cracked 455 Buick block

[1989TransAm]

Sounds like the buyer won big time.

[machinedave]

Sounds like the buyer won big time.

Yes he did.

[Rizzle]

TA's came with Buick 455"s?
Otherwise, cool build!

If you got that idea from the numerous mention's of TA in D.S.R.E.'s post, TA performance is a big name in the buick performance aftermarket.

http://www.taperformance.com/

Though a buddy of mine did buy a T-A with a BBB in it, however it wasn't a factory install.




Anyways, glad to hear the block worked out well. Thanks for the update.

[900HP]

TA's came with Buick 455"s?
Otherwise, cool build!

If you got that idea from the numerous mention's of TA in D.S.R.E.'s post, TA performance is a big name in the buick performance aftermarket.

http://www.taperformance.com/

Though a buddy of mine did buy a T-A with a BBB in it, however it wasn't a factory install.




Anyways, glad to hear the block worked out well. Thanks for the update.

He got it from the last line of DSRE's post and I quote:
"PS to anyone looking to build a future buick 455 look for the 1976 buick 455's painted blue from the factory yhese wete installed mainly in trans ams and are a thicker casting and are better suited to 600+hp"

While the '76 455 may be a better block it most certainly never came in a factory Trans-Am

[900HP]

And I'm really glad it worked out for the OP as well

[8ad-f85]

8ad-f85 wrote:TA's came with Buick 455"s?
Otherwise, cool build!

Yeah, they really need to make a sarcastic font button on keyboards.

"I've searched the country looking for my uncle's all original numbers-matching Buick 455 Trans Am to no avail. I keep finding these worthless solid main web 403 versions."

Glad to hear the block worked out. What a find!

[PackardV8]

Wonder if some time soon a Buick guy is going to pull a cracked block off the shelf and realize the two got switched and he sold the good one?

[machinedave]

Wonder if some time soon a Buick guy is going to pull a cracked block off the shelf and realize the two got switched and he sold the good one?

I was wondering about that too.

[vortecpro]

Last one I did was a street/strip budget 464 buick
4.3525 bore, I did all of the recomended oil passage modifications enlarging pretty much all the oil passages, i made 3/4 groove main bearings, deburred everything, i ported, blueprinted a chinese timing cover, its got stock crank but i aerowinged yhe counterweights, stock 2 bolt caps, stock rods with ARP bolts modified for more side clearance
We used SpeedPro Powerforged 21.5cc dish pistons compression is 10.8:1 oh except I got light weight pins from TA Performance, big fat rings
my ported Edelbrock aluminum heads 326@.650 242@.650 exhaust 1.6 small block chevy roller rockers 3/8 pushrods
hydraulic flat tappet cam 236-243@.050 .515lift, 113 lsa 110ilc
Ta lifters, my ported TA SP1 4150 pattern and my custom built 750 shop carb holley with Percies adjustajet metering blocks
TA 1-7/8 Headers
made 530hp @ 5200rpm before we found out those lifters have valve issues it should have peaked at 57-5800
torque was 560@ 46-4900rpm
With the comp cams promagnum lifters and a beehive spring setup im confident we would have made 550-565hp at 5800
Anyway we were out of mula so he put it in his 76 camero weighing 3700lbs in racing condition so far spinning through 1rst into 2nd its running 10.95 @ 125mph with a th400 3500 stall and 3.55 gears with et streets
best 60ft was a 1.94 lol
so what's my point you say
even though these require a lot more work and attention to detail than any other popular big block its sooo worth it this thing is an absolute animal on the street and the best part is its still a hydraulic flat tappet lol I definitely have a soft spot for the Buick 430-455 engine, weak block, expensive as all get out, tons of work to make live but still it's worth the smiles per mile!
PS to anyone looking to build a future buick 455 look for the 1976 buick 455's painted blue from the factory yhese wete installed mainly in trans ams and are a thicker casting and are better suited to 600+hp

Can you elaborate more on the lifter situation? Is there a American timing chain cover available? Trying to learn as much as possible about these engines, any information would be appreciated.

[900HP]

Can you elaborate more on the lifter situation? Is there a American timing chain cover available? Trying to learn as much as possible about these engines, any information would be appreciated.

On a Buick I don't know of an aftermarket "timing chain cover" or oil pump housing. TA Performance makes a replacement that is MUCH MUCH better than any stock piece you can buy or modify. It's American made. On the lifter deal, the issues are the same as with any engine, if you buy the cheap mass produced mass marketed lifters you can expect to get those results. The Buick being particularly sensitive to low oil pressure can have problems sooner if you are using hydraulic lifters and they are too small for the lifter bores. This is a problem with all engines but Buicks are very sensitive to it because of the oiling issues. Too loose of a lifter and you won't have any oil pressure.

TA Performance has done a wonderful job of making sure that if you want the good stuff you get it from them. They have invested huge amounts of capitol into Buick high performance so if you are building one please purchase your parts from TA or from one of their suppliers.

[1989TransAm]

Excellent advice on the Buick parts.

[70GS455]

made 530hp @ 5200rpm before we found out those lifters have valve issues it should have peaked at 57-5800

Can you elaborate more on the lifter situation?

I think what was referred to was the fact that the hp made was less than expected and at a lower rpm due to valvetrain stability issues. This has been an ongoing issues with BBB for some time. Buicks have small cam lobe sizes due to the small cam tunnel (some of the smallest around). As a result, they are very sensitive to the cam profile. Rarely does a modern, quick-ramp, high-rate profile work. One issue is stability over the nose (lifter separating from the lobe) at rpm. The other issue is "lifter crash": high accelerations overcome the inertia of the lifter checkball causing it not to seat when its supposed to. These effects have been seen in dyno and track testing. HTH

[900HP]

One issue is stability over the nose (lifter separating from the lobe) at rpm. The other issue is "lifter crash": high accelerations overcome the inertia of the lifter checkball causing it not to seat when its supposed to. These effects have been seen in dyno and track testing. HTH

This is where understanding the why instead of the what is so important. You can't physically accelerate a lifter any faster in a Buick than in any other engine. If you are using lifters that don't work well you are going to have problems no matter what brand of engine it is If you are floating the valvetrain and losing control it is either a function of mis-matched or poorly matched parts or poor camshaft design. Either way, the Buick camshaft diameter is smaller than the small block Chevy by almost .100" so the lobe design does need to be "adjusted" for the smaller base circle, very similar to what a small base circle SBC cam is like. Other than that there is no big secret to valvetrain control in a Buick vs. any other engine with stupid long tiny little pushrods.

This one should be on the dyno Monday, Feb 16. She's a pretty piece

edw455buick10.jpg

[1989TransAm]

Be sure to post the dyno results.

[Dan Timberlake]

dry mag particle inspection is kind of insensitive, compared to fluorescent wet mag particle as in the picture in the bad callies crank thread.
Parts have to be magnetized in the correct direction to reveal cracks of a particular direction. Gears etc have to be magnetized, inspected, then re-magnetized turned at 90 degrees and inspected again. Every 45 degrees might be necessary
I bet successfully Magnetizing a part as complicated as a block would be real interesting.

Dye penetrant inspection might be a good inspection process to try, but I would not be surprised if some hand finishing some rough cast areas with sanding rolls might be necessary to remove meaningless "indications."