[SlinkyBMX]

Both are nice engines. I recently picked up a 454 at a very good price and was gonna shoehorn that into my 79 TA. But then I started considering a 455. I'm kinda stumped on what to choose. I havn't heard alot about the 455's. If anyone could list pros/cons, that would greatly help.

Thanks
Lars

[Herb Hagan]

You can run whatever you want, but you can't come play with the rest of us at any of the Pontiac events, NO BB CHEBBIES NEED APPLY!
Herb

[Gary S.]

Well-
the 455 is a Pontiac engine.
To put anything but a Pontiac engine in a Pontiac is just blasphemy!!
They are great engines,and have plenty of torque.They don't rev high like a Chevy-they weren't designed to.They don't need to,either.You can get all the horsepower and torque you will ever need with a 455.
They were only made for about 7 years,so they are not near as common as any Chevy.

[a-train]

I have a 454 in my 80 and I really like it. (I don't have times or anything so don't ask.) My car originally had the 301T motor, aka 'the anchor' in it. It ran for 160,000+ mile - barely, but it still ran. I actually started out wanting to get the 301 rebuilt. My motor guy told my that I probably wasn't gonna get too much out of the 301 without spending $$$ and he didn't know of any 400s or 455s for sale or trade around there. He suggested a BBC and guaranteed me I'd love it. I have never thought twice about yanking the 301 for the 454 and so far have no desire to switch it out for a poncho.

I'm not saying one is better than the other, but like TA said if its your car do with it what you want.

[TA454]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by BVR421:
TA454, high 10s @ 3600lbs gets my respect. no denying the potental of a big block. Did you swap that motor in or buy it that way? Your car sounds like my 76 was a few years ago, backhalfed with a BBC. . <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thank you
respect is a little hard to get round here if you dare to be different. Or vary from what is considered to be the popular opinion.
Actually i saved the car from the crusher. Mine is also a 76. originally a 455 4speed car. The guy i bought it from beat it to within an inch of its life. Obvously i knew the prevous owner he said the motor had a bad knock. I never even drove it figured what the hell $750 for a solid body was a good deal 14 yrs ago. Then it sat in the driveway for a couple of years. One of those I will get to it "SOMEDAY" deals.
My father had an old 454 and TH400 out of an old suburban in the garage. He also has a 73 455 4speed TA that upon retiring is going to restore. since that is a more desirable car figured my motor would be better used as a spare for his car. After all at that time they were only getting harder to find. Plus i had no intention of remaining anywhere near stock.
Needless to say in went a stock 100000 mile 454 from a 73 burban. A little tweeking I got it to run 13.3 still on a stock motor. Then like anything else once you get hooked just keep adding to it.
Actually it was not a lot of work. The factory fuel lines are too small to properly feed any kind of high HP motor so the relocation of them is a nonissue. Most people put battery in trunk anyhow again a nonissue. infact the handeling of the car was great when i first did it with stock suspension. had great road manners and that stock truck motor got 15 mpg even with 4:11 gears. The only "street trim "item i did not keep at first was the AC.
It was a basic case of making due with what i had available. Had the original moror have run i would probably went that way.

[BVR421]

TA454, high 10s @ 3600lbs gets my respect. no denying the potental of a big block. Did you swap that motor in or buy it that way? Your car sounds like my 76 was a few years ago, backhalfed with a BBC. It ended up a full tube car by the time I bought it as a roller this summer. With all the details Ive gone thru to convert back to Pontiac power, I cant imagine doing the job with a car still in street trim. Bad enough on a race car. Ive seen a lot of Pontiacs with BBs but it always looked like a lot of work when cameros are so easy to find.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Agreed there are ways to do it, but millions of sbc in cars and trucks dont have the trick parts on them. To me getting a good seal without pullin the pan down in front and losening the entire thing is annoying at best.

TA454 has a good running car, its just one that I wont build. Different is putting anything else into a Chevy. lol...

[TA454]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by BANDITONE:
the owner ot the T/A mentioned how the CHEVELLE would be smoking the tires trying to catch him coming out of the hole. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Common sense would tell you that smoking the tires out of the hole is a sign of overpowering the available traction. Therefore if one vechile WAS overpowering the available traction while the other was not. Must clearly mean that the one not spinning the tires upon launch simply is too underpowered to overpower the available traction.
Hell put John Force's funny car in a STREET RACE against a 12 second car. Chances are the 12 second car will have an easier time finding traction and would actually have a chance at winning. It all comes down to the EFFICIENT use of power.
That is the mustang's success story NOT overpowering the launch.
On the street you can oftentimes do better with less power.

[TA454]

the differance is COST and DURIBILITY of parts!!
A lot more reliable HP can be made with the BBC.All the pissing and moaning by the purist cant deny. High HP requires a good crank aint gonna get that in a 455. Unles of course you go with a billit crank. By the time you shell out $3000 for a billit 455 crank you could have built a COMPLETE short block BBC. Some here will complain that you gotta rev a chevy high to get power. thats BS. I only spin my 496 to 6300 rpms. Not only that i am still running a solid flat lifter cam. No need to spend the extra money for a roller. Also no lifter bore brakage either.
its all bout the Dollars and Cents basically less expensive makes COMMON SENSE!!!!!
Come on over to the dark side just make sure you have plenty of kleenex for the whiners!!

[SlinkyBMX]

I thought of a few parts I could get for it:
Edelbrock Pontiac 326-455 non egr performer intake
Edelbrock Performer Cam
Hooker Comp. Headers

I'm not sure what to use for a carb, rockers, ect. I want to keep the use of my shaker.

And also in choosing the engine. Long or short block, someone please ecplain the pros and cons. I belive it has to do with the stroke.

Thanks again

[MetalHead175]

I didn't state you were ignorant. I was stating that off the line the 455 would probably be a better motor. I do agree with you on the cheaper for parts idea. Parts are killer when you start to look at 3000 dollar cranks, 2100 dollar heads, thats a problem I am dealing with on my 455. It's all opinion. I know you can get a 454 to a 496 and make worlds of hp, my friend is doing that with a truck of his. I just dislike a Chevy in a Pontiac, but it is your car, and to each his own. Oh one more thing, take a built 454 and compete with one of these racers on this forum with a built 455 and lemme know who wins.

[MetalHead175]

Ignorance states that a 454 is a better engine than a 455. The crank on a 455 is bulletproof, ask around, you'll see the light.

[SlinkyBMX]

Both are nice engines. I recently picked up a 454 at a very good price and was gonna shoehorn that into my 79 TA. But then I started considering a 455. I'm kinda stumped on what to choose. I havn't heard alot about the 455's. If anyone could list pros/cons, that would greatly help.

Thanks
Lars

[Thumpin455_GTO]

TA454 you can run whatever engine you like. I for one just dont like workin on Chevy engines. Not as good engineering IMO. Especially small blocks, I just cant stand having to pull the oil pan to change the cam. Doesnt make sense to me, among other things. So my preference is Pontiacs, and I put them in everything. I dont like the extra work involved with putting a Chevy in a Pontiac and it makes me sad when I see a sbc where a 400 or 455HO once sat, especially in GTO's. For some reason I didnt mind the extra work of putting a 400HO in my 76 shortbox 1/2 ton, maybe its the pulling power it has now and good mileage that made it worth it.

I just dont agree with lets throw a chevy in there because its the only way to go fast. Thats the attitude I have read in magazines and heard on the street. Like a guy running 13.8 in an 86 Monte can tell me much about goin fast when my 455 ran 11's for $2700. Like I want to spend more to go slower, it doesnt make sense to me.

You hade a 454 and a body sittin there with no engine. Makes sense to me. But when you already have a 455 and you pull it for a chevy, then I wonder about the sanity and forward thinking. Or is it just following the crowd? Theres not much that is different about putttin a chevy in something. I just like my Pontiacs, they go fast for cheap. BTW the new engnie should be a tad faster than the old one. I'll let ya know how it runs in a month or so.

[TA454]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Heff:
Another problem could be height differences between the 454 and 455...i can't find any info on that. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

A 454 with dual plane intake ( performer RPM or similar) fits under the stock hood just fine. Shaker needs to be mounted to the hood itself. as the carb does not line up with the shaker base

[Mr. P-Body]

Todd, there ARE ways of getting the timing cover off the small block without pulling the pan. Moroso even makes a "modified" one for that very purpose.
TA454, I must echo what another has said. You're not "daring to be different" by shoving a rat in ANYTHING. I've seen Mustangs lately, with BBCs in them. Virtually ALL of the "modern" street rods I've seen (built in the last three or four years) have 502 "craters" in them.
I also agree, it's your car, do with it as you please. But don't try to sell the "Chevy is better" around here, as you're talking to deaf ears. Pontiac people like Pontiac motors, as well as Pontiac style. It's an attitude thing.
As a professional engine builder, I can tell you for sure. Big block Chevy is one of the finest power plants ever designed for automotive applications. The single biggest drawback is the weight. MASSIVE. But tough as nails, and puts out SERIOUS power when properly built.

[mike nixon]

if these engines are relatively stock the pontiac will get better fuel milage than a chevy every time.

also the pontiac's components are made from better materials. ask any engine machinist, they'll agree with this.

mike

[Bud Lyons]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Im only really looking for about 350-400 horse tops. Any more then that would be overkill <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>If it were me I would install a 400. I know your looking at a 455, but, a stroked 400 would give you those #'s real easy. 400 blocks are cheaper and much eaiser to find. Plus alot of builders offer a complete stroker kit to make your build pretty simple. Just something else to think about.

[WDCreech]

Slinky, Don't worry about the cast Pontiac crank. I run a 474 (4.25" stroke) that I spin 7100 with a factory crank and it makes 848hp at the flywheel. I feel that problems with Pontiac cranks are due to insufficient oiling. I run a Titan pump, but think that the oiling mods shown in another thread would accomplish th same results without the expence of a billet pump. For the street or street/strip, I don't even think that those mods need to be done. Just be sure all your clearances are right on and you have no flow restrictions.

[T/A462]

Look at the smile on the passenger. That cracks me up, lol. TA454, high 10's is great, very respectable and probably faster then most people here.