I have absolutely no clue about such things. I'm not counting on it, but that'd be frickin sweet if it was!!
Yeah, hang on to it. They have a nice core value...$75 or something like that. Looks like you got a good deal on that engine. I buy stuff and it turns out to be junk most of the time Good posting :beers2: Mark
Is there any other ways to find out for certain? In a way I kinda doubt this one is a SP converter, but I'd like to be sure.
Thanks for that Devon, I'll have to shine a light down into the TC and report what I find. Ok, so I'm stuck trying to make a decision on what lifters to buy. Rhoads seem like a good choice, but some say they are too noisy. Personally, I am more concerned with ANY bleed down lifter taking away from whatever lumpy sound my cam would give at idle. Otherwise, they supposedly perform great. But I don't know if I should just go with some Sealed Powers from O'Reilly, or some hard faced stock type like what TA sells (TA 1405), or some Johnson lifters (TA 1406), or some Rhoads lifters... Any advice, experiences, or opinions are welcome.
::::Miniature Update:::: Finally got the lifter valley "as cast" removed (all the jagged, thin metal jutting out from the lifter bores into the hole leading to the cam). Looks good, but I may paint the area with this stuff I saw on a show that will help the oil to circulate better...we'll see. Also, I know I've been saving every nickel and dime so i can get the machine work done, but I found a guy about an hour away from me selling a set of Buick 455 long tube headers. I went out there yesterday and picked them up for $55!! They are pretty rusty and dented in several places, but nothing that will inhibit their performance any. They also look like custom jobs, not manufactured; as in, they look like someone bought a set of header flanges and bent and welded tubes and collectors together. Not too bad of a job and once they get blasted and painted (or maybe powder coated), they'll look great. I'll post up a few pics as soon as I can.
Charles, good score on the headers. With some luck you might be able to get them to work without too many mods. I started out with a Kenne-Bell set for Skylark/GS and had an exhaust shop cut and reroute some tubes. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than manifolds and all I could do until I had the funds for the custom fabbed set I have now. The deburring you did will help with oil drainback from the lifter valley. I don't know if I'd worry about a coating, though I used to use Rustoleum's rusty brown primer and adhesion was great. I don't worry about coatings anymore, though. I figure if an ounce of engine oil is inhibited in drainback due to lifter valley surface finish without the coating, just add an ounce. A coating's adhesion failure is a big risk. Devon
Ok, so I finally got around to getting some good pics of the headers. They are attached below. They have some decent surface rust and a few dents that mostly appear to be for fitment and clearance. I'm in the middle of negotiations with a guy near Houston that has a '72 455 & tranny out of a Centurion. It's apparently been sitting covered for about 5 years and has some surface rust. He needs a SBC for his truck and I just so happen to have a 305 & tranny collecting dust. He's looking for a straight up trade, and I'm happy to oblige him. I'll let you all know how that goes once I have more to tell.
Charles, Make sure you do some test fitment before you coat them. You may have to do some surgery to them for proper fitment.:Brow:
::UPDATE:: Ok, so while I'm in the costly (and long) process of rebuilding this 455 I have gotten seriously tired of looking at my car and wishing it were back on the road and I'm tired of cleaning the dust off it from sitting. I had a SBC 305 with a T350 lying around at my dad's house and so I decided to try and sell it to help fund the purchase of a stock, decently running 455 to stick in my car and drive. Not long after having it up on Craigslist, I got a message from a guy wanting to trade me straight up for his 455/T400 that had been sitting for quite some time. After seeing the pictures of a dirty and rusty combo sitting in the back of a '70 Chebby pickup, I was debating what kind of problems lie in wait and whether or not I should make the trade. Well, I bit the bullet and made the trade. My 305 has been sitting on a piece of plywood in the back of my dads dirt floor garage for the past 5 years but had been rebuilt and ran very well previous to me pulling it. My newly acquired 455 had also supposedly ran great before being pulled and had also sat for the last 5 years...in the back of the same Chebby in the picks, covered with the hood for "out of the weather" protection. Needless to say, this thing was stuck like chuck. Hooked a battery to it and surprisingly enough, the started and solenoid still worked. We filled every hole, chamber, cylinder, and crevice with Mystery Oil (great stuff by the way) and began clicking the starter and cranking down on a prybar. we continued this process for the next week in our spare time, turning the crank backwards and then letting the starter spin it as far as it could go. We finally got it to spin completely over and succeeded in bending only one pushrod. Fast forward to the present and we have it where it will stay running for as long as there is fuel in the funnel & hose running to the carb (which doesn't last long). There is a local annual car show on April 24th that I like to go to every year and I've only been able to enter the LeSabre in it twice, not winning anything either time. I want to be able to enter this year so I need to install all my goodies & bolt-ons to this engine and get it installed quick. At this point, the ONLY problem I have ahead of me at the moment is I need to find an inner brake reaction rod bushing. I bought the last one (needing 2) CARS had and they said they don't EVER expect to get any more in. This is the cone shaped bushing, not the thinner round outer one. Does ANYONE have one I can buy off them? I would love to use my old ones just to make due and get to the show, but mine were literally deteriorated to crumbs... I will have pictures to follow shortly, for now I'm off to pick up my parts that came in at the parts warehouse. Later!!
