Gramma's Car: the new project!

[njsteve]

I swapped the single leg 2.76 rear for a 1980 3.42 posi rear 25 years ago.

[SuperNovaSS]

Ah ha!

[cook_dw]

Why didnt you just swap the 2 caps..??.. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif[/img]

Nice ingenuity..

[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

[njsteve]

I thought about that...for about a millesecond until I remembered the cost of align boring an engine. If I was going to go that route I would then go to a set of four bolt main caps. Once again, give a mouse a cookie... [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[cook_dw]

I guess my humor didn't come across. I meant just swap caps now.. Lol. Who needs to Align bore [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img]

[njsteve]

I got the humor! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img] and I thought the same thing for a half second and then came to my senses and wondered if it would be possible (but would require a bunch of extra money to do it).

I imagine there are some backyard rebuilders out there who would have done it without even thinking twice about it. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/eek.gif[/img] ...And then sold the engine on ebay as a &quot;balanced and blueprinted Big Block 455HO/SD&quot;

[VintageMusclecar]

Here's the finished product;

Please note that all the peripheral steel components have been re-plated back to their original finishes--some builders run everything in yellow chromate, I try to keep the parts that were originally clear in clear and the yellow in yellow. The fasteners that were originally black are re-plated black.

Also, please note that some other builders will electroplate the castings in order to obtain a super-shiny chromate conversion. While this is an attractive finish, it's nowhere close to OEM. The castings were never plated from the factory, the chromate was applied directly to the bare castings. I reproduce the correct original finish on the castings the same way they were done at the factory, without electroplating them.

I mention this not to disparage anyone else's work, just to highlight the technical differences between my work and the work of other builders.















Steve, I'll get with you later today.

Thanks again for letting me be a part of this project.

[RPOLS3]

Wow [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/worship.gif[/img]

[njsteve]

Can I just put this one on my mantlepiece above the fireplace for a while? Too pretty to use!

[njsteve]

We cc'd the 1975 6X-4 cylinder heads today. One head had chambers all at 94.5cc and the other head were all 93cc. A Pontiac engine guru plugged all the technical info from the build into his desktop dyno and it comes out to 9.44 to 1 compression and a predicted 390 horspeower at 4500 rpm and 480 lb-ft of torque at 3400 rpm. Compare that to the SD455 net rating with 290 horsepower at 4000 RPM and 390 lb-ft at 3600 RPM. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif[/img]