Aftermarket iron 455 Buick block - Interest?

And flatheads are being made now too for the first time in what?? 55 years?? I actually sent world some questions, we'll see what they come up with (they'll probably ignore me or send guys in white labcoats)...:laugh:

My third and last block has issues too, looks like I'm down to sleeves...ugh...

 

And out of the box 400+ cfm heads for A caddy!

 

its worth a shot i think. does anyone here have any personal contacts with them?

 

I had a minute to kill the other day after reading this thread and called Edelbrock to ask about A possible block. The guy at the tech. line said "we do not make blocks and if we did, Buick would be low on the list". He was cool and all.
Who does make blocks? Dart?

 

dart or world products would be the best bet

Cody

 

I forgot about "world products" thanks

 

Just spoke with someone from world prod.,Guys it ain't gonna happen. minimum of 200 blocks @ 3000.00 wholesale,about $ 500.000 investment.

 

The answer I got was pretty much what I was afraid of (lots of 0's!)...I did ask to post this and he said that was cool so copy and paste, confirms what was just posted by Tom:

Hi Tim.

We get asked this a lot. So, I went and asked what a new block project roughly costs. Research, design and development of a new tool to cast from is roughly $250,000. Then the tooling must be created to machine the castings, which will cost another $100,000 or so. All this has to also be justified by the casting of at least 200 Blocks at $3000 each (wholesale) blocks that would already be sold before even one was made. That is only one of the many requirements for a market to make a new block possible. Others include legal details, design copyrights & marketing expenses.

We are currently producing a new 409 but releasing them 30 at a time at first to get them out there faster. It took a year to get those first 30 deposits and that was for a very popular block that nobody makes. Regular production should begin by the end of the year. The whole process has taken over 3 years and we have yet to ship one. It is all about basic supply and demand.

Hope this helps.

Angelo J. Liguori

 

so they only have 30 deposits for 409 blocks but they need 200 that doesnt make much sense on their part

Cody

 

They don't actually say how may deposits they have, they just said they are doing them in batches of 30 to get the product out the door faster and it took a year to get 30 deposits...that could have been three years ago as they mentioned...plus my understanding is that there is a pretty hardcore 409 guy behind it all and no doubt they will get the 200 sales.

 

what about dart?

 

Hell, i'd be down for that.

 

What about TA?uzzled:

They have already done it in aluminum. They looked into Iron and it was more expensive. If you want something cheap and easy, build a Chebby or Furd.

A good iron block that cost anywhere near a Chebby is just not going to happen...ever.:Smarty:

Is $6,000 a lot for a block? :shock: Yup, it is.ou: But look at what you're getting for that money. A BRAND NEW, darn near bulletproof high-performance block that doesn't need any girdles or other extensive machining to make it ready to make however much HP you want to throw at it.

I, for one, have been saving my pennies and dimes...it will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine.:Brow:

 

Me too lololol ahh yesss 604 ci BBB nothing better!

 

Well we would all love to have an aluminum block and its an option for some people, but not many at 6K. The idea with iron is something a little less radical, for a lot less cash. Most people aren't going over 5-600hp I'm sure, so forking out 6K for a block is a little extreme. Most won't spend 6K on a complete engine overhaul.

I'm sure glad TA is here and making things like this, that's why they get my business.

 

Just throwing this out there.

GMPerformance still makes engines for cars that have been discontinued years ago. Still stamping out gen1's even though that engine went bye-bye in 2003.

It's a long shot but who knows, they may even sell off the original molds and stuff for the right price if it's still available.

 

5-600 hp the stock block does just fine. My block cost $100 and has made 675 hp for 7 years with stock rods, no girdle. Just half fill of Hardblock and internal balance.

Most of the time problems are due to improper build or not tuned right ......but people like to blame the "weak" block or "bad" oiling system.

 

I just got two seasons (around 65-70 passes) on a non-girdled stock block that was putting out 800hp, and ran a best of 9.18 at 150mph. It just let go in Bowling Green last month, not sure what caused it, but I ran the snot out of it and I've lost girdled motors that didn't last more than a dozen passes. If it's right, it's right. If it's not, you'll find out soon.

 

Well I sure wish we had an option, just found out my last block is cracked as well. I started looking for replacements as soon as the first one went into the metal bin, nothing I can find locally, now my third and last one is toast.

Don't have 6K to drop either so I guess I'm screwed.

 

Lots of wishin' and hopin' regarding aftermarket blocks,but cost seems to be an issue,as it is with me,but the poll shows 112 people willing to buy a block.Maybe if TA got legitimate deposits from 112 people the cost of his block would come down,to $4-4.5k maybe.Input from TA would be welcomed.I'd be in line.
gary