Hello, I am not sure on cams. I recently got a good 455 out of a Toro and i am thinking in an Eagle 488 stroker kit in the lower. I need some help on what cam size. i want a nice lope at idle. Any info on an Intake and heads would also be greatly appreciated. I'm new at this and have always wanted a 455 and now i have one and want to do it right.

 

First, whats your budget ? What HP are you looking to make ? What transmission, rear differential ratio and what body is it going into ?

 

I was going for around 600 hp, hopefully. I was going to see what I could get the engine to do and build around that. I haven't pick a Trans, rear end or body yet.

 

600hp isn't a real easy number to hit even with a 488 stroker and drive it daily. It will also not be inexpensive to build to the 600hp level.

 

600 HP? OK, you need to contact a race engine builder such as Stolpa (Rocket Racing) or Trovato (BTR) and have a huge budget. Rocket Racing block, ported aftermarket aluminum heads, BIG roller cam. It will idle roughly at about 1500 rpm, and last maybe 50-100 miles at most before you need to freshen it up to keep that level of HP. Built Dana 60 or Ford 9" rear, built HD trans and converter or race 4 speed (Jerico or G-Force) with sintered iron disc/slipper clutch.
It is easy to pick a number off the roulette wheel. Getting there is not always easy.

 

Maybe I got a little excited. 600hp was kind of a hope, But hopefully 500 or close to it would be more reasonable. I'm new to this and just learning a few things.

 

You can achieve 450-475 hp with 455 block and crank, the recipe is up to you.
Good Luck!

 

Recommend you go for 400 hp at most.

What is the goal for this vehicle? Are you going to legit drag race? Like pull it to a track, do serious runs, try to win at bracket racing, be there most weekends of the season drag race? Or, do you want a street machine that might go down a drag track once but is fun to drive around town in? Or, do you want something that just goes uddin uddin uddin at a stop light and looks the part? Do you want to go down the highway in it for road trips or is this an around town car?

Modern cars can have 600 hp, air conditioning, 20 mpg, and drive nicely. Old cars can't. Even the most powerful Olds muscle cars only had about 375 net hp back in the day, and some of them were not real fun to drive other than racing. You will sacrifice drivability for massive power. Massive power is only needed for legit drag racing cars. Otherwise, you just need "enough power to be fun." Enough power to be fun varies per the man. I can have fun with 200 hp and highway gears. I don't need any more than 350 or so net hp in an A body. You might want more, but I don't think you'll want much more.

Lots of people that know far more than me on racing have already replied, so they can help you once you mention your intended activities.

 

If your using the stroker kit, may as well get aftermarket heads and a good street roller cam setup, with headers that will give you more seat of the pants torque and fun than you probably ever had..and I assure you, you will not wipe the smile off your face easily.. lol. Of course you need to choose rear gears and trans combo to maximize the build. Roughly estimate on HP, somewhere in the 440-490 hp level tuned right etc. Cutlassefi on her is an excellent builder and can design what you want.

 

I appreciate all the replies. I am looking for an around the town, probly hit the drag track a few times for fun. I would like something that will pin you down in the seat when you hit it. There will probly be no road trips in it. I was planning on getting a performance set of heads, cam and rockers along with the bottom half i mentioned. I am just not familiar with a good recipe for the top end that goes with the bottom end I want for an Olds setup. They can be a bit different. Thats why i am looking for maybe some examples and oh hey i tried this and it was great and oh I tried that and it was no good. Ya'll seem very knowledgeable and have experience from most of the posts I have read in this forum so I am listening to all I see.. But over all I want something that's going to throw me back in my seat good that i can have fun with. I have started with the Engine and will build around that with a trans, rear end and car. I dont know if thats the correct way to do it but it sounds like a decent plan in my head,

 

Have you actually bought the stroker kit yet ?

 

Cam choice should be based on compression ratio, I believe.

 

455s are all about torque. Don’t get hung up on HP numbers if you are building a street occasional/strip car.

 

 

From what you wrote, I don't see need for a stroker kit. As others posted, contact cutlassefi about a street worthy bulld.

 

IMO, if you want a reliable motor and therefore car, build a mild 455 with a bit of cam, a great exhaust system, MSD Ignition, Aluminum intake w/ a good dialed in carb, a 12 bolt w/ 3.73s, and a Tremec 5 speed transmission (or a 4 speed overdrive automatic). I used this recipe for many, many, miles of carefree driving. You will not regret building something less than fire breathing as the bigger you go, the bigger the failure will be when it goes. And go it will. Stay mild and drive it every day. Go wild and expect much down time in between fixing what you broke.

I have a C5 right now. Was going to Supercharge it. Got talked out of that by my Speed Shop. They said it would become not a friendly driver to which I concurred. I have owned plenty of N/A and forced induction setups. The bigger and badder I built, the sooner it broke. Here's one where I didn't stop. 14 to 1. Dominator, etc. 96 Z/28. This was after the stock small block (boom) and the stroker 383 (boom again). Went to a 538 BBC w/ 200 shot.