Building a 430

Discussion in 'Street/strip 400/430/455' started by ghrp, Aug 23, 2019.

  1. ghrp

    ghrp Well-Known Member

    Good morning everybody !

    Hope everything is going good on your side. I currently own a 75' Electra with a 430 in it (The original 455 have had a problem and has been replaced with a 430 before I bought the car). For the story I bought the car last autumn and drove it +5h hours on the highway to bring it home. It drank two or three pints of oil (which is no good) but rode like a charm.

    To make it summer ready I changed the following things :
    - Swapped the stock intake manifold for a EDL Performer Intake
    - Cleaned the Qjet
    - Swapped points ignition for HEI + new sparkplug wires
    - Installed long tube Doug's headers (the car already had a 2.5 inches exhaust system with no X or H pipe with two cherry bomb)

    Up to now the engine STILL drinks oil, I am guessing both valves guides and piston rings are shut since I can see blue smoke at the start up (not at every start up) and every time the engine is under load, especially going up a hill. The engine is going to be pulled out this winter so the shop I work with can tear it apart.

    I have a few ideas on what to do to make it a good and reliable sleeper but since I am still learning how Buick engines work, I might be wrong with some stuff and that's the reason I need your help/opinion

    What I had in mind as far as mods/parts was :
    - Oiling mods for BBB
    - EDL Aluminium heads to match the current intake I have
    - New camshafts (don't know which one and which brand) + timing chains
    - Not sure if I am going to change pistons, that will depend if the block has to be bored over (we'll be fixed when we are going to tear it apart) (if so, should I buy notched pistons or not?)

    I know TA Performance got very good parts but I have to admit I order much of my stuff on Summit since the shipping cost is much more friendly considering I live in Quebec. My main questions are : is my current setup fairly good as far as performance and reliability ? Should I systemically buy new pistons instead and keep the iron heads instead of the EDL ? I have no HP goals whatsoever, but 500 is a fairly good number imo.

    Discuss !
     
    68 Wildcat likes this.
  2. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    As a guy who rebuilt a 430 I'd suggest you don't. It's a bit cheaper to build a 455 and there are much better piston choices available. Not to mention 25 extra cubes!
     
  3. 68 Wildcat

    68 Wildcat Dash Riprock

    I'm in Montreal, where are you located?
     
  4. johnriv67

    johnriv67 Well-Known Member

    I’d suggest going for a 442, using the BBC pistons and rings for cheaper.
     
    GraySky and Donuts & Peelouts like this.
  5. ghrp

    ghrp Well-Known Member

    I thought about that option as well. I am pretty sure I can find a junkyard with a 455 laying around.

    I am located in Rivière-du-Loup, which is roughly a 4.5 hours drive with a car going 120 km/h, and a tad more when you drive an Electra at 80/90 km/h.

    Interesting ! Never thought about that possibility
     
  6. Donuts & Peelouts

    Donuts & Peelouts Life's 2 Short. Live like it.

    Dont be discouraged about the 430. The 455 have weaker blocks from them taking the block down just to get 455cubes. The 430 is a square engine and will be just as fun as any 455. Build what you have.
     
    lemmy-67 likes this.
  7. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

  8. Donuts & Peelouts

    Donuts & Peelouts Life's 2 Short. Live like it.

  9. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    :D4 years before you joined V8. Built about the same time as my engine.
     
    Donuts & Peelouts likes this.
  10. ghrp

    ghrp Well-Known Member

    Sweet stuff Larry !! I will have a look
     
  11. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    Take your time and do your homework before buying pistons and rods. There are lots of choices today that will allow you to build a stroked engine with the piston at zero deck. Add aluminum heads with entry level porting and a cam with 230* of intake duration and the motor will easily make well over 500HP.

    The 448 CID engine is a 4.250" bore with a 3.95" stroke. You can also build the same engine with a 4.050" stroke and displace 460 cubic inches. That's from a 430 block. The 455 bored .038 over for a 4.350 bore will displace 470 or 482 cubic inches. Custom pistons and drop in rods are available. Do your research and ask questions BEFORE you pull the trigger.


    http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/482-rods-now-available.324448/

    http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/470-vs-482-differences-similarities.327964/
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2019
    Donuts & Peelouts likes this.
  12. ghrp

    ghrp Well-Known Member

    Those are words of wisdom. Thank you very much !
     
  13. Bens99gtp

    Bens99gtp Well-Known Member

    Dont forget, the eddy heads will require different rockers arms. Might be worth the extra coin to get the tas, room to grow later too

    We had a stk bottom end 430, good set of ported iron heads, small cam, not much over 500 lift, but good duration, sp1 and large 4150, 4.10 gears 4000 stall went 11.30s in my 3800lb gs
     
  14. ghrp

    ghrp Well-Known Member

    Good afternoon guys,

    It turns out I'll be pulling the engine out of the car by the end of this month. I am still unsure of what I am going to do mods wise, I'm guessing I'll wait to tear it apart to see what really needs to be replaced, what can be kept, etc.

    On the other hand, can any of you guys link me on Summit or any other website the rods and pistons I could buy to build a 442 or a 460 ? I'll be able to map out the best options considering my budget.
     
    Donuts & Peelouts likes this.
  15. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    johnriv67 and Donuts & Peelouts like this.
  16. Bens99gtp

    Bens99gtp Well-Known Member

    You wont find much at the big box stores for our motors beside very basic parts
     
    Donuts & Peelouts likes this.
  17. johnriv67

    johnriv67 Well-Known Member

    We are the parts store. Ask the board for advanced parts you need.
     
    Donuts & Peelouts likes this.
  18. 1969RIVI

    1969RIVI Well-Known Member

    Like mentioned above, forget summit go straight to Jim Weise at TSP and TA performance those are the places for our engines. As for cost of shipping all I can say about that is you gotta pay to play especially since we live in Canada. Since you're doing a rebuild you might as well go for top notch parts for the internals that way you won't have to open up the engine again and maybe go a bit cheaper on the bolt on stuff cause you can always swap it out later as funds permit. The common saying on this board is "Buy once cry once":D:p
     
  19. ghrp

    ghrp Well-Known Member

    "Buy once cry once" I love this one :D

    Alright I will do my homeworks and keep you posted!
     
  20. Philip66

    Philip66 Well-Known Member

    X2 for my vote to go with TA aluminum heads instead of Edelbrock. Not that there is anything wrong with Edy heads, but you can use your stock shaft rockers with the TA heads instead of the Chevy rockers that are required with Edy. Either will allow you to bolt on your existing Performer intake. Off the shelf un-ported TA heads will give you plenty of flow to reach 500 HP. When you decide it's time for more power you can then get them ported and maybe move up to a more aggressive camshaft.
    Lay a good foundation now for future upgrades and you can stretch your overall cash outlay by not buying the same parts more than once.

    Besides the "Buy Once, Cry Once" adage, it's nice to be a able to support a company that is dedicated to the preservation and performance of Buick engines and cars.
    Either Jim W. at TriShield Performance or the guys and gals at TA will be able to walk you through the checklist and ordering process you will need to make sure you get everything you need, and that it will all work together.

    Just thought I would throw my $.02 in the pot....;)
     
    patwhac and Donuts & Peelouts like this.

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