Hi boys and girls-For the Buicks, I usually am in the world of nailheads and their forged cranks, but am looking at an engine build for my '67 cat. I have torn down a '67 430 and '70 455 and find that both will need .010/.010 cuts on the crank and a .030 bore to get them usable again. I haven't had any need for any crank grinding in recent years and need advice on who does good work for our Minnesota Buicks these days. I used Crankshaft Supply Inc on Washington Ave N. some years ago and they did ok on a SBC with rods/mains both set at .002. Also, what rod/main dimensions do I want 430/455 cut to(.002?)for a happy street engine. I also thought before tanking/boring I'd do the oil galley drill thing to help the oiling-what is the recomendation? I recall 9/16" and another number, too. Anybody around the Twin Cities have the long bits to rent out? Torque plate? Thanks for any help-
Dan, Go see Roger at Crank Supply, he does all my stuff, so he is very familar with the Buick 455 crank, I typically have from 2-5 of them there at all times. I always dictate the sizes to him, after we re-do the rods and mains, but in your case, if your not going that far, have him cut it mid-low. That's typically where we end up on about 90% of our stuff. That will put you at .002 to .0025 on the mains and rods, which will be just fine. For the bore/hone, go see Brian at R&R Performance in ST Louis Park(763-785-1949), he can bore the main feed hole out on his drill press, and they have a torque plate for the 455. Mine's tied up doing a few engines.. tis the season.
I have a brand spanking new 455 torque plate that I bought in '99 just to use for a couple of my own engines at a local engine builder. We ended up not getting that far on the engines because I couldn't make up my mind on which way I wanted to go with parts. But anyway I have thought several times about renting the plate out to help pay for it. Tim tcarson@vcn.com
