i had a bad sound coming from my engine this weekend . i thought maybe lifters. but i had the owner of a local performace shop come over and take a listen and he said it sounds like a spun bearing. i am new at this and dont have alot of money . what should i do, i dont think i could do the rebuild myself. should i get a new engine built or rebuild the one i have. he suggested if i was going to replace the motor to put in a chevy 454. help guyz doesnt seem to be anyone around here that would be able to help me rebuild this 455 and really now what thay are doing.
dont chevy it ! you should have it taken apart...checked out...and rebuild the same motor...get in touch with some of the local BCA members in Chicago land area..or other Buick clubs....they should have a few members that rebuild or own shops..or at least work at them.....or know where 2 go .....
Rebuilds Don't know where you are in Chicagoland but I had a stock 455 short block rebuilt in February at Youngs Auto Parts on South Halsted Street. They did a fantastic stock rebuild. Ask for Vince. He is the owner's (Joe) son. Tell them that I directed you there.
carl im not to bright with car terms yet so excuse my ignorance but whats the difference between short block and long block and how do i know what i have. and what kind of money am i looking at for a rebuild.
Say no to 454, period. I'm not against Chevy engines (I like the BB427 and 409), but I am against Chevy engines in Buicks and 454s.
I'm pretty sure the short block is the entire bottom half of the motor, from the block deck down. No heads, intake, dist, carb, Longblocks include a complete engine with the exception of dist and carb
If you put a Chevy engine in there, you will find your transmission won't bolt up. I don't know this guy that listened to your engine, naturally, but it does seem to sound a bit like he wants to make some money off of you, because he knows darn well a 454 won't bolt to that Buick tranny. When I smoked an engine in my '70, I bought a complete, good running 1973 Riviera for 300 bucks and swapped the motors. If you have a complete engine, you have neither a short or long block, really. It's not a description of the engine's size, it's the level of completion of the engine. A long block is a term for a re-condition engine that just needs manifolds, distributor, starter and a carb. A short block needs those things plus heads. I would recommend finding a good running 455 to swap in if money is tight. The swap itself is easy- 6 bolts on the tranny, remove the starter and all the wiring to the engine, two bolts for the mounts and three for the torque converter and the engine comes out. Back when I knew nothing about this and was stuck with an old car with a bad engine, it took a knowledgable person to show me what to do and a weekend of time.
noisy engine HI,THERE IF THIS GUY CAN FIND THE PROBLEM AND ONLY WANTS YOU TO PUT A CHEVY MOTOR IN TIME TO FIND SOME ONE ELSE!! NOW ABOUT THE NIOSE YOU ARE HAVING, I JUST PUT A MOTOR TOGETHER FROM THE JUNK YARD AND DIDN'T CHECK THE CRANK FOR MOVEMENT. FOUND A BUICK GUY HERE AND HE CAME OVER TO HELP WITH MY NOISE. I ALSO THROUGH IT WAS THE LIFTERS, BUT FOUND OUT THAT I HAVE A BAD CRANK. MAIN BEARING OUT AND NUMBER 7&8 ROD BEARING OUT. does the soung come from the top or more from the bottom?? We check mind by the flywheel took screwdriver between flywheel and back of motor to see if it moves. If it does not good. It shouldn't move. I'M TRYING TO DO THE SAME BY SAVING SOME MONEY ON A TOTAL REBUILD,BUT GUEST NOW IT'S TIME FOR ONE. HOPE THIS HELP SOME. I'M JUST LEARNING TOO AGAIN. JERRY ALLEN 1971 GS
Jerry.. What your referring to with the crank moving is know as "end play", and the factory spec is .004-.009. You must have end play! Your guy may have seen it moving alot, which would indicate a worn thrust bearing. JW
thanks guyz for all of your help , i think i will get some other people to listen to my car and maybe start looking for another good runnin 455to swap.
TURNS OUT I NEED A CRANK AND OIL PUMP.MY ENGINE IS STOCK AND WHILE I HAVE THE ENGINE OUT I WOULD LIKE TO PUT IT BACK $1000 MORE POWERFUL. I KNOW THATS NOT ALOT BUT ITS WHAT I HAVE TO SPEND.ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED, AND IF ANYBODY KNOWS THE BEST PLACE TO GET A NEW CRANK AND OILPUMP I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY SUGGESTIONS
Where in chicago are you from? I know a lot of machine shops here and I can probly help you find a good deal so you have more money left for a cam and intake(or other upgrades in that line). Hope I can help. Kevin
I'm from Elmwood Park(North Ave. and Harlem Ave.). I know a couple good shops right by you. I'll grab the #'s to them and PM them to you tomorow.
kevin I would appreciate that, most of my friends are from your area. I lived in Schiller Park, and I bought my 72 gs clone in Franklin Park.
455 e&r machine is on north ave west of rte 83. and unless your crank is totally wasted why cant it be resurfaced,you will need a rod thou.i would check some scrap yards for a resurfaceable crank and rods.they can cut a crank to .030 over.if nessesary. and if a have had 350 cranks welded up but i dont recommend for something that revs hi i would check some other shops around your place. good luck andy o No:
Just my experience with E&R-they still have a set of BB Chevy heads that I took them at least 5 years ago for some mild bowl work. Promised them to me for months. Told me one was done and just had to finish the other, over and over. I finally sold the car because everything I hired a professional to do somehow was less than acceptable (orig '70 Chevelle convt 396, bench seat 4 spd). So I sent the guy who bought my car to get the heads-more excuses-he said "screw it". On another set of BBC heads they made me pay for valve springs and retainers that I had just purchased new elsewhere and brought them to install. They insisted that I hadn't. Around $900 total investment and still have never used these heads. I had bought a fair amount of parts from them prior and obviously got fed up with the crap. I've since found other shops to do business with. My 2 cents. Jim
shops sorry you had problems i was just suggesting there are other places to check near there . it seems like alot of shops try to shaft ya. i went to performance auto on 73rd and western and they put a 020 over piston and 7 030 overs in my block then told me that cyl need to be sleeved. apparently couldnt see a 020 stamped in piston .dah. then got engine started and oil pump was missing two bolts and was pumping oil out of block.they didnt want to fix so it helps if you know a good shop by rep.or inspect really good when you get parts back.o No: they figure you dont know any better i guess what shops you use? andy:TU:
I'm actually trying a different machinist so I won't mention their name till I can say something one way or another. They have been around for quite some time though and they are not doing the assembly-just machining and balancing. This way someone else will be checking their work. Hoping for the best. Jim
I used Tom Andresen for my motor rebuild. He's done engines for several other people in the club. Probably too far for you, he's way out in Woodstock. There's an advertisment in the Chicagoland GSCA newsletter for Precision Engine & Machine in Sleepy Hollow which is also up NW. I haven't used them, but if you're interested their email is: PEMracingengine@aol.com
