I was wondering what are the specs for a stock '76 455. I have seen a listing on here before but I could'nt find it. What I'm wanting to know is comp., tourqe, and horsepower. Compared to a standard '72 455. The reason I'm asking is I have found a 76 225 down the road from me with 90,000 miles to replace my badly broke 72 engine in the Centurion. $275 complete from breather to pan and fan to flexplate.
http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/buick-riviera/buick-riviera-history.shtml 72 riv had 250hp and 75 riv had 205hp. 'factory' numbers aren't really going to give you a good comparison between the motors because GM switched from gross to net hp ratings in these years. on another page musclecar says the NET rating for 72 was 225hp but they don't give a number for 73^. basically, there was a little more compression lost from 72 to 76 and more smog equip was added in later years so you will be down on power from the 72 motor but not much. on the plus side, the buick engine guys prefer to rebuild the 75-76 BLOCKS because they are higher quality, have the 5/8" oil pickup (you might have had a 1/2" pickup on your 72, that was the year buick upgraded) and 800cfm carbs. your 72 heads are still fine aren't they? they'll bolt on. you could keep them back and have them ported when you get some money and drive the 76 around in the meantime. :bglasses:
http://www.buickperformance.com/pistons.htm more info from george nenadovich on the differences in pistons.
The '76 should be a more solid engine. They're known for having more metal in the block; which also makes them a hair quieter. If it keeps you enjoying your drive in the Cent, then definitely drop it in. Price is good. Now, for specs, I believe the '76 was down around 205hp, or something like that. Essentially, EGR and further lowering of compression were the culprits. The '72 standard engine was 225hp with single exhaust, 250hp with dual (all SAE net numbers, GM switched to SAE net in '72 - standard engine in '71 was 315hp - basically same engine, except for AIR pump and maybe a little cam duration change). Then I think it was 260 for GS with the larger valve heads and 270 for the Stage 1. At the same time, hp numbers in the early 70s were barely more accurate than the weather forecast. Either way, both years had enough torque to push the beasts and it's unlikely that you'll notice a serious difference in regular driving. Sounds like budget is important, so that's probably the best route to get the beast back in business. Save the '72, though. You may want to use the heads, manifold, etc. in a future rebuild.
I think HP in '73 was around 215 - that was the year they added EGR. It was '74 or '75 I think that they lowered compression around a half point and called it a loss of another 10.
The 74 standard 455 was rated at 210 net H.P.the 75 at 205, 345 lb-ft of torque. The 74 had a smog pump, the 75 didn't have one because of the catalytic converter.
Phil i got a wild hair up my butt and i started researching late 60s early 70s GM vins and i've got some conflicting info on canadian production codes. is St Therese, QC designated as 1 or is it Oshawa, ON? i've got websites that have the numbers flopped.
I think that Ste-Therese was 2 and Oshawa 1. Brad Conley could confirm it since he has a 75 SkyHawk that was produced in Ste-Therese. On my 1965's V.I.N. plate, there are no 1 or 2 plant numbers, instead, (and instead of the usual "BUICK" seen on pre-68 V.I.N plates, it is written "GM CANADA O.O." O.O. stands for Oshawa, Ontario. Also, The serial number begins by the last digit of the model year. Instead of 466395 for a 65 Wildcat Custom 4dr., it begins by 546639.
Thanks for all the info guys. I picked it up today and it was complete from the hei dist. to the torque convertor. Im going to regasket it check it out repaint it red and put her in. what combination of old engine should I use with the new or just slap it in. Oh well got to run, be back in 3 weeks. Once again thanks for the info.
