Blew up the 350....here comes the 455 econo build

Pulled the 350 today and cleaned the engine bay. Not much work to prep for the 455 install.

 

Put the 455 frame pads in today.....fun 2 hours!

 

Looks good, like it should!

 

Motors ready now to drop in

 

My son in law gave me a hand this am. It’s in, and tranny, torque converter bolted up. I’ll get at plumbing and electrical tomorrow.

 

Lookin' good!

 

That's a very nice job!
If it runs as good as it looks you'll be in great shape.

No one would ever know that BBB wasn't installed in Flint, MI!!

 

Great posting. I really like your work.. Looks like you had a good time. Like ya should.

 

Almost done. Need to install the water temp, oil pressure gauges, fill with coolant, prime her and x my fingers and do the cam break in. The walker mega clamps worked awesome for connecting the new 2.5 inch head pipes to existing 2.5 system. Ended up with the powermaster 9511 starter

 

AWESOME job!!

 

Slight sleeper look....I have no intentions of adding 455 emblems.

 

Nice work! What spark plug wires did you use?

 

Have you cranked it yet? Which Quadrajet did you use, the one from the 350 or the 455. Who rebuilt it?

 

I used the spark plug wires from the 350. Just worked my way from longest to shortest, worked out well. I rebuilt the 72 800 cfm quadrajet. Rebushed it, installed Cliff Ruggle kit, 74 main jet, Cliffs tapered rods with the APT freed up and adjustable. DA secondary rods, new idle tubes - drilled to 0.038, adjustable choke pull off. I use Cliffs book as a guide, always buy his kits and parts. I’ve done a number of them now, so I’m comfortable taking them apart, modifying etc.
Cam break in was done on Friday, I’ve been putting some miles on her...gently, but on and off it enough to seat rings. So far it has a lot more grunt versus the 72 - 350 had. I’ll take it easy for a while, then start putting some pressure on the TSP 9.5 converter!

 

I really need to find a fan shroud here in Canada. The 3 core with no shroud is pushing 205 at times. It has a 185 T stat

 

It'll never run better than when it's fresh & no carbon buildup.....stand on it.

 

What's the engine break in rule of thumb for rpm ranges and limitations, miles to be driven before really getting on it etc??

 

No need for tedious low RPM, light load running for several hundred miles. Once the cam is broken in, ten or so WOT pulls in high gear from 30 to 60 mph (with out detonation) will seat the rings. After that, no need to limit RPM (except redline, of course) or WOT, It's good to go--Drive it like ya stole it! Sounds like you have already driven it enough to seat the rings, so as long as you are not overheating it (205* won't hurt it) and you are running gas with enough octane and your ignition timing is 30 -34 degrees total so you aren't getting detonation, go for it!

 

Well I can say I am pleased to be able to purchase 94 octane with zero ethanol! Here in BC chevron has 94 octane no ethanol.
So even with its 8.?? To 1 compression, pinging shouldn’t be an issue. I’m at 33 max centrifical....I’ll watch the temps

 

Only be gentle until the oil warms up, then after that GET ON IT
When I did my latest build, after driving around in the city and getting on it a bit, on the highway I went, did some full throttle blasts, then backed off, did that a few times, from what I read/heard when you back off the throttle it creates a high vacuum condition that helps the rings seat.
Havent had any issues