Engine Question

[Back Door Man]

IMO, after over thirty five years of driving these motors and not to put the Pontiac division down, the Big Block Chevy is the most versitile and most economical motor to get cheap reliable horsepower. By the luck of the draw, I now have a 1991 Firebird w/ the V 6 engine. It seems to be a nice ride. But my main machine is my 1972 SS 454 El Camino. The motor originally arrived in my father-in law's 1970 SS 454 Monte Carlo which meets it's fate in 1981. After a re-build , I came across the El Camino body and it was installed . Now after 22 years and about 180,000 miles, it still runs strong and take me to work and where ever every day without the first complaint. With all the different and varied parts available for these engines, your dollar , if spent wisely, will produce a strong , reliable and thrilling motor that will give you years of trouble free operation with the proper care and feeding.

[Meyaht]

any motor is reliable if you keep it up... he is right about hte chevys being the most versitale in HP/Torque ratios + variances. you can do a ton of things ot a chevy engine. the poncho engines can get to be a square ratio like the chevy but from there it usually goes through the path of huge torque numbers. if your looking to drag the engines are pretty even (assuming you spend the same on each) but if your going stoplight to stoplight + looking for high revs (compared to the poncho) the chevy is the way to go.

[Vlad_Tepes]

Like BlkCamaroSS said they all can made fast...

Me myself and I really like the Chev 427 that would be my choice of weapon there. had a friend that had one in hid 69 vette.... was pumping 600hp @ rw.
Was a hell of a ride and drove it every day too..

[Philo]

Originally Posted by eork21

I have a 1979 Pontiac Transam completely Stock, with the oroginal 403. It is completely stock. When i get the money im gonna "sup" it up. Should i keep the 403 Pontiac engine, or get a 454 Chevy, Maybe a 454 Pontiac if its made or a 350. Which would be a better engine for the quarter? because i want this car to be fast.

I have a '79 TA with the 400/4sp.

There are differences in some 455 Pontiac blocks, specifically the engine mounts, depending on the donor car. You would need to verify the location and if needed adapters are available. The other thing is that with any smaller engine (350 for instance), the gear ratio of the '79 TA is not correct (3.23) to allow a quick start with these engines. You need a lot of torque to get a quick start with a 3.23.

All GM divisions had unique engines in the 455 years. Some engines were used in more than one named auto, but the Buick 455, Olds 455 and Pontiac 455 were completely unique.

[428_Firechicken]

the sd-455 is getting to be very hard to find, so your going to pay alot if you find one.

pontiac made other engines that put out more than the sd-455s 290hp

you could find an sd-421 which put out up to 410hp stock.

or a 428 pontiac that put out up to 390hp....

and of coarse the ram air 400's that put out about 330hp.

if you want to go fast and not spend alot of money, you could drop a chevy 350 in, easy to find parts, cheap!

or if you want some big torque go with a 454 chevy

i suppose its all about what you want! i put a 68 428 in my 76 firebird, and its honestly pushing close to 500 flywheel hp. but i could of went with a 454 and got more power for less money, i just wanted to keep it pontiac though!

and the 403 was an olds engine that was put into late 2nd gen T/A's

...and the olds buick and pontiac engine parts are not innerchangable, however, most pontiac parts from 326-455 excluding ram air and sd engines are innerchangable.

[428_Firechicken]

they make stroker kits for pontiac 389's to turn them into 454 CI...so then there would be a pontiac 454 lol

[Philo]

Depending on how serious about power you are, take a look at this 400. They also do 326 through 455. I don't know anything about the company, but they have been around for some time.

http://enginefactory.com/gp.htm

[428_Firechicken]

Originally Posted by Philo

Depending on how serious about power you are, take a look at this 400. They also do 326 through 455. I don't know anything about the company, but they have been around for some time.

http://enginefactory.com/gp.htm

thats a good deal considering how much it would cost to do all that stuff on your own.

im just wondering how much hp they are making?
ive got about 6k into my 428 and am making around 500hp

[Philo]

Originally Posted by Philo

Depending on how serious about power you are, take a look at this 400. They also do 326 through 455. I don't know anything about the company, but they have been around for some time.

http://enginefactory.com/gp.htm

They have modified their web site. For quite some time they had a list of engines and HP/Torque ratings. They had a 455 pictured, and though I cannot recall the HP, it was $7900 and change, and I thought the HP was plenty for a street engine. I am sure they would talk to you about how much you need. With a 455 in my '79 TA, it would not take more than 400 HP to make it a rocket compared to other like cars. Because of the gearing, torque would be more important to me once I pass 400 HP.

The change I would like to make with my TA is to get an overdrive into it. I just don't like running 2700 rpm at 65. For an engine with this much torque, 1800-2000 rpm would be plenty at 65.

[cuso53]

I dont think the pontiac 455 is still made. They use to come in the firebirds they had the cool hood scoop that was mounted on the engine itself. It was an awsome engine if you wanted loads of hp, but i think they stoped making them. Thats why i say chevy 454 cus they are both GM and i know this one is still manufactured.

[Philo]

Originally Posted by cuso53

I dont think the pontiac 455 is still made. They use to come in the firebirds they had the cool hood scoop that was mounted on the engine itself. It was an awsome engine if you wanted loads of hp, but i think they stoped making them. Thats why i say chevy 454 cus they are both GM and i know this one is still manufactured.

The 400 was the last of the large capacity blocks (note, I did not say big block). Pontiac's 287/316/326/347/350/370/389/400/421/428 and 455 were all the same physical size.

'78 was the last year for the manufacture of these engines. 10,000 400 engines were made in '78 that were held over for '79 specifically for the 10th anniversary of the TransAm. They were available only as four speeds and in any firebird model (formula/transam). These heldover blocks are stamped "PWH" on the block. There are millions of used Pontiac blocks out there that will make good engines though, and aftermarket manufacturers are making these blocks new today, with improvements.

If you want to keep your Pontiac "all Pontiac" then these engines are available for you.

[95TransAm]

I need help.. got a 350 engine in my 95 trans am.. Radiator fluid is going to my oil.. I already replaced the head gaskets, but It didnt work.. still the same.. somebody told me it could still be the thermostat or the waterpump.. Is that possible.. If not I'll have to raplace my engine.. Also.. if I have to replace my engine. What is the best way of doing that? where do I get the engine from? should I upgrade engine? About how much would that all cost? I appreciate any comments.

[Philo]

Originally Posted by Meyaht

the 455 isnt a BOP engine, it just has a BOP bell houseing... the old 455 is different from the pontiac 455... i dont know squat about the buik 455 but i assume its different also.

Thats correct. The Buick was also different. All GM car 'divisions' had their own engines up through the 1970's. Sometimes they used Chevy or Olds engines in certain Pontiacs, but 'the' Pontiac V8 block (55 through 79) were unique to Pontiac - with the exception of GMC, which used some Pontiac V8's in their pickups in the mid to late 1950's.

[ridge_runner]

Originally Posted by 95TransAm

I need help.. got a 350 engine in my 95 trans am.. Radiator fluid is going to my oil.. I already replaced the head gaskets, but It didnt work.. still the same.. somebody told me it could still be the thermostat or the waterpump.. Is that possible.. If not I'll have to raplace my engine.. Also.. if I have to replace my engine. What is the best way of doing that? where do I get the engine from? should I upgrade engine? About how much would that all cost? I appreciate any comments.

mine did the same thing, cracked block, or your heads could be warped, if it was my car and i had some cash i would put in an ls1

[ImpoRt_KiLLeR_5.7]

that sounds like a bad ass deal i'd jump on it