So this all started last summer when my motor started knocking louder and louder. Rebuild time. Had it torn down. Cam bearings were almost worn through to the block. Two of the pistons were partial skirt and six were full skirt so there is absolutely no way the rotating assembly could have been correctly balanced. I'm guessing that's what wiped out the cam bearings, who knows. Very strange wear patterns on the old cam. There were a few shops around me that could've done it but I knew that with Jim building it it would be done right and he would know all the tricks to increase the motors longevity. Was looking for a basic rebuild while being smart about where to spend cash to get a few cost effective hop ups. A bunch of back and forth with Jim and we settled on a 470 stroker with the high silicone forged pistons, 290-94H cam, a stock 70 intake, and we reused my cast iron exhaust manifolds. Ponied up for TA Stage 1 SE heads. The motor already had an MSD distributor and a quadrajet that was previously rebuilt by Cliffs High Performance so we used those. Dynod at 455 hp @ 5200, 552 ft-lbs @ 3300. Fuel mixture was a little lean so Cliffs did some tweaking on the carb, fattening the idle circuit. I'm guessing its closer now to 460 hp, 560 ft-lbs. And with a motor like this, 500 HP is likely only an SP-1 intake and headers away. Jims statement was "runs like a pussy cat but gouges like a big cat". With the power band of this motor we also changed the gears from the 2.73s that were in it to 3.55. FINALLY got the car back from the shop yesterday after a bunch of other work including repainting the engine bay and installing new oil/volts/water gauges under the dash. A few other miscellaneous delays but I'm glad to have it back. Sounds awesome! Car has 2.5" dual exhaust with Ravin mufflers (I guess this is a Midas brand, the car had them when we bought it). Has 40 psi oil pressure at cruising speeds around town. The sound echoes great off of concrete jersey barriers. Barks the tires with ease. Dyno sheet and a couple videos attached.
Beautiful car and great choice of mill! With the flat hood, stock intake/exhaust manifold, and (mostly) smooth idle, that's a pretty deceptive setup. I dig it!
Hey Nick, glad to hear you got it all together, it looks great.. your going to sneak up on a few folks with that one, the stock exhaust manifolds always makes them sound really mellow. Have fun with it! JW
Nick your car Sounds awesome... ! Great looking Buick also ... I feel lucky to also have him Jim building a—482 CI for my 70 gs your post put a smile on my face ! Can’t wait to receive my big bad Buick mill from tri shield .. nice work Jim
Sounds mellow but it's deep and loud at the same time. Not going to sneak up on ANYBODY with it. Like a deep rumble when a freight train approaches. Owner of the shop that did the work said hes never heard such a deep tone and its louder than the 440 Superbee owned by one of his technicians. The videos don't do it justice . A few people that heard it and knew the car definitely noticed the difference. There has been one casualty already, the torque peeled up a section of paint on the driver's side between the decklid and pinchweld molding. Passenger side in the same area isn't looking much better
This must be the season for TriShield stroker-motors: I'm also in line for a TSP 482 BBB for my Skylark convertible. I can hardly wait....