SO GOT SOME ??? ON WHAT YOU GUYS....AND GALS THINK OF THE OLDS 455.....ALSO WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A 455 PONTIAC 455 BUICK AND 455 OLDS

 

Other than the fact are came from GM there is nothing the same about the 3 engines. Thats like asking the the difference between a Ford and a Chevy.

Welcome to CO

 

Richard is correct. The only similarities are the displacement. I really can't tell you much more than that because I don't know much about the Buick and Pontiac 455. I believe the distributor is in the front on those engines (talk about backwards).

 

Pontiac distributor is in rear and Buick is in front

 

The most important point is that the Olds is the best of the three

 

Come on guys. The distributor caps are the same. You guys talked about the distributors but missed it. I am a little disappointed in you Richard.

 

Sorry boss I'll do better next time

 

They all have the same bolt pattern for the bell housing. the B.O.P. pattern

Gene

 

The buick is based on a small block and weighs less ...

 

The Buick distributor is in the front because those guys have shorter arms...

 

Oh! They are painted different colors as well.

 

Well...one has 7 letters in the name, one has 5 letters in the name, and one has 10 letters in the name. Who says longer isn't better?! HAHA!!

 

THATS ALOT OF INFO THANX GUYS BUT ONE MORE ?? WILL THEY ALL BOLT UP SAY IF YOU WANTED TO PUT AN OLDS 455 IN A BUICK OR VIS VERSA

 

same bell housing different starter location, motor mounts, radiator routingm exhaust manifold, wiring, ...

 

Plumbing to radiator would be different too, you would have to get one or maybe two of those flex hoses or do a lot of trail and error fitting to get a molded one to fit.

 

Factory 350/350. Sweet car, lasted me quite a long while.

Finally blew the engine after a couple hundred thousand, got crazy and decided to put a 455 in it.

Succeeded, but it never really did handle the same. Ended up selling to some guy that wanted to take it to the other end of the country and race it...

Without knowing more about your project, about all I can say is that unless you have a very good reason to swap between the three, leave well enough alone. The hassle involved in making everything fit is probably far more than any potential benefit from swapping.

 

I've heard the Olds 455 is the worst of the 3. Massive oiling issues at higher RPM's.

The Buick I've heard is the best.

 

Urban myth

 

Not quite a myth really for those that are familiar with Dr Olds (Mondello's) "Fixes" for the 455's ailments - Like oil restrictors in the galleys to prevent
this from happpening. Spinning over 5,000RPM's the 455's began to starve the crank from oil.......and Mondello came up with a fix for this with his oil
restrictors.That plus a higher volume oil pump. Truth be told, the Rocket 350 is more desirable as is the one in the W-31 by some.....

The bore / stroke of 455's is less then desirable as well for any kind of HP. GREAT TORQUE MONSTERS, without a doubt.....just a boat anchor on corners.
So it really depends on your opinions , and your goals. But I've heard several non-biased people layout the faults of the Olds 455's.

Me personally, I'm building a clone, so I don't NEED a boat anchor, and I'm even selling the Rocket 350 to put an LSx motor in it.
I want to be able to turn corners fast. lol

 

[QUOTE=Aceshigh;103651]Not quite a myth really for those that are familiar with Dr Olds (Mondello's) "Fixes" for the 455's ailments - Like oil restrictors in the galleys to prevent
this from happpening. Spinning over 5,000RPM's the 455's began to starve the crank from oil.......and Mondello came up with a fix for this with his oil
restrictors.That plus a higher volume oil pump. Truth be told......./QUOTE]

Sorry, I believe (as do many others) that Joe's answer is one reason the myth exists. Restrictors are a counterproductive solution to a perceived problem.
I'm from the camp that believes oil restrictors should *never* be used in Olds engines. Despite his fame, Joe does not speak for the entire Olds community when it comes to Olds engine building.

 

That could be the case.

Just so many sources claim the same thing about the 455's oiling issues above 4000 rpm.
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tec...ild/index.html

 

I put a HV oil pump in my 455 with a 7 quart Milodon pan. I didn't install any oil restrictors and I haven't had any problems so far. Of course, I will rarely turn 4000+ rpm.

 

I understand, but think about it. What does PHR really know about Olds engines? They are not Olds experts by any stretch. Where do they get their information? From years of experience? No.
So I don't think that there being many sources that say the same thing validates it.
Olds engines are enough different from others that wise advice has *always* been to have engine work done *only* by someone that knows Olds engines.
Not that say that PHR doesn't generally know what their doing. Same can be said for a machine shop. They can be good, but not on top of what makes a good Olds build.

 

So many people think that all engines are just like a Chevy. They want to 9000 rpm all the time. They also get upset when they can't buy the Oldsmobile parts at "Wallmart" So they cheap out and put a chevy in there OLDS. Then they run down to "Wallmart". They don't want to use there mechanical abilities or there lack of. There are many oiling problems the chevy has, that I see many places try to fix.
I have a few engines out there that run 6000 pretty often, they run 5800/5900 for they run faster at that rpm. I have been running this combo for the last 8 years. Just a few mods and correct clearances and away you go.
I bet the chevy guys would have sh-tfit if I told them I put an OLDS in a chevy.

Gene

 

Come to think of it, I don't believe I have ever seen an Olds engine in another vehicle in a magazine like Hot Rod or Car Craft (except a Trans Am of course). It is always the Chevy engine in the Olds, Buick, Pontiac, etc.