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455 motor

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Old December 7th, 2009, 02:10 PM
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455 motor

Can any body tell me what the horsepower is on a stock 455 is.I have a 455 that I want to build. I dont want it to radical. All I want is a good sound. It has c heads could somebody give me some good sugestions. On what kind of cam to use. And ehat type of pistons to use. I want to run pump gas. I would appreaciate some good suggestions. thanks
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Old December 7th, 2009, 03:12 PM
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IM not at all an expert on motors.I would think that you would need to know what the year and model it came from. With a few numbers from the block the olds guru's on here will hook you up.
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Old December 7th, 2009, 03:27 PM
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Dave it is a 74 modle with 70 cranke and 70 heads. So I have been told. I have a set of e and c heads. I have been told that the c heads are the better of the two. I have just started to fool with ols. I can use all the advice that I can get. Thanks
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Old December 7th, 2009, 05:09 PM
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Originally Posted by john suder
Dave it is a 74 modle with 70 cranke and 70 heads. So I have been told. I have a set of e and c heads. I have been told that the c heads are the better of the two. I have just started to fool with ols. I can use all the advice that I can get. Thanks
The "stock" rating could have been anywhere from 250 HP to 400 HP. The differences were due to compression, heads, valve size, carb, advance curve, and single vs. dual exhaust. Note that not only did the rating method change from gross to net HP in the 1971 model year, but the factory ratings were demonstrated to be conservative, at least in the musclecar years. Of course, since your engine is apparently not "stock", we have no way of knowing what the rating is.
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Old December 7th, 2009, 05:20 PM
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Sounds like the engine has already had mods. hard to tell what you have now. Olds 455's used dish pistons to determine compression the deeper the dish the less compression = less hp. heads, intake and exhaust also make a difference. Sound like you need to make a plan. What hp do you want, thats a good place to start
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Old December 8th, 2009, 02:33 AM
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Do you know witch heads are better. The c or e, I have been told that c heads are better . I would just like to have some good ideas. From pepole that deel with ols motors. I am not really consern with how much hp.I just want a good sound. What I was going to do is install 10.1 pistons. But I dont know what cam to use. When I talk to the rebuilders around here. All they want to build it to drag specs. And that is not what I want.
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Old December 10th, 2009, 09:33 PM
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Originally Posted by john suder
Do you know witch heads are better. The c or e, I have been told that c heads are better . I would just like to have some good ideas. From pepole that deel with ols motors. I am not really consern with how much hp.I just want a good sound. What I was going to do is install 10.1 pistons. But I dont know what cam to use. When I talk to the rebuilders around here. All they want to build it to drag specs. And that is not what I want.

http://tech.classicoldsmobile.com/95.shtml

...
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Old December 11th, 2009, 06:31 AM
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When I talk to the rebuilders around here. All they want to build it to drag specs. And that is not what I want.
I suggest you find another machinist.

If all you want is a good "sound" then I suggest you rebuild the engine mostly stock. A good flowing exhaust with decent performance mufflers will give you an AWSOME sound with a stock 455.

A good place to start would be to determine your budget and go from there. If you know you have to build the engine on the cheap then you should probably keep it stock. If you have some extra cash to spend then you can determine what aftermarket parts you want to buy. Potential aftermarket parts include a cam, intake manifold, and headers or stock dual exhaust manifolds (all of which would increase your HP considerably). You might also consider installing higher compression pistons (I don't think 10:1 would be good if you want to run on pump gas), a double roller timing chain, and aftermarket oil pump and oil pan.
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Old January 17th, 2010, 06:53 AM
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Originally Posted by john suder
Do you know witch heads are better. The c or e, I have been told that c heads are better . I would just like to have some good ideas. From pepole that deel with ols motors. I am not really consern with how much hp.I just want a good sound. What I was going to do is install 10.1 pistons. But I dont know what cam to use. When I talk to the rebuilders around here. All they want to build it to drag specs. And that is not what I want.
These castings will flow within 5% of each other, as long as the have the same size valves. You will be looking for the set that has 2.072 intake valves in them, to get the best ones.

What are your goals with this car? Really.

Do NOT be concerned with sound so much...you can always buy a stereo.
I like mine quiet.
Jim
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Old June 14th, 2011, 03:24 PM
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Arrow Stock or mostly stock should still sound awesome.

Originally Posted by Olds64
I suggest you find another machinist.

If all you want is a good "sound" then I suggest you rebuild the engine mostly stock. A good flowing exhaust with decent performance mufflers will give you an AWSOME sound with a stock 455.

A good place to start would be to determine your budget and go from there. If you know you have to build the engine on the cheap then you should probably keep it stock. If you have some extra cash to spend then you can determine what aftermarket parts you want to buy. Potential aftermarket parts include a cam, intake manifold, and headers or stock dual exhaust manifolds (all of which would increase your HP considerably). You might also consider installing higher compression pistons (I don't think 10:1 would be good if you want to run on pump gas), a double roller timing chain, and aftermarket oil pump and oil pan.
I agree with olds64, I ordered supersonic turbo mufflers for my 80 cutlass when I had the 350 sbo, then replaced it with a 260cid and the 260 even sounded incredible, throaty, but still super quiet. I still want stock 403, with the only mods will be roller lifters, rockers and maybe high volume oil pump, but hope my mufflers are still worth keeping.
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