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this could get ugly. pontiac/frankenstein

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455 pontiac
8K views 39 replies 9 participants last post by  Mr. P-Body 
#1 ·
well, i just got a 69 t/a clone. previous owner claims the engine is a 70 455 h.o. and the casting numbers on the heads verifies that. the stamp on the front of the block says it's a 67 400 ram air block. edelbrock intake, holley carb.
the engine needs to be pulled and gone through. he claimed bottom end noise but i'm hearing top end for sure bottom maybe.
i can't see any actual casting numbers for the block only the stamp on the front passenger side. would those heads bolt on that engine with no modifications? this is the first pontiac i've ever owned and there is less information out there than on old ford stuff or i haven't come across it yet.
how big of a mess could i be in here? not planning on racing the car it'll just be a cruiser. won't be pulling the motor for a few days and it's driving me crazy.
 
#34 ·
another member is asking for a viewing. meanwhile i've found a built but never run 76 455 for a reasonable price. i know that's a dog of an engine but it's supposed to have a mild cam and i'll mover the torquer intake and the holley over to it. it may be all i'm looking for for now. this car is more for show than go for now. i may start building a 400 after i've had time to do a little studying on the best way to do it and eventually make a screamer out of it.
 
#35 ·
455 H.O. Pontiac

I have been helping a good friend of mine with his 1978 TA that was retro fit with a 1972 455 H.O. Recently, we came across a set of Super Duty heads and, since they are so rare, I recommended he scoop them up immediately. Reading this post I became confused because the T2 is what is on this engine now and the shaker lines up perfectly. It doesn't appear to have any hood modification and has a Quadrojet carb that was built by a master. It out performs most Holley set ups I have put together. This car is amazing. It has the TH350 and I am unsure of the rear gears but it seems to jump to 100 mph with the slightest application of the go pedal and cruises there below 3500 rpm. I have one mile timed this car at over 160 mph without red lining it. Can't wait to tear it down when we transform it into a Super Duty and see what was really done inside. (Sorry slightly off topic but best thread on 455 I have found)
 
#36 ·
Any 455 wakes up with a cam and intake swap. The right head on it makes it even better. There is no dog when it comes to 455s, only not enough airflow being allowed through it. The bottom end is the same on all of them except for the SD.

A pair of SD heads will make it run pretty hard despite the 8:1 compression they had. Same with 71-72 HO heads. Its all in the heads, the bottom end is essentially the same.
 
#37 ·
Frankenstein? Nah, that's damn near a Concours compared to a '70 TA Formula a former partner and I built in the early '80's.

At the time, we owned an amalgam of shops/businesses under a couple of roofs. There was a auto repair shop, a body and paint shop, an industrial sand blasting and paint biz, a glass shop, and a parts store. We had employees doing all the real work, so my partner & I could do antique restorations and build street rods & other toys.

Anyway, we had bought a 70 Formula for $100 -motor and trans because the front group had been blown off in a wreck and the OEm rubber-baby-buggy bumper front group was way expensive.

One night while getting inspirational, we got to wondering if a Camaro front clip would fit. Off to yard in the morning, and we cam back with a $20 hood with carb fire damage, a full L fender, and two free R fenders: one was crunched in the front and one was crunched in the rear, (that's why God created the wire welder, isn't?)

The Formula came with the 'shaker' hood scoop, so that took care of the carb fire damage.

The fenders didn't fit perfectly, but the curve was right. At the bottom of the fender behind the wheel, the Camaro notched in. A bit of welding and the Formula had a new front end. We bought a Z-28 air dam to finish it off, and came up with some older alum slotted mags in good shape.

Now, we needed a motor. Not long after, a thumping, loping Chev 4x4 pulled in. It was loud, it snarled, and popped. Out came a nearly 60 year old guy climbing down from the cab, cussing the entire time.

Turns out his kid had the car fever, but didn't have a car, so he did the next best thing, put a a bunch of money into a BB Chev and put it in his dad's work truck.

Needless to say, Dad was not impressed. He wanted to know if we could put a stock SBC back in it. Turns out he didn't have much money, so we made him a deal he loved, we found a low mileage stocker at the yard, and traded him straight across for the BBC. We even installed it for free.


The BBC went in the Formula 28/ZTA/Frankenstein with a Frankenstein TH400 I built. (I did some automatic rebuilding back then - I would keep all the good leftover parts and build Frankensteins. We'd install & warranty then for $150 to somebody who was broke and needed a new trans.)

So, Frank went into makeup, and came out with black lacquer.

We took it to a show in Portland, got a good location so the car was sideways to the lookers, and laughed our butts off at the neck breaking dbl-takes all weekend.

On Sunday night as we were trailering it, a guy walked up and offered us $5000 for it. Then we really laughed, all the way to the bank. Never saw it again, and never got any pictures of it.

It was weird looking, though.
 
#38 ·
T/A and Formula are separate models. Formula did not have a "shaker", only T/A (unless you include that abomination that was on "Chips" so long ago...).

BBC is a good engine, no doubt. In a Firebird, though, it will hurt the "balance" of the car drastically (200 additional pounds "up front"). The 455 is more capable for a "driver" in the heavy street car. 440 Pontiac would the HOT lick, but that's another story...

Jim
 
#39 ·
Hey Jim,

That's an interesting point about the shaker hood. I didn't know only T/A's had them. It's been a long time, but I thought the Formula had larger fender flares, is that not true?

I do know it was factory orange, but I suppose a T/A could have been ordered in orange.

The shaker hood was either factory, or someone did an exceptionally good job cutting the hood, which, is highly unlikely.

It must have been a T/A. The next time I talk to my ex-partner, I'll ask him if he remembers.

Your comment about the BBC reminded me of something I had completely forgotten about. When the motor was put in, it smashed the front end down a bit too much. It just wouldn't have worked.

One of the advantages of owning a parts store, (back in the dark ages before the Internet), was access to the parts catalogs, and the chance to spend time with them looking for alternatives.

We got some new springs from TRW, if I remember correctly, with a higher spring rate, and put them in.

We put off new shocks until we had a chance to drive it, but we never really had a chance to drive it much.

Later,

GeoD
 
#40 ·
Geo,

At least through '73, "Formula" had no fender flares, either. Just the big scoops "out front" on the hood (I still have a '73 hood stashed in the shed). They were fiberglass hoods. The '70-'72 had the option of "Ram Air" where the scoops were open and sealed to the air cleaner. They claimed it made power, but the only real advantage I see is the introduction of ambient air instead of hot "under hood" air. Still, those scoops are in better position than the early Firebird "400" and GTO scoops. The "shaker" is the better one. The rear opening accesses the high-pressure area at the base of the windshield. I saw a couple "delivered" with the rear spoiler, so it must have been on the option list.

The springs would have been "big block" Camaro springs. We changed a few small block cars to big blocks, and had to get them. Same in Chevelles...

Jim
 
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