my official "NOW WHAT" thread! 455 swap edition

Pete,

Make sure you coat the timing gears with a lube of some sort. A moly based grease is good as is a white lithium grease. And soak the chain in oil before you button the front end up. Did you stake the two front oil gallery plugs? Good idea so the plugs don't come out. The camshaft should be degreed in so you know its ground and installed correctly. Lining up the marks may or may not get you where it needs to be. When you install the neoprene front seal put a light smear of oil on the lip of the seal (and make sure the seal is installed so the spring and lip point inward). When you drive the soft plugs in place you can use a socket that just fits the inside of the cup. Square it up and give it a few good sharp raps with a ballpeen hammer. Also liberally coat the block openings with a sealer before you drive the plugs in. Non hardening aviation sealer works great. Its like the non hardening Permatex, but you brush it on. Pay attention to sealing up the intake manifold gasket before you drop the manifold on. A thin coat of a sealer around the ports on both sides of the gasket and some sealer around the water jacket ports. Then a nice thick bead of RTV at each end rail lapping up over the corner onto the heads. Trial fit the intake prior so you know how much space needs to be filled, and then make the bead a good 1/8" higher. If you use the factory end seals don't use any RTV on them, install them dry. The RTV only way is a more postive sure fire not to leak method.
Any other questions just fire away, I'm sure you'll get plenty of quick responses.

 

dave, thanks for the tips. right now the everything is pretty much a mock up. after i get everything buttoned down, im gonna take it all apart and torque everything down to specs. and im sure ill have a ton more questions. :shock:

mark, the freezer trick seems to help, as well as sanding out the holes a bit. they are all in, but a few are a little rough so im gonna try and pop them out and give it another shot with some new plugs. i couldnt imagine trying to do this with the engine in the car ou:

regarding the parts, i should be covered for now. ill let you know if anything changes.

 

more questions regarding frame pads this time. i searched the board and found that its a major pain in the butt that involves wobble sockets, extensions and a whole lot of patients. ou:

my question comes where the original frame pad uses a nut and bolt to secure the frame pad to the frame, the t/a aluminum pad is threaded. there is also no conceivable way to tighten a nut all the way to the base of the pad since there are clearance issues between the pad and nut itself. is the pad secured only by the bolt and washers through the frame and screwed into the pad?

 

Hello Pete, what condition is your front suspension in? My experience is about the time a car is redy for a motor swap, it is lilek ready for BBB springs, and new suspension. This is the easiest time to do it and makes the frame pads about a 10 minute job! Frame pad swap with control arms in can be a many hour job...

 

Pete, don't worry about the frame pads. Not that hard when you have the correct stuff. make sure you have a short swivel socket, not a socket on a swivel. Bolts will go up through the frame holes and screw in to the engine mount. Look at Buick performance.com to make sure you are putting them in the correct place on the frame, because it is different than the 350 mounts. It is easier with someone holding the pads and someone underneath.

 

hey mark. went out to give it a shot this morning.

youre right about the swivel socket. the socket on a swivel has too much weight at the end and flops all over the place dropping the bolt. i put a piece of tape around the hex to keep it tight and that seemed to do the trick. the passenger side went ok in just about 30 min. the drivers side is proving to be a little more difficult with the fuel lines in the way. i got one bolt in so far so at least the pad stays in place. i thought id take a break before i start punching stuff. ou: im managing to get them on fairly tight, but when its time to do the new suspension and lowering springs, im gonna drop the lower a arm so i can really get in there and crank down on the bolts

if i had known it the swap would have been this expensive and difficult....

ive read though that its well worth the bloody knuckles and empty bank account :3gears:

 

Well worth it.....

 

yeah. im finding that out very quick! after the swap im doing the suspension. lack of money and time wont allow me to do the suspension right now. unfortunately im at the mercy of some very large companies that dont always pay there bills on time. :spank:

 

got them in! :TU: i hope thats the last time in have to install something like that. i have a feeling it wont be though. uzzled:

 

hey all. heres another one. what bolt size and gage are needed to mount the transmission to the engine? i misplaced mine during the tear down. :spank:

 

3/8"-16, not sure on the length ... about 1"-1 1/4"

 

thanks a bunch. :beers2:

another question guys. whats the easiest way to press in the front cover seel into the timing cover? i was thinking of driving it down to a mech and have them press it in. what say you???

pete

 

First, make sure the seal will sit flat without rocking, de-burr the cover little around the top edge if needed. I typically put a thin layer of RTV around inside the timing cover then tap the seal in using a large flat socket or equivilant and hammer. Make sure to keep it going evenly. Do not use the thin side of the socket against the seal use the flat side so as to not bend the seal.

 

hello again all! i think i already know the answer but i thought id confirm before i button everything up. from what i can guess, the heat crossover is the two holes. those get plugged up. how about the rectangle above it? is that part of the crossover as well?

it lands on a flat part of my brb, so essentially, it will be blocked off. am i missing anything here?

 

Yes, two holes that are approx. 3/4" are the heat crossover holes. The upper rectangular opening is a blind opening, doesn't go anywhere. So your B4B will cover it.

With your year around temps you most likely won't have any issues with needing to heat the plenum. I've even run 'em plugged up here in colder climates. You can drill a small hole in one of the plugs on each head to get a little heat under the carb, won't hurt anything.

 

thanks for your help in confirming, dave! :TU:

 

HELP !! B4B With no connection

1973, 455 with an Edelbrock B4B intake, in the back of the TA Performance spring book, the intake has a 1/8*27npt Brake booster connection. Is this the correct? Or does the Brake booster connection run to the quadrajet? Do i plug the the vacum on the back of B4B or what?

 

for anyone that knows wiring, i have yet another question in sparkys corner :spank:

without all of you guys, im not sure where i would be with this swap. probably huddled up in a corner talking to myself :eek2:

anyhow, take a look! http://v8buick.com/showthread.php?p=1305445#post1305445

 

hey all. when measuring the clearance on the oil pump gears to the timing cover, i can squeak in a .002 feeler gauge in there. so in this case, i wont need to use any shims, correct? will i just use the stock gasket? i test fit it with the stock gasket and the gears turn freely, but there is a little play in the gears. i assume there should be a little play?