I have a 1973 cutlass S that I put a 455 from a 73 toro in last year. The motor has around 60,000 miles and runs good. I will be pulling it to do a few upgrades and fix some leaks.

It has a Edelbrock performer cam, Edelbrock intake, Edelbrock timing chain and gears, rebuilt quadrajet toro carburetor, MSD Distributor and coil, stock J heads. and stock air conditioning.

I have large valve stock C heads that i will put on. I have two questions:

I ordered cometic .027 head gaskets. Is this ok for the heads?
Is there a better cam choice for this motor while I have it out?

It also has 2.5" exhaust with glass packs and Thortons W/Z manifolds.

Just a street driver no track. I would like a little more muscle car tone and torque. I have searched this site with no real answers to my questions. I will be changing gear ratio from stock in the near future also.

Thanks

 

In my opinion the limiting factor on your cam choice will be the factory pistons. The compression is around 8:1 and if you go too big it will be a slouch.
Even going to the 2323 pistons will make a big difference in what you can put in it.

My $.02.

 

Is there a specific brand and part number for the 2323 pistons? Oldsmobile knowledge and machinist are pretty much non existent where I live. My knowledge is limited also.

 

Sealed Power L2323F or Speed Pro L2323F. Made by Federal Mogul and marketed under both of those names.

 

What are the specs of the current E-brock cam?

 

It is the Performer Plus 288/298 472/496

thanks

 

 

Looks like those duration numbers are the advertised figures. That cam comes in at 214/224 @ 0.050, I think. So you may already have too much cam for your current compression. I'll concur with the others here -- you certainly don't want to go bigger without increasing the compression.

 

I built my 455 with the same pistons, and with the combo I picked, ended up at approx. 9.8 to 1.

Used a cam with 226/230 at 110 LSA.

Perfect for the street.

 

Thank you for the replies. I will order the pistons and rings today. I have always thought the car was pretty slow for a 455. Again Thank You. So my next question would be with my current parts and the 2323 pistons, would i still use the .027 head gaskets or the gaskets that came with the FelPro gasket kit?

Also, cutlassefi, would you recommend a better cam grind for this setup?

 

 

PM sent to cutlassefi

 

I'm doing a very similar refresh on my '73 455 at the moment.
I bought these pistons .030" over, but if your donk only has 60K miles you may get away with std size???
I don't know if that's a thing or not to change piston/ rings without boring or at least honing the cylinders.
Wiseco;
https://kmjperformance.com/wiseco-pt...ore-4-125.html