I have decided to pull the 455 and do a complete rebuild. At the same time I'll get the distributor recurved and have the Q-jet rebuilt. The carb has never been done and neither has the dist. I'll be pulling the engine in my garage and should have everything completed by June 1.

With the paint two years ago and now a newly rebuilt engine, I should be done......who am I kidding, after this I'll look at upgrading the suspension, but I'll do that next year. I see that one back spring is weak and the car is leaning on one side so I'll get that done this spring too. Midas changed the springs about 25 years ago and gave me a "guaranteed for life" warranty. They had to replace all the shocks last year (Monroe gas)because of the same warranty. I mean, who keeps their cars for 30 years?

 

A lifetime warranty is a good thing in your case may you live long and the Olds prospers on

 

Why?? How many miles are actually on it ??

 

The engine has about 181,000 miles on it. I've noticed some blue smoke when I back up, but not when the car idles. It has lost it's "snap" of years ago.

Spoke with a few guys in our club who know this guy who has rebuilt their engines (four Olds 455's and one Pontiac 455) and they highly recommend him. I told him about my engine and he heard it run and thought there might be a lifter knock but nothing too serious. He said that I should run it until I really start having problems.

But as only cars guys can know, IT BUGS ME! and that is enough. I find I'm ot driving as much as I used to. So, I'm going to "fix it". Really, are we ever truely finished with our cars? He said that I should deliver the engine to him and he'll tear it down. He said from what he's heard a full bore rebuild may not be necessary, but he'll know better when it's apart.

I told him how I want the car to perform and sound. I told him that it's not going to see a race track but want it brought back to be a strong street drivable car. So, on Saturday, a friend and I will pull the engine (with a hoist borrowed from a friend in the club), and put it on an engine stand (borrowed from another friend) and load it onto a pick up (yeah, another friend) and delivered. He said I should have it back at the end of May/beginning of June and will be really happy with it. We'll see.

 

Save yourself some money and tear it down to the bones your self. Saved 500.00 in labor on mine that way.

 

Who's building it for you ?

 

Guy's name is Brad. He's in Edmonton. You from around here?

 

Got the engine out of the car today. It took about 8 hours but it's off to be rebuilt. Boy, it was dirtier than it looked. My friend Bob and I went to work on it this morning. I'll also change out the water pump (15 years old), the fuel pump (35 years old)and have the carb rebuilt for the first time and recurve the distributor. Now, when it warms up a bit, I'll get to cleaning and painting the engine bay. I'll keep you updated as things progress.

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