gs 455 vs ss396 chevelle

All's good ... I just have some really good recipes for rat tail - Mark (IV) my words ...

 

I never tried it against a standard 455 GS, but my 1969 L-78 396 4 speed Chevelle wont even come close to hanging with one of my 72 Stage 1 cars with an auto. That was with me driving the Chevelle turning to 6 grand and the ex driving the 72 in drive shifting at 5000 rpms. Both cars are stock configuration. The only way I could come close is if she tromped it to hard and broke them loose off the line, but for the most part all I saw was the tailites of the Buick. They pull like no other. Then there are the 70 Stage cars, my hell they are beasts!!:grin: :TU: :TU:

 

Steve, no need to be apologetic. A lot of people on this site are a little too abrasive when it comes to stuff like this. They cant just value it as a good father/son story and leave it at that. There is nothing wrong with liking a car make other then Buick. This is an old car hobby, not a "Buick" hobby. To each his own.

 

ok i changed the timming chain and gears in the 455 today. turns out the timming was a tooth off. engine was rebuilt when i got the car so it wasnt me that did it. anyway now she runs way better. so ill have to line it up again with the chevelle see what happens now. it still has the disadvantage of the 290 gears against the chevelle with the 390s, will see, ill keep ya posted.:TU:

 

Make sure you get the timing set up correctly. Larry's "timing thread" is an excelent resource, it has helped countless people on this board. I am sure you know what you are doing, but it is just one of the great resources available on this board. The other, is all the great folks willing to help out, no matter what the issue.

John.:TU:

 

Like John said, tune the distributor for a world of difference in performance. Even with the 2.93 gears, a stock GS455 car will run fairly hard. Let the torque work for you. Both your cars are similar in horsepower, but the GS will have the Chevelle covered with more torque, and both cars will also be very similar in weight.

I ran my wifes bone stock GS455 convertible years ago to a string of low 14 sec. et's, the best being a 14.12 at 98.5 mph. That was on regular street tires and 2.93 gears.

Good luck.... for a Buick win of course :laugh: and have fun with your son. You wouldn't want to raise your boy with him thinking Chevelle's are quicker now would you? :idea2: :grin:

 

My stock GS convertible with 342 gears and aftermarket cam and a worked carb ,stock 67 GS heads,stock original bottom end,was running 13 teens all day long with 1.80 short time.As to Steve,loose that exhaust,after 40 years it's most likely clogged to hell.Let that car breath some.And by the way,I am not looking for fast Eddie,with his BBC Chevelle,I found him a long time ago,and then he was not that fast anymore.BrunoD.

 

the distributor has a electronic conversion in it, the crane one. and i have read and applied all the information from threads here on timing, vary helpful information. the car still has its factory born with exhaust, and is very nice shape appearance wise, been thinking of a new 2 1/2 mandrel bent system. witch company has the best fit, factory appearance wise?? cruise nite tomorrow if it doesn't rain, sons gonna come up and take the chevelle, so I'm sure will have to give um another go.:3gears: ill keep ya posted:laugh:

 

Re: gs 455 vs ss396 chevelle. new results

my son came up so we took them out and lined up again. from roughly ten mph role we mashed the throttles, the chevelle jumped ahead by a fender, stayed that way through first and half of second, then i was slowly gaining narrowed the gap to a quarter fender then i let off at I'm guessing 90 mph or so. i would have got by him if i would have stayed in it longer. with some better gears no doubt the Buick would be the victor:laugh: :3gears:

 

Im 15 now and didnt really get the bug until 13. well I had it sorta. I would always be around my dads shop and help him out. I got the bug from restoring a 71 electra 2 dr with him. should ask him if he wants tp help.

 

I wasn't offended, surprised until I heard the gearing, and now the timing, but not offended.
I've got a friend up the road with a 67 Chevelle small block. I like to give him crap about his Chebby. I would add it to my garage no problem though! Truth be known, I've had some Chevy, Pontiac, Mercury and Fords that I enjoyed.
My neighbor has a 70 - 72 chevelle also... good thing he also has a boat tail Riviera to keep the balance in the neighborhood.

 

I am glad you have taken the time to try to understand and restore a bit of your GS Buick's heritage. You have just scratched the surface of setting her back to what her engineers designed her to be. Thank you so much for that:TU:

With a free flowing 2 1/2" exhaust, and a gear change, say in the 3.42 range, Denny Manner would really be proud. (Thats how he designed em' at Buick.)

My stock 1970 GS Stage 1 car, with only a mild cam and headers, with the stock 3.64 posi, ran 13 teens, the first and only time I took it to the strip. That was with 2.0 to high 1.9 60 ft. times and a bone stock converter.

I have since pulled the #'s drive train, and am having much more worry free fun at the strip.:Brow:

In other words, there is plenty more to be had, without even really deviating from stock, if you are willing to try.

I hope you have been bitten by the Buick bug, it's not such a bad illness.

John.

 

Take the stock air cleaner off and replace it with a good free flowing cleaner assy.. The stock air cleaner assy is a major restriction.

Have fun with your son and cars!!!!

 

coming home from a car show and cruise, i had to try it again so, no cars or houses on the stretch of high way so i slow down and move to the other lane, son pulls up next to me in the chevelle,(big smile he knows whats up) went from a little faster role then previous attempt. i did hit it first , jumped ahead by a car and then two and continued to pull on him. :TU: :TU: :TU: . so then my buddy with his 70 T/A challenger 340 six pack 4 speed wants a try, same role start, i let him hit it first, and wave by by and put a couple train lengths on him.:TU: :TU: :TU: the Buick power is rockin:beers2: . (e_normus bows to the GS)

 

I believe Garnder exhaust systems makes a great factory system.

http://www.gardnerexhaust.com/

 

Cool story! A poorly tuned 455 is not much. I know from when I first bought mine. Now that it's tuned, it gets attention.
As for the 396. My father had a 325 hp version in a 66 Chevy. He was in front of me and floored it. It took a few feet for me to catch him but when I did I ran up the exhaust of that BBC! Oh, it wasn't a Buick I was driving either. It was a 1964 Turbo Corvair 4 speed! LOL
So, I don't have much respect for a stock 396.

 

Dang! At least the chevelle was yours!