The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop 455 olds motor

Hey, My son is not a bolter just yet but does help me with my projectand he has located a running 1969 455 olds engine with 400 transmission. The guy will sell it for $300. My son wants to buy it for a project down the road some years. My question is, would this make a good hot rod motor after a rebuilding and is this a good price for this engine and transmission core? What do you guys think, Mom has one vote for no! I think it is nice to have him in the garage. He is 18 and going away to college this fall. Thanks for ideas.
Bob

It's a big, heavy engine, but a good one. It's the engine to have if you're building a go fast Olds. With the trans, it is easily worth the $300, especially if it still has everything still attached,
Scott

i'm by no means an expert about..well..anything.

however, a 455 olds is a beast. plain and simple. it doesn't care for high RPM's at all, unless built right, and has an issue of running out of oil at said high RPMs.

that being said, it is still capable of some pretty decent numbers; namely, torque. a fairly stock engine, naturally aspirated, may only make 300 hp...but could very well pull in the 500+ ft/lbs range.

so. in my opinion. if you have something to stick the beast in, or a future plan for it, i say go for it.

but. this is coming from a college freshman who starts class in 2 weeks. haha.

.later days.
.sam.

Running as in still in the car so you can hear it and see if it smokes? If so I'd jump on it.

If it was "running when pulled" it would be iffy.

Cletis, Running as We have to pull it out ourselves. I did not hear it run but it has 170K miles on it. Owner says we could drive it home to pull then he will scrap rest of car.
Samwise68, Yep we have about two weeks to get er done as well. Then I get to store the thing till ???
We are still deciding but I think the 400 transmission would rebuild and be pretty solid also just hate to see good old parts lost to the crusher.
Thanks, Bob

Those Olds 455's are real torque monsters. I know a guy that has one in his '52 Power Wagon pulling truck. It was pretty much unstoppable.
You will want to keep the trans if you get that engine. The Olds used a specific bell housing pattern, also shared with Buick and Pontiac. Chevy bellhousings and automatics won't bolt up.

had a 455 olds in a boat.. run good,,after i first got it spun a bearing,,, hence what that guy said about oil at hi rpm... but another expert after i put a crank in it..said run quaker state it was blended for that hi rpm oil bubblin thingy...and never had a problem after that...and it run at hi rpm all the time in that boat... ive run quaker in everything ever since.....

What kind of car is it in? $300 is a decent price for both.

The Olds Bigblocks MUST be properly balanced and assembled or it will come apart at high RPM (yup, speaking from experience).... 65mph in LOW, KABOOM.

Check the heads... if they are "F" Heads, they are worth big bucks.

Check the exhaust manifolds.. you are looking for "W", "X", "Y" and "Z".. they are worth bucks too.

If it has an original Quadrajunk, it might be worth some bucks too.

If the car happens to be a 442 or even a Cutlass/F85, the parts are very sellable on ebay.

Longbox55;
To be a little more exact,a Chevy bellhousing won't bolt up to a BOP block PROPERLY. You CAN connect the two makes-either direction,there are two alignment dowels and two bolts that will line up,but if you go there,you want to drive gently and correct it as soon as possible. Don't ask how I found this out...
Speed

Also,you may have to push start it,when you do the mix-n-match some bellhousing designs have starter mounting issues...

You might look for a 200R4? tranny, they allegedly have the Chevy and POB mounting holes.

My $.02 worth is to hold off till you are ready to start on something. It sounds like a good deal & they are tough engines but there is plenty of stuff available when the time comes.

170 K is alot of miles for any engine and tranny. A rebuild would most certainly be in order. Although the initial cost is pretty cheap... the rebuild parts will be more than a chevy. If you are Hotrodding that engine the performance parts will be MUCH MORE THAN A CHEVY.

The olds engines are great engines in olds. The cost to build and adapt them to another chasis is usually higher than a Chevy. There is a reason everybody runs Chevy engines in there rod.

Another point. The 69 was not set up for unleaded fuel. If you did an overhaul you would want to replace the valve seats.

I HAVE A 455 OLDS IN MY 64 CHEVY AND IT RUNS GREAT, HARD ON GAS THOUGH. THERE IS A GUY NAMED **** MILLER WHO SPECIALIZES IN OLDS HIGH PERFORMANCE ENGINES. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE CHECK OUT **** MILLER RACING .COM. I HAVEN'T REBUILT MINE YET BUT WHEN I DO I'M GOING TO GET HIS EXPERTISE. GOOD LUCK , IT'S WORTH 300$ IF IT RUNS

Boy, am I glad to read all these posts. I purchased a '76 455 last week. Low compression "F" heads but that's ok as I heard it run with no extra funny noises and no lead pump gas is fine. Plan on dropping it into a '39 Packard coupe or building up an early Ford truck rat rod around it.

I'd only buy it if I wanted something a little different. Otherwise it is just in the way so I vote with the little woman. The reason Chevies are so common is that they are cheap, plentiful and you can buy anything for them from 800+ outfits.

Defer to your wife on this one.

Thanks to all of you for the advice. We are going to pass on the deal as we did not really have a need for it just now. Son will be off to college tomorrow,and I can get back to work on my 40 1/2ton rod project.
God bless,
Bob

Looks like the decision has already been made, but my $0.02 worth:

We used 413 and 318 Chryslers, 292 Chevys, 350 Chevys 454 Chevys and 455 Olds on irrigation pumps.

I would never use a 318 Chrysler or a 455 Olds based on those experiences. They did not hold up as well as any of the others.

If you are working on a 455, one of the trouble spots always seemed to be the strange little 3-cornered spot where the intake manifold, the block and the head came together. Never could get that to seal worth a darn, always leaked water.

I run a Pontiac 455 with a turbo 400 in my '68 Firebird and it is a very quick car. If it needs rebuilding, you could build the similar Olds better, and take care of the oiling problem.

These motors can approach 600 lb-ft and reach at least 1 hp per ci if you improve the compression, cam, intake, and exhaust.

The 455 is probably the greatest truck engine they never put in a truck.

I guess they did put them in trucks if motor homes count. When you didn't have to sell the kids to fill the tank the 455 olds and 440 chrysler were the big choice.