I have a done a good amount of research on buick engines and building them for performance, I have built a 350 for a customer and it runs great, now we are moving up in the world and want to go big. The goal is a 455 twin turbo with 1000hp on tap. With the customer we are dealing with money is no object. And it has to be streetable. The hardest time I have with buicks is finding good high performance aftermarket parts. I deal with T/A on most everything but I want to see what else there is out there. Any suggestions or ideas would be very helpful.
I think the first thing you will need is a shovel, a mop and a bucket to clean up when the block breaks. ou: Seriously, the procharged 455 that Jim just dyno'd is the first one I have seen hit that number without spilling it's guts. And, I would not want to be standing near that motor if it sees much time at that power level. Now, T/A Performance should have the new aluminum block available soon. And, if money is truly no object, there is where you should start. Once you have that, all the usual suspects like aftermarket crank, rods and custom pistons etc. The heads are a no-brainer. Get the appropriate T/A stage 2,3 units. I am sure T/A literally has every part you will need for the build. If it were me, I would have Jim or Mike build it too. Even if you have all the skills, nothing beats avoiding all of the pitfalls if you have not built a Buick engine at that level. For the turbos, intercoolers, waste gates and plumbing, I really don't know who is tops these days. Back in the day when I was playing with hair dryers we used Turbonetics turbos and gates with Spearco intercoolers. All of our plumbing was hand made and welded. Anyhoo, that is all that I can think of to share now. I have to inform you though, now that you have bated us, we expect to see pictures as the project progresses.
stock block, you'd best have Mike T install block and lifter girdles and then you can build from there. Rod Hedrickson regularly pushes 1200-1500 and he says keep the advance down. definitely no higher than low 30s. as tigger says, for a 'money no object' project like this i really can't see how you can justify not buying the Tomahawk block. get the tall deck, raised cam block and i'm sure that will hold the power with no reinforcement while giving you the option of going out to almost 600 cubes. there's already been a stock block Buick 350 that was taken over 1000hp...
Replace all the fasteners in the engine. You may not know the history of how they were treated. ARP makes almost every thing you need.
Im not at all opposed to using the T/A Block its just a matter of selling the customer. Besides filling the stock block for strength has anyone ever installed thicker, stronger sleeves into a 455 block. Let say I stick with the stock block, what are safe power levels for this block, I believe it is a 71. And what are the typical weak points?
typical weak points are the main webbing and the lifter valley. high power BBBs are beating the crank out the bottom of the block, not so much splitting cylinders. and, obviously, the whole suite of oil passage/pump upgrades should be implemented. with a desired four digit output you might want to consider a dry sump system. less windage, cooler oil, better control of oil pressure and distribution and it also functions as a vacuum pump for the block. windage control and vacuum pumps both reduce parasitic power losses which mean you get greater indicated horsepower at the flywheel. factory forged / smaller main Nailhead cranks have been adapted into the BBB block but a 401-425 crank would cost you .260" of stroke ( it would turn the stock BBB into a 425ci ) from the 455 crank.
The way the big block Buick block is built, boring it large enough for thick sleeves will weaken th blocks overall integrity substantially. Even if you glue in the sleeves, I don't think you can replace what you will lose boring the block for full sleeves. Now you could argue that gluing in the sleeves and using hardblock might replace the lost integrity, but I have never seen it done on a Buick. You could be the pioneer on that one and let us all know.
I like the Procharger idea better, no big dollar custom headers and sounds like there all muscle going down the track instead of a jacked up hair dryer. Here is a few pics of a vette with a F3R Procharger that makes 3100HP. This car sounds nasty as hell.
A TA block, billet crank, and alum rods/custom pistons are absolutely required for longevity that power level. About 850 HP, with regular teardowns for maintaince are the limits for a filled, girdled stock block. I built one of those that has been around since 2005, and that block has been in service in excess of 700 Hp since 1996. It did have the main caps replaced with billet ones here about 3 years ago, due to the power level pinching the caps on that girdled motor, and that happens with those. But you should realize, this was not just any old 455 block.. It was a select one, with no cylinder wall below .180 thick, and most of them well above .225.. which is a very rare 455 block. It was also filled, and cyrogenically frozen. As I understand it, there are 6-8 completed TA blocks that are not sold. They should be in stock and ready for delivery here in 3-5 weeks. They are done at the machine shop in CA, they just have to get back to TA and be final inspected. Give them a call, talk to Mike, and tell them I sent you. JW
Get the aftermarket block if you can. Otherwise you can do 4 digit power with a stock block but it won't last forever. I am running well past 800 in mine with a bottle on it and I firmly believe what's kept it alive is low timing and not revving the hell out of it. A turbo will be the easiest on your bottom end at that power level of any of the ways to do it. No big smack of power like a bottle, no belt pulling on thew crank, smooth power curve, gobs of torque to keep the revs down. Already ahead of you on a turbo combo(mine IS gonna be an Aluminum 560 or so incher) so lemme help ya out seeing as how I do turbo setups all the time on Ford and Chevy's as well as work on Turbo Regals occasionally at my shop. Heads: Any Aluminum that'll flow over 300CFM on the intake. Bigger is ALWAYS better on boost land as you can roll back the boost at the same power level the better the airflow parts. Try to work the exhaust side to be within 75% of the intake sides numbers. Intake: TA set up for EFI. Easy peezy. Cam: 550-560 lift 240 degrees of duration@.050 will get ya there no problem. Lobe sep. around 114 degrees to not waste that precious boost going out valves overlapping. On a Stage2 head a 10degree split with more on the exhaust side would be best IMHO. Basically a Stage1 cam in a Stage2 head with their improved exhaust flow coupled with a wide lobe sep angle and you could view it as a blower cam. Biggest intercooler you can get. Or better yet go air to water with a tank in the trunk and a heat exchanger up front which is smaller than an air to air for better airflow to the radiator. Engine management: Big Stuff3 all the way. If your on some sort of a budget then you can find classic FAST units never opened but preowned for good deals. Shortblock stuff is pretty duh= Strong as you can buy from T/A. As far as Turbos= Precision Turbo and Engine. On a 455 or bigger get a pair of 67mm ball bearing turbos. Spool quick, quick, quick on some cid and capable of 750hp each so you don't have to turn them up near their limits which makes them last longer. A 3200 to 3500 stall will be all you need for those turbos. Nice and streetable. I have a 427SBC I put together for my little brother that makes over 1200hp to the wheels, idles@850rpm, gets 19mpg on the highway(so far)and it's nothing exotic at all. Still a 23degree standard configuration SBC. Puts over 700hp,740tq to the tires@10psi, 900+@18psi and we get full tilt at 28psi. Considering his car is a stalled auto on 30inch stickies and a 35spline 9 inch, the drivetrain losses were in the 22-24% range so you can do the math on crank HP. It's easy to make power with a turbo these days. Keeping it inside the engine is another story though.
Asking me or the OP? If me, not yet. Collecting parts as we speak and trying to decide which way I want to spec the block. Already started on a custom turbo kit I'll sort out on my current motor at lower boost levels and then pop it on the "good" motor when it's done:Read that saved the rest of the money to buy and build $20,000 worth of shortblock and engine management crap. Mine'll end up somewhere in the 560-570 cid range with 2 88mm turbos, EFI and water/air intercooling. Scare ya if I told ya how much power I want.:3gears: :shock: :3gears: :eek2: :3gears: :bglasses:
