Time to build the 455 ive always wanted

Good advice Derek, I will call them tomorrow and request that info. This is exactly what I was looking for in my earlier post. Some clarity on what right looks like and what I should to receive with my engine. I will be breaking the cam in once I get it in the car. The shop has no engine dyno. Which is why I wantend to know about what to ask for with regards to measurements and the like so I can get a rough estimate on power output.

 

Maybe I missed it but one important thing I didn't see mentioned is what did they set the rod and main bearing clearances at? They might not know all the measurements for your motor but they should be able to tell you those..those are critical for a BBB.

You have to be careful when you chose a machine shop because a lot of them aren't used to dealing with BBB's and their idiosyncrasies..

 

I thought about that as well, but I'm quite certain that I was going to be provided that info regardless. It's hand written notes that appear to have been compiled throughout the build process.

Either way, I'm excited for Duke's new engine. I'm sure he appreciates all of the advice & input given here.

 

Even though that machine shop doesn't have their own dyno doesn't mean they don't work with a dyno shop close by maybe? If not there should be one not to far from you that you could take your engine to and have the cam broke in on the dyno and have it dyno tuned while its there. If not there are chassis dyno shops around as well after the cam is broke in you could have it dyno tuned in the car? An engine dyno will be more accurate for what the engine has HP wise than a chassis dyno will. A chassis dyno is more of a tool for tuning to show that they made an improvement from before to after.

If your shop knows you want the engine dynoed then they may pay more attention when assembling?(not that they won't in the first place, it just a little incentive for them to know their work will be tested if that is in the budget?) GL




Derek

 

I spoke to my builder and he has a build sheet for the engine already generated. I didn't ask him for any figures considering I can view the document myself when I get there. Still, refreshing to know that I didn't pick as bad a builder as some have had experience with
Then again, much is to be seen and heard once I get it installed.

On a different note, I read several engine break in threads to include the one stickied. I am good to go on the break in technique, I just wanted to know what weight oil guys were using for break in. Straight 30w? 10w30? I am aware that conventional oil is the way over synthetic for a while. What do you guys buy from your local stores? I won't be waiting for any specialty company oils to ship, so my choices are what autozone has. I do have a bottle of Lucas engine break in additive (zinc, zzdp, etc) that I will add to whichever conventional oil weight is recommended. Thanks in advance!

 

My cam break in was done using 30W Brad Penn break in oil.

 

I didn't have a "high $ build" done but when I went and picked up the short block they had been recording the most important specs on the receipt as they went along..

 

I'm headed home with the new engine now. When I picked it up I got a bunch of paperwork along with it. Other than the associated receipts for all of the work and parts I paid for I also have a dyno sheet from a dyno2000 computer program that he uses in lieu of an actual engine dyno. According to this spreadsheet my peak power figures are 416 horsepower and 500 foot pounds of torque. From what I've read, this dyno program is not very accurate, because it leaves out the ability to add in things like the headers and the intake type. I also have a bunch of measurements written down here as well as a sheet that shows head flow numbers. Looks like intake is 242 exhaust is 164cfm at .550. It says here my final static compression ratio is 9.9:1. Does anyone have any guesses as to what this motor would actually produce? View attachment 320428 View attachment 320429

 

Got home and started to assemble all the accessories and what do I find? My flywheel holes don't line up on the back of the new crankshaft I bought from rock auto. See pic. Holes at 12, 10, 2, and 6 are good. Holes at 4 and 8 are off. How do I fix this?seems to me that a 455 crank should be the same no matter what. So are there different bolt patterns for different years? Can I chamfer the holes that are close and bolt it on?

 

Won't let me upload the pic

 

The crankshaft I ordered from rock auto is for a 71 buick 455. Do I have to have a flex plate from 71 also? I'm confused as to why this issue is even present.

 

Disregard. Let the record show I am the first to call me a jackass...helps if you line the plate up properly!ou:

 

Looks great Duke! I wish you luck with your new mill and hope you are able to enjoy it for years and years to come!!

So, will the car be done tonight and be ready to go to BG tomorrow? And yeah, the flex plate will only line up with all the holes ONE way so the weights are in the right area. LOL, its cool at least you figured it out on your own.

So did you get a deck height dimension? Or a piston in or out of the hole dimension? Or all you get is their calculated compression ratio? Which is ok because you can back track if you have the other measurements like head chamber CC, which gaskets they used piston cc you can back track to see where it would have to be by playing with the compression ratio calculator.

So are you asking for HP guesses because you plan on a trip to a dyno shop? A simple basic rule of thumb for HP guessing is 2X the in. CFM so 242x2=484 possibility if the engine is optimized with the cam to carb to ring that much out. With that flow, power could be higher with the right cam if its purpose built. With the cam you have I would say 443 max HP and 558 max ft lbs is my guess?




Derek

 

I didn't realize the big buick event was this weekend in Bowling green. Dang...I've got to get out more. Unfortunately I am already committed to other engagements this weekend, but I am definitely coming next year! I look forward to putting some faces to some names of people I have met on here, like you Derek, and Sean, and Larry. Hope to see you gents out there someday. Anyhow, I'm done for the night with this thing. Tomorrow, it will be in the car for sure. I've got to grab a few things from autozone first thing. But getting it running is only the half. I've torn off the entire front clip while it's been down so I could clean up and paint the firewall and fix the heater core/ac delete box. These old cars sure do require a lot of attention and twice as much money!

 

Late in the comments, but...
The specs used and recorded along with build details really need to be communicated before any machining is done.

There's huge disparity between what the end user expects (armed with internet advice) and typical shop procedure.
Most are capable of hitting any specs needed, if they take the time ($$$).

A lot of what people perceive as "good" or "bad" work is simply communication, expectations, and willingness to solve problems.

.005" is considered a standard cleanup cut on a flat surface, but rarely happens with factory parts, warpage, pitting, etc.
.006-.008" is more profitable if done as the first cut.
[My balding head hairs are closer to .0025-.003", just as they were 30 years ago. A blonde's short hairs are...well, finer ]
That's standard procedure, as pistons are often shorter and gaskets thicker than blueprint specs for the same reasons (shop profit).
As far as specs used, most simply cut to the middle of the AERA "book" specs, whether or not the customer requests or pays for otherwise.
It protects them from lawsuits and other hassles which detract from the profitability of the business.

As far as deck #'s not being ideal... there's so much left on the table regarding the heads, you'll never know the difference!
(I'm a huge advocate in maximizing the machining specs to favor output).
Forget the cost of the parts for the moment, THIS is the major difference between a $2500 "overhaul" and a $20,000 masterpiece, more so knowing what specs to put things at.

 

You make a good point. I had a good machine shop build me a nice engine. I dropped off a core and asked for a quote on what was needed to get the engine in spec and gave them new forged rods and some 30 over forged pistons. They called me back and said the block needed to be align bored and that the decks were slightly out of square. They also told me that 30 over would be fine to get a good clean bore. I had no issue with getting the mains align bored and thought it was fantastic that they wanted to square up the deck surfaces to make them perpendicular to the crank. I had no issue paying for the machine work, it's well worth it. They were super happy to deal with me as I was not trying to cut all the corners. When it came time to balance they asked me if I wanted an internal or external balanced engine and I went ahead with the nice Sfi internal balancer and flexplate. All in all it was a painless build for both the shop and I however they were a little surprised that I was willing to do it all right, being I was a youngster.

 

For those that have an SP1 intake and run a Rochester qjet for the carb, how do you mount your throttle cable and return spring? Looking for ideas as my previous set up from the Poston S-Divider will not work.

 

Yes, I got the 4 whole version for the qjet. There is no place to mount the return spring for the linkage. Also, my bracket I used on the Poston to secure the throttle cable does not line up correctly on the mounting posts on the rear side of the carb. Lastly, my throttle cable is now about 1/4 inch too short, and when I connect the tang to the nipped on the linkage, I have to press the linkage back a bit which in turn shortens my pump shot and opens the front blades. Do they sell various length throttle cables, or an adjustable type?

 

I got the engine fired up and broke in the cam today. Oil change showed a bit of metal flake. It looked like a pewter color. I assume this is normal considering everything is new inside. No wierdos noises or metallic clanging sounds. I did have a valve cover gasket fail on me and oil poured all down the driver's side of the engine. I didn't notice it until about the 24 minute mark when smoke started billowing everywhere. I don't know if the bolts just weren't tight enough or if this crappy cork gasket just couldn't hold up. I will replace them with rubber ones before the next start up with fresh oil and zinc additive. Question on timing. Is there any guidance on positioning of the vacuum canister? When I started the car, I had it at TDC, with the rotor pointed at the number 1 piston. Then when it finally cranked, I had to retard the timing until the vacuum canister was pointing almost to the driver side head light. Is there a certain way to set initial timing? I thought it was all rotor orientation. Is there a requirement on cap placement or vacuum canister location? I definitely need to make some timing changes before next go at it. FWIW, I am running an Accel HEI if that matters.