Gramma's Car: the new project!

[njsteve]

Here's is Grampa's car's story:

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthrea..._a_L#Post539151

[njsteve]

I'm getting itchy and I need a new project to work on with the boy. (Gotta drag him away from the x-box)

I have been thinking about finding a 455 short block to rebuild and then bolt on the 6X-4 heads and top end parts from the freshly rebuilt, original 350 on it. The 6X-4 heads that came with the 350 are the trick set up for a nice, torquemonster 455.

I already had Cliff Ruggles do the 1972 Quadrajet and Rocky Rotella set up the distributor. The 350 with its (barely 160 horsepower) is just too lame.

I'd throw on a set of the D-port ram air exhaust manifolds and have some fun.

Anyone have a lead on a nice 455 shortblock that needs rebuilding? (the cheaper the better)?

[Day2_69Z]

Great theme ,,,,,,,
Way BETTER STORY of the Kids..... [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif[/img] [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/[/img]

A 25-35 horsepower
Lawn tractor ????
N02 ?

[njsteve]

Well, I found a nice block here in NJ on craigslist. It's allegedly out of 1971 GTO convertible that some guy swapped an LS engine into. He traded the 455 engine for the LS engine but left the 455 at the machine shop for six years so not much of the engine was left at the shop as you would expect if you abandoned your engine somewhere for 6 years - just the block and some misc pieces remained.

The block was bored .030 over. The current bore is 4.180. Looks like it may have been bored and then used as a door stop at the machine shop for half a decade.

It's a 1971 YC (455/325 horse D-port) engine with two-bolt main caps. Maybe...







It's got a casting date of F050 (June 5, 1970) with a &quot;70&quot; cast on the back of the 9799140 block. Is it a late 1970 cast block from an early 71 455/325 horse car? or it is a late 1970 455/360 horse engine that was the one year only 455HO high compression engine? Feel free to chime in with more info if you have it. It seems to be a weird code/year from what I see on various websites and I don't seem to be the first person to run into this conundrum.



The partial VIN looks like 221302638



I spent the afternoon chasing every bolt hole and then scrubbing the thing down and finally power washing the cobwebs out. I then used a scotch bright on the cylinders and oiled them down once everything dried out.

[PeteLeathersac]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
The partial VIN looks like 221302638
</div></div>

Wouldn't that be a '72 Vin...and an Oshawa car?
[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif[/img]
~ Pete

[njsteve]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: PeteLeathersac</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
The partial VIN looks like 221302638
</div></div>

Wouldn't that be a '72 Vin...and an Oshawa car?
[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif[/img]
~ Pete

</div></div>

Here's a better shot of the vin:

[njsteve]

I found a standard dimension, original 455 crankshaft 25 miles from my house! I posted a wanted listing on the Performance Years site and someone just over the border in PA answered. It is a 1970 nodular iron casting and was just as rusty as the block I found last week. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img]




So I bought four gallons of Evapo-Rust from advanceautoparts (using their $25 off $70 purchase coupon) and made a makeshift bathtub from a crankshaft box and heavy duty layers of plastic sheeting. If you're wondering, I also put a few beer bottles in to raise the liquid level up to completely cover the crank.



The stuff works amazingly well in the hot sun. Within seconds the rust disappeared. I let it soak for about an hour, turning it and wiping the journals every 10 minutes or so, to get the residue off so the liquid could work faster.



Here's the final result after drying it off and spraying it with oil.

[njsteve]

The seller also had some other parts that were from that car. A E211 dated (May 21st) 1971 intake and 7041262 dated 68th day of 1971 455 carb.



The intake is weird because it is a 1971 481733 casting number but has the unique rectangular 1972 choke pull that runs parallel to the carb and not perpendicular.

[markinnaples]

Wow, an amazing transformation. Nice work [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

[cook_dw]

Nice.. I love watching engine builds.. Will be watching this one.. Love the 75 too btw.. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]