Could it be done without all the TA parts for less? Buick 455 http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/72278/index5.html Showdown http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/72278/index.html
I agree, NO problem. Plenty of info here to prove that. The trick is not getting raped on the assembly and machine work I think. Buy aluminum heads, have them ported a bit, add a cam. It wont take long to make 500. $7500 ?????? I don't have that in my entire car.
Oh please. There are so many good recipes for a 500 horse engines on this board, they are not radical motors by any stretch. Jim Burek
500hp You get what you pay for , sometimes....I have an engine that I got from Charlie EVans in 2000. I have run it for 5 seasons and it still runs as good today as when he delievered it. It has not been freshened, just replaced the valve springs once and adjusted the valves a couple of times. It is an iron headed, hydraulic cam 464 without girdile and has stock rods. It will run 10.30's at 127mph in a 67 GS and has been raced on mostly 1/4 mile strips it's whole life. This car is raced both PRO Fastest Street Car Series and NSCA and locally as well. It makes at least 540 HP and Charlie would sell it to you for $7500. Now if you can do all the work yourself, you could build a 500HP engine for less than the $7500. I built a stock piston engine in 1996 for less than $2000 that ran 11.50's and it has run for over 6 years and many , many passes with no problems other than rocker arm shafts breaking that I fixed by making my own shafts. This 11.50 engine was 9 to 1 and ran on pump gas. Looks like you got a couple of choices, buy aluminum heads or get a good porting job on iron heads. Also, there is the choice of how much compression you run and race gas or not. 500 HP is not hard and if the machine work and assembly is done correctly and the engine maintained you can get long life from it and not break the bank. Just what I have observed from a few years of racing Buicks. Have fun and go fast. Jim N. 67 GS
Jims post is a fine example of a few runs more than a season. There are more out there too. George N. has a few build ups on his board that I think could be built on a budget. I have to do my stuff on a tight budget myself. SO I try and look at EVERY option for parts, supplies, labor, everything. I learned a couple hard lessons last season myself so I am going a different route now. $7500 for 500 hp.....yup can be done. I WISH I had that much to spend on my new motor. But then again, I am only gonna be aiming for the 10's :3gears:
Depends.. It depends on the limitations your going to place on the build, and what you have for parts already. If your out to build 500 HP, on pump gas, and don't own anything,(no cores or anything) then you will be pretty close to that number, when all is said and done. If you own a bunch of stuff already, and/or if your willing to run the compression up and the cam duration out to make that power, then it should not be a problem. The most expensive motors in that power range are the ones that make vacuum, run the power brakes, run on pump premo ect.. except for the killer iron head stuff for the SA cars. It's always the pretty stuff (valve covers, polishing, detailing stuff, shiny new carbs, ect) that run the price up.. if you can get by with the more stock stuff, then it's a lot cheaper. You have to remember that the CC motor you listed has some very specific parameters that had to be maintained. JW
Thanks for the input. I have a 72 455 4bl, that turns over but needs head work and rings ect. My plan is to get another set of iron heads built with larger valves and porting then send in the old ones back as cores. Any suggestions for sources for master rebuild kits? After the machine shop has the stock cranck and rods resized, I will pay a local guy to assemble the bottom end. How much would I need to deck the block to get a true 10 to 1, suggestions on pistons to minimize machine work? Max compression for premium pump would be around 10 to 1?
Another consideration is what do you want for driveability? My 500 hp Tri Shield motor not only runs all the accessories with no trouble, it also starts right up and will idle at zero degrees! And that is with a Holley 950Hp carb, no choke or choke tower for that matter. I ahve been driving it almost daily as the weather has been cold but no snow or rain.It starts on the first try and once it has run for a minute or so, my 71 year old Mom could drive it if she had to. That's one of the differences I suppose when you are planning it out. Are you wanting to race or are you looking to cruise with the ability to put down most of the cars on the road without giving up the A/C and other comforts. Brian :3gears:
Actually I forgot the most important part of my previous post...... DYNO the motor! That way it's all working right when you get it, and that's alot more fun! It's worth the money and for a 500 hp motor, I would say a very good idea. If you're spending the bucks for a good motor, save some for the dyno time. Brian
Thanks for the tips, and yes I do want to drive it on the street sometimes. Mostly for racing though, dyno test for sure.
My Stage 2 was built for $7100 for approx 650 hp used Stage 2 SE heads $750 porting/valve job $1100 used block/crank/rods $250 pistons JE $600 cam $150 timing cover $350 intake (Wildcat) $325 dom carb used $400 MSD dist $275 headers (coated) $550 balancer (BHJ) $300 misc $200 machine shop labor $1850
Buick has always cost double for every extra hp. You can build 2 Chevy's totaling 1000hp before you build your 500HP Buick for the same $.Been that way 30 years ago is the same way today and will still be in 10 years.$1,000 buys a Chevy guy intake,headers,cam setup ,rollers ,distrubutor and some nice chrome we are lucky to get an intake and headers and just the cam for a $1000.But you know what I get a better thrill out of blowing away the M5 next to me in the GSX than I do in the Camaro.
"You can build 2 Chevy's totaling 1000hp before you build your 500HP Buick"... I disagree..... on the lower HP motors, 500 hp is possible without many aftermarket parts which is where the cost comes in. Plus 455 motors are still readily available......might have to buy the whole car though. BBC are not that easy to find at your local junkyard or classified ads IMO. At my local track I used to race a guy that put a 502 crate motor in a 68 GS and he had twice $$$ what I had in my motor and he was running high 11s and I was running mid 11s. Bruce
