Just dipped for cleaning and after fill I will start the machining process if I can find a good shop to do it which is hard to find around here! I would like to open a shop but scared to take the money plunge! Hey you know me! We raced at Indy!
Pretty much the same. I have a great shop here in NE ohio who is well versed in Buick machining.He does all my work,for over 12 years now, does girdles, strokers,block fills, lifter galley reinforcement, everything in-house. gary
Do you have a price list? Most shops want double than what it used to be and still don't know if I can trust them.
You might as well fill to the top if you fill 1/2" below the deck because the deck thickness IIRC is around 1/2" to 5/8" thick! Fill 1" to 1 1/2" below the deck's thickness, so that would be at least 1 1/2" below the deck's surface to as much as 2 1/8" below. I would rather have that little extra gap up top for a bit more volume of coolant for better cooling. Going from an 1/2" to 1 1/2" gap below the deck's thickness isn't going to give up much strength, even if there is a 3" gap there it still would be quite(not to be confused with quiet which means no noise. It seems some people here spell quiet as q-u-i-t-e, not saying it is you that does that, I just noticed a few others that have) strong but to be on the safe side while your filling the block anyway between 1" to 2" gap would be a bit better if at all practical. Going that high with a BBB would cause the need for some creative forms to make a path for coolant to run unless you plan on relocating how the coolant flows. Not sure how much you need to use though. Maybe start out in a 1 gallon bucket 3/4 to 4/5 full and if in that's not enough mix a bit more how much you think it would take. You should have a close idea how much more you need by how far the first batch got you. Just remember that the bottom takes a little bit more fill than when it starts going up the cylinders. GL Derek
Yea I was going to measure down from the thickness of the deck. I have done one other but that block is not here right now to look at. It's getting a girdle installed. I run hoses from the deck to the water pump hole for cooling.
Not sure but to me that hose looks a bit small to flow enough volume for cooling? To me it seems like the coolant would be very slow moving through a hole that small? Think about it like this, picture the block empty and the water pump starts pumping coolant into the block. The pump makes the coolant flow through that small hole so slow it takes say even as fast as 30 seconds to fill the gap under the deck. Then another 30 seconds for it to fill the heads from the back to the front before the level gets high enough to make it to the thermostat housing. By the time all that is going on the coolant is turning into steam I would think with the engine running? That's how I see it in my imagination anyway? Seems like that small of a hole would put a strain and or drag on the water pump as well, someone correct me if I'm wrong? You would probably be better off drilling and tapping the block at where the coolant gap will be just below the deck for one 1" NPT on each side for a hose barb. Then drilling and tapping a 1" NPT on the top of the timing cover where the coolant runs into the block to install a hose barb and run your hose that way if possible to a hose barb in the block. This is how I would do it if it were for myself. I didn't do any measuring so you might have to go down a size or 2 for the NPT? If the timing cover isn't thick enough to tap, then an aluminum hose nipple could be welded on in the proper spot. I don't have an assembled 455 here right now so I'm not sure if there is enough room to do it this way so make sure you measure twice and then measure 2 more times to make sure it will work for you with all your accessories bolted on. And make sure you can find a hose that will form in that area without kinking. A hose from something that has a 90* bend formed in it cut to the length you need would probably work good. By also using the hose in the pic will give you even more needed volume for cooling, perhaps run 2 hoses, one on each side if above won't work for you for another path of coolant to get a bit more volume. I hope that other block will be ok with just one hose hole path in it, if not a little creative drilling and tapping might get you there? GL Derek
Not sure if I read that right, but don't determine how much mix to fill as you mix it. Pour water in the block first to determine what goes in. Each bank might be different (I don't recall on the B455, but most types are...). Things set up quickly, so be ready if you do it.
