wow that's cheap. Who will build that for you? Can you list out all the parts and labor costs? I have checked around, and every price I have gotten for a complete assembly is almost twice that, even without some of the expensive parts. Pat
Now this is assuming that you have a stock long block that is in decent shape and does not need a new crank, rods, oil pickup or timing cover. The machine shop bill is generally around a $1000 and for this all the basic machine work can be done including resizing your rods, turning your crankshaft. Some shops will also assemble your short block for a few hundred more. The pistons will run you $375. I paid around $1400 for the level 4 port job from Gessler, TA intake will run you around $350 (single plane intake), 800 cfm q jet from any junkyard for around $25 and another $25 for a rebuild kit. You will want to jet that thing pretty heavily in the primaries and find a C to F hanger for the secondaries. I would not use any of the stock secondary metering rods, but would make the tips super thin to give this thing some more fuel. Hemi Killer cam on probably a 110 lobe center through Buick Club for around $225 with lifters. You will also need a double roller timing chain set for $80. Headers will cost you $350. The parts total $2830 add a $1000 for your machine shop bill. If you can keep this thing at .30 over you will be doing OK. Of course you will also need gaskets, bearings and rings, but you should not break the $4200 dollar plateau. Again, most decent machine shops will assemble the short block for a nominal fee. Most important is that the 455 engine you use for this build is not trashed because you will be using many of the parts except for pistons. You will even use the stock rocker arms. The most important piece for this puzzle is having Gessler port your cylinder heads. Don't listen to anybody that is telling you that you need to spend $10,000 plus for a 500 HP engine on 93 octane fuel. I can only run 91 from the pump and I spent half that on my engine. You can call me at 1-619-460-0657. David
My motor is a 430 (+.030) with forged stock pistons, .065 in the hole. It has a C-107 cam, B4B with modiies Q'Jet. Head work is the key to the combo. Get a set of 67-69 heads ported to get some decent flow numbers. We use a guy here that can get you to 260-270 range for about $1000 /set. I run an ATI 3500 stall convertor w/T400 and 4.10 gears. On BFG Drag Radials it has gone 12.20 at 4000 lbs. Streetable combo with the Q'Jet worked right.
Sloan, >How about trying your luck in "parts wanted"? Also, Mike / aka "Racebuicks" may be able to line you up with something. He had a set-up that may have suited you sell recently. Check: V8 Buick.com > How much for that doggy in the window? > Parts for sale > 455 Engine F/S Ready to Drop In!! In regards to the 93 Octane requirement... Racing gas smells better My experience (the little it's worth) gives me the impression a number of those within the Buick community "babies" their investment to such a degree that when they do decide to upgrade/update, what becomes available on the market is a fraction of the cost of buying new with "new like" reliability/quality. Stick to a .50 cent on the dollar resell philosophy and you'll find something close to what you are after (if patient) I've had excellent luck scouring the boards and the quality of people/product has been excellent too. The economy is crappy, take advantage of it, cash is an excellent persuader. Good Luck. John
There are a lot of better choice cams than then hemi-killer now. I check around with the jim's or poston and ta before you decide on one. I think the ta290-08 or 290-08hl would be a lot better.(just my opion)
Sloan, I think you have plenty of good ideas for the engine, I have a question for you: Why do you need to have someone else ("the shop") do the engine removal and installation for you? R & R'ing an engine is not hard and only requires basic mechanical ability. You can rent an engine puller, or find a friend with one that you can borrow, or even buy a new cheap one for around $160. That is the only trick tool you need, the rest is just wrenches and sockets. Since you are putting the same engine back in, you do not have any fabrication to do. By doing the R & R'ing yourself, you will save that mone and can use it towards your total budget to buy more engine.
500 Ponies on a Budget Attached is information from an article subtitled Our Quest: 500 Hp for $4,000 on Pump Gas out of the Alternative Engine Series in the May 1998 issue of Hot Rod magazine. Rob Chilenski of Stage 1 Automotive builds a 464 cid Buick that does just that in the article. The engine was estimated at 501 HP based on an ET of 11.59 at 117.2 from a 3950 lb. race weight Skylark. The heads where Stg 1 Level 2 by Greg Gessler, and the combination used a GSCAs Hemi-Killer cam. Scotty Gudagano from Pee Gee Performance did the machine work. Below are the detailed carb to pan parts and prices from the article: Blockblock core, bore, bake and freeze plugs $420 Pistons-- JE forged 10.5 : 1 .038" over, includes lightweight pins $649 Rod bearings--Clevite 77 # CB762P $42 Rings--Sealed Power # R-9798 $127 Heads-- Gessler Level 2 complete $ 1,195 Pushrods-- $70 Crankshaft-- Stock .010 under $80 Main Bearings-- Clevite 77 # MS908P $64 Camshaft & Lifters -- Lunati 214*-241* GSCA Hemi-Killer includes lifters $200 Cam Bearings-- Clevite 77 # H-1361-S $20 Timing Set-- TA Billet # 1524 $109 Intake-- Edelbrock Performer $238 Carb-- rebuilt Q-Jet $150 Ignition--rebuilt GM HEI $100 Oil Pump-- Sealed Power High Volume $65 Front Seal (timing cover)-- Federal Mogul # 450446 $9 Rear Seal-- Fel-Pro # BS40012 $14 Exhaust Headers-- TA Performance $269 Buick GSCA Membership-- $30 Total costs of parts and machining listed in the article was $3851. Shipping and non-machining labor costs were not included, and may vary depending on the area. Additionally costs should probably include balancing the assembly at a cost of about $150 and installing the cam bearings at a cost of around $30. This would allow the rest of the assembly at home for a total cost of $4031. ARP rod bolts ($60) and reconditioning the rods ($70) might be another consideration that would push the total to $4161, and I did not see a cost associated with pressing the pistons on the rods. Not a bad price for 500 Hp on pump gas in any case. Cheryl
A few other things missing from that article: -gasket set -springs,retainers,keepers -rockers, or adjustable pushrods -shipping(sounds stupid but look how much is ordered like heads and other parts.)
Springs , keepers , retainers were obviously covered in the Gessler level 2 heads complete. Pushrods are listed, most likely stock rockers were used. The gasket set was'nt listed. Jim Burek P.A.E. ENTERPRISES
ou: Forgot about the heads being complete. The pushrod listed aren't adjustable. Those are the stock type non adjustable. Can you use stock rockers on that much cam?
It also does not mention whether the pushrods are stock length or otherwise, could be he used a nonstock length non adjustable pushrod, and yes, that can be done with no problem. Jim Burek
Sloan, its VERY doable on $6K budget! Especially if you do ALL the wrenching yourself! Do tons of research. Make a plan. Find a quality machinist, that you can TRUST! Stick to you plan and stay within your budget. Don't stray half-way thru the project!! Try and make sure that the money you are spending ensures a very strong foundation, and will allow future bolt-on upgrades! :Smarty: :grin:
