We are starting to assemble my 70 455. My friend is a good engine builder but has done mostly Mopar motors. Any special tricks to do or clearances, etc. that have worked for some of you? It is 60 over, comp cam (not too big), performer with 800 Holley, TA shorty headers, 9:1 pistons. Would appreciate any assistance. Thanks, Ted
You should enlarge the oil feeds, get a 5/8 pickup tube and a adjustible oil pressure regulater(all avaible from TA Performance). You want to build the motor tight(I think they want around .002 on the bearings). Hope this helps
Don't trust the oiling holes in the bearings to match your holes in the block 100%. All of mine did except for one, the hole was shrouded, so I opened up the bearing a hair and deburred the mod I made. Use so much cam lube you feel like a fool using that much. Lots of folks seem to have issue with #1 cam bearing melt out. I used Lubriplate instead of the cam lube that came with my cam, as per my machinist's advice. I don't know if this was a factor, but I had no cam bearing problems. Have someone hold the cam through the lifter valley (I used a wire coat hanger as a holder) as you install it. Degree the cam. Pack the oil pump with Vaseline; pull out the gears and fill the cavity, push the gears back in, pack as much more as you can in there, and put the cover back on Which reminds me- Put the distributor in before the oil pump gears. It simplifies mating the drive tang on the distributor shaft to the pump gear shaft on the driven gear. I have spent over an hour aligning that $@&*ing thing and it's a chore somethimes. i really recommend mating the gear to the distributor instead of the distributor to the gear. If you have tubular headers, seriously consider dropping the engine into the car without the heads on it- I ended up scratching my heads, valve covers, and my headers when I did mine. Maybe a couple extra pairs of hands would solve the problem so you can do it no worries fully assembled, but I was really bummed I scratched all that freshly painted stuff. If you use head studs and have power brakes and install the engine without heads- be aware that a few studs will have to be installed after the engine is in, just to get the driver's head on. Just trap two nuts against each other on the stud, to give you some grip, to install them. Get an engine bag, or even some extra large plastic trash bags, and some dessicant packs. Cover the engine when you're done for the day and put the dessicant in the bags. Get an old distributor cap and knock the #1 plug terminal out. Get a huge drill bit and enlarge the hole. Now when you set the #1 at TDC, you can look in the distributor cap to see if it's where it should be (depends on your type of distributor!) Get some good lint free rags. I used some terry towels...BIG mistake, I spent hours picking lint out of the lifter galley with a pair of tweezers. replace your heater core while the engine is out, if you have the slightest indication you need a new one. Make sure you have a new starter heat sheild. TA has a nice thick one that will work with headers, but it's tight. It will go in however. I have had success with bolting the motor mount to the pad loosely and then lowering the engine onto the mount, after which I put the bolts in for the mounts. Sorta bassackward but I have good luck with it and if you have trouble getting the mounts onto the pads with the mounts on the block, give it a try. If the tranny is still in the car, make sure you can lift the tranny if you need to- the suspension will squat as the engine weighs down the front end, and it always seems to me that even though the tranny should be in the right spot to begin with, I need to raise it. If you are using headers, use 12 point bolts. You will probably need to make yourself a custom header wrench. I got the shortest, crappiest foreign knock-off 3/8" combo wrench I could find, ground down the wall thickness and cross section of the box end, then bent the open end 90*. It fits in all the tight spots like the middle header bolt and the rearmost bolts with no trouble.
All good advice. Here's more... Clean, clean, clean. You want everything clean. Use TA's oil pump booster plate, but have it machined at a shop. It'll be kind of expensive, but worth it when there are no leaks and you have gobs of oil pressure. Mine was wavy and leaked bad. You only want about 1/4" of threads sticking out of the adjustable regulator. Rod and main clearances should be 1 1/2 thou to 2 thou. No more. Be sure your valve tip height is within spec. No more than 2" and 100 thou. A lot of cam bearing issues are believed to come from improper valvetrain geometry, which puts a strain on the cam. Deck the block. Have the heads cut on the intake side to compensate. Have the exhaust side of the heads cut so they are true. Have the header flanges or exhaust manifolds machined so they are flat too. No leaks. Line hone it. Pay whatever you have to to have the assembly balanced. A vibration makes driving the car a real unhappy experience. Use TA's teflon cam bearings and install them per the directions in the box. Oil holes at 3 o'clock and 7 o'clock. Be sure the 2 plugs behind the cam gear that cover the oil galleys are absolutely flush with the block and NO MORE. If the passenger side one is pressed in too deep it blocks the main oil feed galley, and your engine is toast in seconds.
Thanks, Yardly..just the kind of info I needed. The 455 is such a killer motor but as you know tough to find much in print on it! I will visit your website. Thanks so much! Ted
Ted, check, check, recheck, and double check all of your clearances! That should keep you out of trouble with your bearings. Also if you are using dual springs for valve springs, most people recommend breakin with only the outer springs. Make sure you use an oil pump priming tool to prime the engine before startup. Spin that sucker with a drill until you get good oil pressure! I have head studs and I installed my engine complete with the headers in place. It is alot easier if the valve covers are off especially if you have an A/C box.I would use the threaded plugs that T/A sells for the holes in back of the cam gear. You have to tap them with a pipe tap but it is good insurance. Also the T/A plugs are machined correctly since one side can't protrude into the oil galley. Drill out the main passage from pump larger.(I forget the exact size) Do not use the rope seals! Get the neoprene style from T/A or someplace else. Did you say you are boring it 60 thousandths? I think it is recommended to sonic check the block when overboring that much. ( someone correct me if I am wrong!) I would use file fit rings and ARP bolts for the rods(after they are reconditioned). Also get yourself a oil sheild for under the intake from Jim W or someone so that you can use composite intake gaskets instead of the turkey pan. I hope this helps you some. There are very knowledgable people here and most of what I have told you has come from them. Brian
Brian's words are good as Gold (72GS). Ted, assuming you had your machine work done by a third party shop (like just about all of us) never assume that the shop's bearing clearances are correct. Get some plastiguage and check all main and rod bearing clearances as you assemble the shortblock; use a feeler guage for the thrust bearing. This is easy, a little time consuming, but incredibly valuable for peace of mind.
Yeah, resize the rods and use ARP bolts. Also, spend the $$ (it isn't too much) and use main studs instead of bolts.
Hey Ted! Glad to see you are getting things together! One more suggestion on the oil pump - set the end clearance on the impellers to .002" (two thousandths). That's the magic number to have good oil pressure - not too tight or you'll twist out the roll pin in the distributor. Plastigage works ok for this. TA has a shim kit with various thicknesses of gaskets that you can use to move the booster plate closer or farther from the pump body. Don't use a high volume pump no matter what your "Nopar" buddy says!!:grin:
