I just saw this for sale for $2500. I've been trying to call the guy, but he's not answering his phone. Probably garbage, but I won't know until I see it.
Here are the questions. What can I expect to get out of the (probably pontiac) 455 with headers, intake, carb and roller cam+rockers. I want as much power below 5500 rpm as possible. Think torque monster. I'll let hp take care of itself. What will the stock crank and rods take? I may spray it later. I know I'll need pistons first, that's why it's later. For now-NA.
Who could do a really good upgrade on the tranny so it will take the power? Would I be better off getting a built t-56? I'd love to have OD. Maybe gear vendors OD with the 4 speed. What do you all think? Let me know soon, I'd like to buy this thing if it's not too bad. I'm debating getting this and keeping it long term or keeping it until the ls1 prices come down.
How could I make it injected? Where could I get a fuel injection system with excellent programability from a laptop? If I could do that, I think the turbos would start calling my name. Just think of the power I could get from an injected turbo'd 455.

 

It will be a torque monster and should be able to click off high 12's on street tires. Yes the bottom and is weak, but will have no problem below 5500 rpm.


Tranny, Nitrous, Fuel Injection, gears, overdrive, tubos ??? dude, you can get an LS1 for what it'll cost you to do all those mods.

 

How weak is it? I'll definitely stay below 5500 rpm. How much torque can it take? I may spray it pretty hard. I may also go to the track a couple times a year and launch as hard as I can, but it would be a very rare thing.

 

i have a friend that was making over 500 hp when his let go and holley commander 950 will operate it another friend has it on a built 454

 

How well can it be programmed for part throttle driving? Can you easily switch between different driving modes, such as in town, highway and racing?
I'd like to get some semblance of mileage and street manners if I could.
Is it more designed for top end power or torque?

 

it comes with just idle tables you program the tables for part/half/3/4 and wot you read the 02 sensor which tells you rich or lean

 

Does it read out millivolts or does it just indicate rich/lean? Thanks for the rest of the info.

 

it shows a bar that is red or green depending on the condition and it also shows open/closed loop and you adjust by a table with #s

 

I had one of those once, on another firebird. It seemed kind of vague to me. I suppose I could always hook up a millivoltmeter in its place and use those values to determine if it is rich or lean.

I just saw this "Tranny, Nitrous, Fuel Injection, gears, overdrive, tubos ??? dude, you can get an LS1 for what it'll cost you to do all those mods."

I'm debating on an LS1. I like the low end torque that comes with the 455. I like just about everthing else about the LS1. It seems like an easy call, right? But I LOVE torque, and the LS1 is kind of down on low end punch. So I'm caught in the middle. Also, if I did those mods to the 455, I'd spin the earth backwards if I ever got traction. Plus, the entry price is a lot lower on the 455. It needs work, but I can do that as time and money permit.

 

I think you're starting with the wrong car, to be frank. You'd be better off using a late 1970's or 80-81 Camaro and tossing a stroked 454 into it than you would by pouring $$ into a 455 Pontiac. Those engines need a ton of modifications to survive a high-HP environment, and it won't come cheap. Serious Pontiac racers don't use them as is because of the enormous bearing speed those big crank mains spin at, even in an under 6000 RPM motor, plus the oiling issues. In fact, this is why Indian Adventures created their Pontiac block for racing and high-HPO applications.

Unless you have a LOT of $$ ready to pour into this engine, plus the car itself (it will probably need a complete or near complete resto) the drivetrain, the suspension, and so on, you'd be better of going with something else.

I agree with the suggestion posted concerning the LS1. You can stroke them out to 400+" and the torque will knock you right back into 1966. Some of thos stroker LS1's are already into the mid-9's on motor alone.

Think about it. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

This is why I was posting about this. Now I know that the engine isn't worth REALLY building. If I do buy it, it will only be to play and not put any money into it. I probably will look into a big block camaro. I'd love a 400 inch+ LS1, but now we're talking REALLY big bucks.
I had been thinking about a turbo LS1, but that doesn't address the lack of low-end. Monster power, but not much below 3000 rpm.

 

The 455 Pontiac is an awesome motor, you can't find them around here anymore... Balance it, with good pistons and shift it at 6000RPM. Car craft has done a couple build-ups with this motor, I don't remember what they got out of it, but it is VERY easy to make over 500hp before 6000rpm with that engine. And, since you like torque... you'll like to hear that they never hit the torque peak for this engine... because it was lower then the engine dyno could read
If you need over 600hp, then deffinetly go with the chevy.... if not I say you stick with the Pontiac. As far as tranny's, TH400.... is what I would throw in there.
I love Pontiacs, so yah, I'm sticking up for them.. mostly because of the myth that you need lots of money to make power out of them.

If you want a 400hp engine, you can even stick with stock heads (6X-4's are cheap) .. if not the aluminums are only a bit more expensive then other aluminum heads.

 

Yeah, but then you would have something that anyone else can have. With a 72 Formula 455, you don't. Build that 455 to stock specs, maybe a Ram Air cam, add a Fortes FI setup on top, and a T56 behind it (mating that would be fun, I'm sure), and you have a very cool, 12 second road machine. 3.42s and the 0.5:1 overdrive, and you've got 20mpg, easily.

But, if you're just looking for max power, then yeah, it's the wrong car.

Todd

 

You're right, the LS1 is a car anyone can have and the formula isn't very common. The thing is, that's what will let me blend in and not draw attention. Attention can be nice sometimes, but not always. Like in the parking lot when some loser has a key in his hand and can't figure out anything decent to do with it, so he uses it on the cool car. I also like the safety and comfort features of the newer cars. Air bags, anti lock brakes, front and rear discs. Ac, a quiet engine that you only hear when you are getting on it. WAY better mileage. (It IS nice to drive and not watch the gas needle drop as you go.)
On the other hand, I WOULD like to drive down the highway in a nice old blue formula with blacked out windows and a slight rake. A 6 speed would be nice, but I don't know if it would take what I want to do. 3700 lbs?, 600 lbs.ft (more on the juice), 3.90s, a good clutch and sticky tires. I just don't know. Uprades on them start to get expensive, too.
Maybe I'll buy it just to see if I like it, and if it is worth doing anything to. I don't suppose it could hurt anything, unless everything starts to break immediately. I already know it needs inside work and body work, plus the ac needs replaced. The last owner (before the current owner) took out the ac and sealed the firewall. I'm told he just wanted to go fast and didn't care about comfort. I hope he didn't remove it because the engine wouldn't fit with it in there. I'd be hosed then. I would try to at least keep it until the new contract gets accepted in august, because I don't want to make any major purchases until then. I really don't want to go another summer without ac.

 

Thanks for all your help. Too bad the car turned out to be total garbage. It needed more help than I could ever give it. Hopefully, someone who can restore it will buy it and fix it right. Right now, stuff is just taped together and half way done but not fixed the right way. Too many headaches in any one part of this car to consider, let alone the whole thing.