Need help choosing turbo,... for Buick 455

T

TaxBBBuick

New Member
Joined
May 14, 2010
Hi I'm new to the site.

I have a 1974 455 in a 87 GN body and I am looking to turbo It. Yes i know i should have kept the V6 but i bought the shell.

details about the motor:

Heads were done. I Believe 10 to 1
I have a mild crawler cam
TA STP1 intake manafold
Mechanical fuel pump TA up to 500HP (no where near it)
Holly 750
MSD 6aL?
Every thing else is stock

Tran is a T400 with a Saturdaynight special torque converter Tran was rebuilt

The rear is a Ford 9" with 323 or 353 gears.

I have to do a single turbo B/C I have no room on the drive side and the passenger side is wide open. (NO heater)

I am not that technical and I am learning as I go along. Can any one lead me in the right track
 
JMHO.....I would seriously consider keeping the 455 NA, or hunt for a good used turbo 6 and drop that in.
Your hair and wallet will thank you for it ;)
 
I'd be talking to Dusty Bradford and Patrick Rubio before you embark on this mission.
 
I just droped the motor in a week ago. Its been since 06 since i drove the car. I wont start this project ntil after the summer. i just want to gather the parts first.

I dont know If I should just change the cam or turbo it. I feel thats its a GN it should have a turbo
 
TaxBBBuick said:
I just droped the motor in a week ago. Its been since 06 since i drove the car. I wont start this project ntil after the summer. i just want to gather the parts first.

I dont know If I should just change the cam or turbo it. I feel thats its a GN it should have a turbo
Click to expand...

i think you should feel that a gn should have a turbo charged v6 in it.. that would be the right thing to do...lol cam and heads on the 455 but its gonna cost some $$$$$$$$$$$:eek:
 
I should also put a buick rear back into it and get rid of the ford 9"... I know the price is steep, thats why I Had my heads done. To buy new heads will be around 3k. I think it would be cheaper to turbo it.
 
TaxBBBuick said:
I should also put a buick rear back into it and get rid of the ford 9"... I know the price is steep, thats why I Had my heads done. To buy new heads will be around 3k. I think it would be cheaper to turbo it.
Click to expand...

i love 455 but they cant handle heat. if you turbo it run alky and a huge radiator. the ford 9" :eek: i like them but not 100% sold on them... buick was so far advanced for there time when they came out with this car..cam and heads is whats going to make lots of hp on the 455 motor.. thay have a $hit ton of torque and will melt those tires... i wanna see some pics.. :)
 
Will
if i run a turbo i would of course put an inter cooler in it. Im not looking to go crazy fast. this is a street car for me. I was joking about the 9", Im not getting rid of it. I have lockers in it. Stock 455's had around 300 hp and around 510 torque. When the motor was stock i was able to leave some rubber. I tried recently and i was not so lucky. the cam i put in it seems to have taken some away.

The car is a little rough to look at it was sitting outside for at least 10 years before i bought it. I did not buy it for its looks. it came with a bunch of Goodies:
Ford 9"
ladder bars
6 point role cage

The car has some history.
If you used to street race back in the late 80's it was one of the cars to beet.(NY area)
the car was running 9's on the St the guy was making 8k a night on the weekend.
it was the first car ever impounded for street racing back when you can still buy them back
 
It's the 4 bolt version right?

Who's making the turbo headers?

Anyways, without knowing how much HP you want to make, I'd get a Borg Warner, extended tip, S474 and choose the exhaust wheel and housing with how much power you want to make. If you want to get close to 1000hp eventually, get the 96mm exhaust wheel and 1.32 twin scroll housing. If not, the 83mm exh wheel and 1.10 twin scroll would be a killer street turbo for 455 cubes.

Timing and dual electric fans really helps temps, run manifold vacuum where your cruise is around 46-48 degrees and your idle timing should be around 22 for sure to help out. My 69 with the 400 is setup like that and it's awesome, way better than ported vacuum and the single mechanical fan.

Your going to need a new pump (Magnafuel 500 is a great pump) and an Aeromotive 13202 fuel reg.
 
First things first. You said 10:1 compression? First thing I'd do is lower the compression before you even think about putting a turbo on it. You could use 2 off a GN and do it blow through but you need some things like an MSD BTM unit as well as some sort of knock detection.
 
charlief1 said:
First things first. You said 10:1 compression? First thing I'd do is lower the compression before you even think about putting a turbo on it. You could use 2 off a GN and do it blow through but you need some things like an MSD BTM unit as well as some sort of knock detection.
Click to expand...

x2 + more= just spend a few k on some good heads and a good cam with a great stall converter.you will be surprised on what that 455 is capable of doing your going to drop a easy 7k on a turbo and getting it running right by the time your all done.. the 455 has so much torque as it is you dont need anymore your gonna break stuff,lol the car will do a backflip off the start line.lmao
 
Whats your budget? Id just keep the 455 and throw a plate on it.
 
Get some edelbrock aluminum heads, and get them ported. Get a new cam, and a larger carb on it a 750 is not enough stock was a 800 cfm quadrajet. Put a nitrous plate kit on it with a dedicated fuel system for the nitrous. My 1970 racecar was a very very mild build up. Edelbrock aluminum heads, SPX intake, 950cfm carb, forged pistons 10.25 to 1 compression. I ran a best of 10.98 on motor, and a 10.46 with a 100 shot. That was on an ungirdled 464 CID. I blew the headgaskets due to a ignition problem, and now I am rebuilding it with a girdle. This engine lasted three years, and I could have thrown new headgaskets on it and it would have still ran for the rest of the season. It was in my first car that I street drove everyday to school which was about 15 miles from my house.

Do you have forged pistons? Is it a stock rod motor?

And if you have not already you should check out v8buick.com there is alot of good information over on that site.
 
williambavila said:
http://image.automotive.com/f/tech/..._01_z blown_big_block_chevy_engine_build .jpg
this should do it
Click to expand...

Well, that is a BBC so this should do it better. :biggrin:

Picture143-1-1.jpg
 
The 10.1 compression doesn't bother me if you plan to run race gas all the time. If your looking to run 93 fuel then the compression is on the high side.

You can't pick a turbo unless we know what kind of power your looking for.
 
guys thanks for all the replies. This is going to be a weekend driver. Any wehere i go is at least a 20 mile drive so it has to be reliable. I was thinking around 600 HP. Im only looking to get into the low 12s or high 11's I want to do a little better the just passing a $hitvick

Buget... lets say around 3k. not including the timming cover i want to chage that regardless to TA updated one. The most expensive thing for me will be the parts. I want start buying things now and over the winter put it togeather.

who ever said to spay... the car is set up for it from the previous owner. I just need the carb kit. I thought that would do more damage then a turbo. if i sprayed it I think i would have an ichy triger finger...

Some one mentioned (Magnafuel 500 is a great pump) i have 2 fuel pumps in the car from the previous owener the seem do work. Can they be rebuilt. they have not been used since 1989

With out changing the heads b/c they are big bucks. do you think i can turbo it as is? and when i want do better heads I do that? Im not 100% sure on the carb. it might be bigger. Can you tell what it is by looking at it?

Is there a turbo that i can put on now and will leave room for growth. I have a shop by me that can do all my welding needs and more (JP crawlers).
Are any of you guys in the NY area?
 
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