[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by CraigGT37

Pontiac also had the Super Duty parts for the 2.5L.That was the last actual Pontiac engine.They used it in the fiero and into the 90's in the buick century,grand am,s-trucks,and the olds cierra(fwd).

Too bad they didnt put the Pontiac SD 3.0 DOHC engine in many GM cars, it probably would have been much better then the headgasket eating Olds Quad 4 : http://www.highperformancepontiac.co...ger/index.html

[Oreif]

GM sold the licensing and rights to the SD4 to another company that is still making the SD4 parts. They still use them in ARCA racing. So if you want a little more power for the Astre (I had a 1976 hatchback that was painted carosel red with white racing stripes) here is their website: http://www.kansasracingproducts.com/...the_Block.html

[CraigGT37]

it probably would have been much better then the headgasket eating Olds Quad 4 :
Hey now I made alot of money doing those headgaskets while at the dealership.I didnt make much off the 2.5L other than timing covers/chain tensioners,and v/c gaskets.
They were to reliable of an engine.
Craig

[Pontiacmuscle]

One of those wagons with a 455 has to be flat-out fun!

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by CraigGT37

it probably would have been much better then the headgasket eating Olds Quad 4 :
Hey now I made alot of money doing those headgaskets while at the dealership.I didnt make much off the 2.5L other than timing covers/chain tensioners,and v/c gaskets.
They were to reliable of an engine.
Craig

The only problem I came across with the 2.5 (FWD applications mainly ?) was the corner stud tended to snap, if you were lucky you could pull it out and not do a head gasket, although some shops charged for it anyway.

[punkey]

Thanks for all the info guys!
I guess I should listen to my father about the paint then
And by the way, this engine is not stock. The guy I bought it from used to race his S10's. It has some head work done & a beefier cam. Jory wants to do more & get an even beefier cam

[mike nixon]

I'd paint it black to hide the oil leaks. The valve cover gasket was the weak point on those engines. They leak like a Detroit Diesel. With some care and maybe not, they run forever and a day.

I still think you should shove a Turbo V-6 in it out of a Grand National, in stock form it'd scream, with a little more boost, some injectors and a few other mods it'd run 11's in street trim and get 20+ mpg.


Mike

[camerjeff]

The only other issue with the iron dukes is the Plastic timing gear, the one on my 77 Astre Formula just snapped a few weeks ago. I don't think it will move under the 2.5's power again.

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by mike nixon

I'd paint it black to hide the oil leaks. The valve cover gasket was the weak point on those engines. They leak like a Detroit Diesel. With some care and maybe not, they run forever and a day.

I still think you should shove a Turbo V-6 in it out of a Grand National, in stock form it'd scream, with a little more boost, some injectors and a few other mods it'd run 11's in street trim and get 20+ mpg.


Mike

Tell me if you can tell Mike, but doesnt cammerjeffs engine look like a non cross flow head ?
And NOTHING leaks oil like a Detroit diesel !

[camerjeff]

Oh it is a non cross flow head, 77-78 model years only. Basicly the old chevy II
4 cylinder, bored out to use the same piston/rod assembly of the 301 V-8. Starting in 79 they changed the head to the crossflow style. And John Sawruk had to redesign almost every part of the engine to do it. Block, head, cam, ect... then the head design was alot closer to the 301's, but still not quite the same.
It took be quite awile to find a replacement head for mine, it cracked shortly after I bought it, and now the timeing gear issue. I am done working on it!!!!

[mike nixon]

Originally Posted by 455Grandville

Tell me if you can tell Mike, but doesnt cammerjeffs engine look like a non cross flow head ?
And NOTHING leaks oil like a Detroit diesel !

Now I'm going to have to dig, the engine in the Sbird I had wasn't like that one. Possibly it was changed or the yr is off in my head.


Mike

[camerjeff]

I for got to mention that the Air Pulse tubes in the pic's are from the original (cracked) California emissions head, only the CA & High Altitude cars got those funky looking tubes. The rebuilt 48 state head did not have provisions for them, so they are not on the car now. So it looks different without them.
But I do like the crome valve cover the 77's got!!!

[punkey]

We don't have as much time to work lately but Jory's still making progress
We found out awhile ago that there's no room for an air cleaner with the S10 intake so Jory made a hood scoop
We went back and forth on what to do & since this is a budget build Jory offered to make something, surprise surprise. We decided on the Turbo TA hood scoop, flipped. I can't wait to see the finished product but it's lookin good so far

[punkey]

The next piece of the puzzle is the clutch hydraulics. I have to play show & tell on my clutch rod. It's off my Dad's old Sears riding tractor. I don't know what it was. I'm just happy Daddy doesn't throw things away

[lighthouseman]

Cool Stacey . . . hope all else is well. I will see you sometime this week hopefully.

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by camerjeff

I for got to mention that the Air Pulse tubes in the pic's are from the original (cracked) California emissions head, only the CA & High Altitude cars got those funky looking tubes. The rebuilt 48 state head did not have provisions for them, so they are not on the car now. So it looks different without them.
But I do like the crome valve cover the 77's got!!!

Are you done with the engine ? I was wondering if a Mercruiser 3.0 marine engine would work (block or head)

I think one of the best combos for that car is the old Buick/Olds Aluminum 215 V8; it weighs slightly more then the original aluminum 4 cylinder , so it wont create handling issues. You can even use a Land rover engine; a Buford 350 HEI distributor drops right in. With a 215 & 5 speed combo you can get close to 30 mpg and they can pull 0-60 in the 8 second zone. Try that with the old Iron Duke -

[fasteddy]

I am getting ready to begin working on my 79 Sunbird Safari. It is a solid car with little or no rust. I did find some real nice front fenders for it. The others were beat up. This car has a Buick even fire V6, a TH350 and a 10 bolt posi. This was the very last "Vega" looking wagon.

[lighthouseman]

Fast . . . cool. Post some pics please (when you can).

[camerjeff]

455Grandville,

I did complete the head change last year, but then the timing gear broke on the cam, and as I am planning on putting in a 383 SBC I didn't feel like working on the 2.5 internals again, and spending $$$ on it. I do agree that the Buick 215 is a great engine for H-bodies!!! And just after I bought the sbc parts I had a chance to buy a used turbo ecoteck from a soltice. I probebly should have jumped on it, but I didn't have the $2500.00 when it poped up, And it did include everything needed including the 5 speed trans.

fasteddy, I have one 79 Sunbird wagon grill from a parts car a few years ago, if you want it just pay shipping. the other grill was busted out. I run 75/76 Astre grills in my 78 Sunbird wagon. And don't have a use for the one year 79 grill. Are you planning on keeping the 3.8? I have done a few things to the 3.8 in my Wagon.

[Don 79 TA]

keep up the great progress on the car...
i have to say..... it truly is bringing back some H-body memories...
to think.... i ummmm am guilty for slaughtering about 14 of them.... i was young, broke, but what a learning curve it was for me and my friend.... we still talk about it to this day..