Good Morning Gents, was hoping I could get some direction from some experts. I have a Olds 455 that came in a 79 Trans Am that I recently purchased. I was told the engine came from a 71 442. Well Ive been doing some homework and have found its a 1970 engine. Block-396021F . Filler Tube 0484871, front left block # 30M321083. I'm the third owner of the car and the word I got was the original owner put this engine in it to run some 1/8 mile. This thing is a monster ton of torque , Im trying to figure out what this came out of , I'm pretty sure it wasn't a 442 cuz the block is gold and the filler tube has gold paint. Oh yea it has E heads on it. The intake was replaced with a performer so no intake numbers. My mechanic replaced the intake valley pan and was extremely impressed said everything looked brand new. I took it to the track after the Holley carb was rebuilt and it ran 13.8 / 98mph with a 3.73 rear. My guy was impressed. Any help on what this engine is and what it might be worth would be awesome. Thanks Guys

 

The second digit in the 30M321083 VIN derivative tells you it is a 1970 block. Yes, it could have come from a 442, but the blocks are the same 442, or not. Gold is not the correct color for any 455.

 

It was definitely repainted when rebuilt. For some reason people think all Olds engines were gold.

You're never going to find out what it originally came in unless by chance you run into the guy with the body that has those last 6 numbers in his VIN.

 

As noted, the most you can tell is that it is a 1970 455 (the E heads are also from 1970), it was built in Lansing (so it could have come from any Olds model from that year), and it is not a W-30 motor. Without tearing it down, you can't even tell the compression ratio or the valve sizes.

 

Thanks guys for your help, haha a buddy of mine says the motor came from a land yacht. I'm thinking of putting the motor on craigslist any thoughts on what I should list it for?

 

The problem with used engines is nobody wants to pay anything for them because there is no way to know for sure what you're getting.

Why are you thinking of selling it?

 

i just sold a cheby 350 that ran good! good compresion and pretty clean the guy wanted to complain about the 300 i was asking but he called back after looking else where(I work at an engine shop and see runners come in for freshen ups and they leak out of everywhere they can leak but clean inside and i have seen em come in clean on the outside and nasty on the inside its a dice game) i prefer to buy an engine apart and sell them apart... after magnafluxing i get more money too! wow i rambled but i think i made some sort of point people never know what one gets,,,,leave it in and running you will get more money if someone can here it..my 20 cents worth

 

I bought my 455 and TH 400 for $300 and it was a steal. The 455 was complete from the pan to the carburetor. If you have an engine that runs and you can prove that then you might be able to ask $400. Make sure you provide the potential buyer times slips from your runs at the 1/4 mile track. When I bought my 455 all I knew is that the engine turned over with a wrench.

 

I'm selling the motor to help finance putting a pontiac motor in the T/A. I figure I will put it up for sale while its in the car and the buyer can come see it drive it knowing its in good shape ready to go. Yea I still have the time slip. That was the only time I took it to the track, was hoping to be in the 12's.

 

I thought late 70s TransAms had Oldsmobile motors in them?

Didn't Burt Reynolds' car have a 403 in it?

 

78/79 T/As had 403s in them. The stick cars got 400s.
His car was probably a 403 car that someone dropped the 455 in.

 

Exactly what happened a previous owner dropped the 455 in it, I tried to get in touch with the owner but he moved and number has changed. Oh well , I do have all the records that the previous owner kept from all the work he had done to it.

 

Gents,
I just bought a 1970 Cutlass with a 455 and E heads. Can anyone provide some info on E heads" I believe they sport 2" intake and 1.66" exhaust on the valve size. Do they breath well enough to achieve 450 to 500 HP without any further work? Thanks

 

Where are you ..?

My #s' engine needs work but I'd be happy with a runner ...

 

Oh yeh ...

What kind of pontiac motor do you want ..?

What year ..?

I'm in So.Cal. ...

 

E-heads can be either large (2.072) or small valve, no way to tell externally.
Not usually the way to go for 450-500 hp.

 

Since I purchased a 1978 TA new, with an auto trans, I can tell you that they came with a Pontiac 400. My girl friend at the time then later purchased (or actually it was her Dad!!!) a 79 TA which came with an Olds 403.

 

I can get a turbo that was used on a ford 351m400 ...

Since I want to maximize for the local strip which is 1/8th mile ..

I'm thinking to keep the velocity up so smaller valves might be the way to go ..?

The stock 2 into one exhaust might also work ...

 

I have a question(s) close to the one discussed here... How do I find out what the Motor (Olds 455) came out of before being placed in a 1958 Olds super "88"?, and as some of my motorhead friends asked, If it s a 'W-30' or not.... and what a 455 or 'w-30 455' might be worth { If it is a 'w-30', I was told it might be worth a chunk of change...!?!}... the motor is blue, with a Q-jet carb and appears to be original as far as can tell aside from "Custom fabricated" headers ... can't tell if any internal work has been done, but motor runs strong and I checked the compression - ( don't know what the numbers mean for compression ratio, but all the cylinders seem to be within close range of each other)
I am thinking about removing the engine and tranny [ a 455 attached to a powerglide] ... possibly placing it in something else or selling the combo off to help finiance restoration of another Oldsmobile I have..... for those wondering, the '58 has incurred some heavy body damage and [currently] beyond my capacity to repair -- unless I opt to do some sort of 'Rat Rod' with it.... but I have other cars to work on...

 

The first step is to determine if the intake is aluminum. Is it same blue as engine or is it a dull silvery aluminum color.

Also, check here: http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofeng.htm#Engines

You want your engine to have come from the Lansing plant.

 

A what?!?!???

It's called a 400 modified. Not a 351 modified to a 400. The modified designator is due to the fact that the block is a "modified" cleveland casting.

Sorry...pet peeve.

 

W30 intakes can be added as can the heads (D, F, or H are the only W30 specific). The only way to prove that you have an actual W30 block would be if you had a build sheet from the car it came out of matching the last 6 and M punched into the block below #1 spark plug.

 

Actually a couple more. *Any* documents with the VIN and W30 info like a window sticker will confirm it.
Also *if* it is an auto W30 and has the VIN on the W30 specific trans and it matches the block, that works too.
Still very unlikely regardless.

 

Unless the OW tag has been swapped (you can buy them on ebay now).

 

Well, true. And everything could be re-stamped anyway. The grim reality we face now-a-days, thank you very much to the irresponsible greed out there.

 

Yes, the tag can be purchased, but grinding out the stamp on the driver side of trans is much arder and no matter what you do you're going to be able to notice missing metal there. Grinding out the stamp on the engine would probably be easier, but still would take skill.

Let me ask this. Regarding the engine would it be reasonable and possible to remove a valve cover and measure the lift and duration of the push rods? We know the w-30 had a slightly hotter cam then the regular 442.

Also, while I agree heads, intake, exhaust manifolds and such can be put on easily enough....why would someone do this and put it in a Trans Am? I mean all those pieces are very expensive to obtain.

 

It could have been done on a previous build when the items were not as expensive or by someone who lucked into them not knowing what they were or what they were worth. You never know, stranger things have happened.

 

Oops ...

Would a turbo set-up from a 400m fit a 351 cleveland...

 

I am looking to buy a 1970 455. I am not sure where you are located,but I could possibly pay to freight it.I've done that before. You can e-mail me at thetrickfamily@yahoo.com or give me a call at 814-440-3553.

 

Turbo set up? Well seeing as any turbo on a ford V8 would be custom there is a possibility, but I couldn't say for sure. It would depend on the car.
The engines are in the same family, but there are subtle differences between them.