Howdy all, I'm new here and I signed up in hopes of getting a few questions answered. I love the content of the site and have been reading here for some time and just now decided to start posting. I guess it goes like this, I'm in the market for an old muscle car to restore and I'm looking at a variety of cars with a number of nameplates. I have a friend of mine who is moving and has an old 430 sitting in his garage and it's giving me a few ideas. Before I do anything I need to see if the engine will even turn, it's been sitting on an engine stand for who-knows-how-long in a garage that's been a paint shop for a number of years. Does anyone know what's involved in getting one of these things running, costwise? And what is the aftermarket like? Are there things like aluminum heads and intake manifolds for them? The bigger question may be a bit trickier, even painful to answer considering my idea. First off, I'll say I'm no purist, keeping a car original doesn't mean much to me so I'm not getting a special run anything. With that said, does anyone know if this 430 would fit into a first generation Camaro or Firebird? I know those cars will take a Chevy 454 and a Pontiac 400, but I have no idea if the Buick 430 is bigger or has an odd dimension that would keep it from going in. I'm sure something will need to change starting with engine mounts but right now I'm still only toying with ideas. Also, does anyone know what the weight of the engine in stock form weighs, and what the numbers for HP and torque and redline are? Any help is appreciated. Thanks a bunch!
Welcome. You can purchase many goodies for your 430. There is more and more being made each year for it and the 455. Alum. heads are first on the list. Check TA Performance out online for your parts interest. They lead the pack on performance parts. Also, check Poston out. They too sell HP parts. Do searches in some of the forums to find info on putting the 430 in a Camaro or other Chevy. You just might see what you were looking for. The 430 is lighter than a BBC. As a matter of fact, it is not much heavier than a SBC. Good luck.
Thanks for the leads, it's a huge help to have a little start. Out of curiosity, how closely is the 430 related to the 400 and 455? Are there interchangable parts that I should know about or is it pretty unique?
