I've read that some 430's were also fitted with the stage 1 option. Was this just a dealership installed cam change or more than that? Anyone have a guess on how many might have been produced and how to tell an original?
Wasn't there a discussion in teh 400/430/455 forum about the differences in heads, cams. etc. a while back that addressed this? check in with them maybe.
I've not read (more likely don't remember if I did) about the 430's receiving anything from the 400's Stage 1 option from the factory. Dealer jobs are certainly a different story; I'd think that was probably an 'anything goes' situation. Devon
OTC stage 1 and 2 was available, and Buick engineers didn't descriminate between the 400 and 430 as can be demonstrated by Buick's carrying the forged stage 2 pistons for the 430. Installed at the factory, that would be interesting. How about a 69 Stage 1 Riviera?
In the GM Parts Books under "Special Application Heavy Duty Engine Parts" they list: heavy duty 430 pistons-- #1394180 heavy duty 430 rings-- #394203, heavy duty 400-430 camshaft --1394270 and 430 stage 1 and 400- 430 -455 stage 2 camshaft package-- #1385557
Thanks guys for the info on the stage 1 cam and pistons for the 430. If they bothered to change cams and pistons back in the 60's, wouldn't they also want to changes valves, carbs, fans, fuel pumps, and transmissions too? So, has anyone ever heard of specific dealers actually installing stage 1 parts into a big car such as a 69 Riviera? I don't suppose there are any records on how often this was done.
To have to remember that your Riviera was considered a luxury car. It likely rolled off the showroom floor around $6000. That was alot of bread. You could probably buy 2 Chevelles for the same money. Only older, financially well off individuals could afford a car like that. Cars like the Riviera make a statement that you "made it" in life. I cant see any dealer or individual hot rodding one when there were far more less expensive, lighter cars to do the same thing to. If there was a Stage I or II 430 put together at a dealership, rest assured that it went into an A body
I agree with you, Jason. When I bought my Riviera in the 70's from the original owner he was, indeed, a successful small business owner. I was only up-and-coming and therefore paid substantially less than the $6500 he had paid. The original owner wanted plenty of power for his 4500 pound beast, however, and also wanted to travel cross-country at high speed. So, he said he skipped the GS option in order to have the 3.06 highway gear but he had the engine "jazzed up" by his friend at the dealership. He wisely ordered the handling package as well. Unfortunately I blew that engine a year later and replaced it with a 455. I still wonder whether that "jazzed up" 430 had stage 1 components installed. It was very quick - stopping and overheating were the only problems. So, might I have the only one?
Who knows. Unless you have documents or some type of written proof, its all speculation. There was a write up in Hemming Muscle Machines not too long ago about a 70 Hemi Charger. The car had headers on it. But the owner had the dealer receipt for the headers and the installation. So they were technically "original" dealer installed.
Steve - the difference between a 1970 455 stage 1 ( big valve engine) and a 1970 small valve 455 was only 16 hp on the Buick factory dyno. In 69 they were no big valve heads in the 400-430 stage 1 option. So the difference in horsepower bettwen a stage 1 equipped engine and a regular 430 would have been even less horsepower. So any performance gain from it being a stage 1 dealer equipped engine would have been really minor.
Right, Jim. The cam adds a few more hp, so do some of the other stg 1 parts if they were even used. But the real value is in the rarity of a stg 1 Riv. Of course, mine isn't numbers matching anymore, but I'd like to try to recreate what might have been - just for kicks. I'll also keep looking for that dealer invoice.
