Ok, now the work on my house is coming to an end, I will be able to start buying some bits and pieced for the 76 Electra. Poor old girl has been sitting, waiting paitently for 18 months now. So I plan on tarting up the 455 in it a little, and would basically like to know if my parts are going down the right path, or if not, could I be guided where I should be going. Im not chasing a HP hero (afterall 209hp stock isnt heroic to start with) I just want it to go that little bit better. For referance, I a looking at TA Performance gear. *Rebuild the Q-jet *SP-1 intake manifold *Stage 1 SE Aluminium heads *Headders I will leave to a local shop - its converted to RHD & no stock items will currently fit due to relocation of steering box etc. will be 1 7/8 primary *either the ta 212-455 or ta 284-88h hydraulic camshaft *Ignition, - I know something should be done, but im not sure what... I already have a dual 2 1/2 inch exhaust on it, and I have been reading up on power tuning the dizzy. OK, so Im not much help here. I have been looking and reading around, but not many guys are starting with a 76 block... I feel kinda alone. hahahaha. Like I said, and help or input will be appreciated.
It looks like you are headed in the right direction with your Buick. What are your plans as far as the short block? Are you going to rebuild it with new higher compression pistons? I am not sure what the fuel situation is there but with aluminum heads you should be OK at 10.3-1 with 91 octane with 92 or 93 being preferable. If a higher octane is available without breaking the bank you could go a little higher on the compression ratio gaining performance and fuel mileage. I am running the 284-88H in my 53 and like it. It doesn't take full advantage of the TA heads but it has plenty of bottom end for moving a heavy car. Works good with a 2000 stall converter. When having the headers built make sure you use a thick enough flange so you get a good seal that will hold. You can hear what the 284-88H sounds like on U-Tube under idle time. Or send me your email address and I will send it to you Good Luck with your Buick.:beers2: Bob H.
Good to know that I am going down the right path! I will pretty much leave the engine at that once its done, and get the 2 small rust spots taken care of whilst the engine is apart, and tidy up the interior a bit. Once thats done, I will look at taking things further with pistons etc As far as fuel goes, we go up to 98 octaine here. It can get expensive over the regular which is 91, but for a weekend cruiser, it wont be too bad. I was looking at your youtube video earlier this week. I think I even made a comment about it. Its a great sound. A bit over stock, but enough to know there is something going on under the bonnet. Cheers Bob! -Joel-
Did you consider the TA shorty headers? For street cars with through the muffler exhaust, they make about the same power as long tube headers.
Question: since your Buick is a 1976 model and being that Australia is as strict as the USA (or more so) concerning factory emissions control equipment; how did you get away with running a twin/dual exhaust system since starting 1975, all Buicks went to a single catalytic converter?
Joel, you've got a good plan going, but I wanted to point some things out. The '75-'76 455 engines have three big disadvantages, two more than the earlier engines. 1. The combustion chambers are huge. You're going with TA aluminum heads, so this is no longer an issue 2. On all the big blocks, stock deck height is excessive and usually 0.030" or more has to be milled to get the piston closer to the deck surface at Top Dead Center. 3. Unfortunately, the '75-'76 engines not only have excessive deck height, but it's made WORSE because of piston design. The '75-'76 pistons appear to have a shallow dish, but in fact the dish is as deep as the '71-'74 pistons, PLUS the edge of the piston dish is an additional 0.040" lower than the earlier pistons! In other words, your piston pin is closer to the top of the piston crown than the earlier designs. Data here: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=102066 To solve issue 3, aftermarket pistons can be used. To solve issue 2, the machine shop can measure deck height with the new pistons to determine how much material to remove from the block. I's sorry to say it, but the closer you can get the piston to the block's deck surface, the better off you'll be, and in the case of the '75-'76 455, it looks like a piston change is also required. Devon
