Anyone ever dropped a 455 in a C3
11-04-2006, 01:16 AM
#21
Melting Slicks
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I had a DPFI Poncho 455, and you guys have no EARTHLY idea how that thing performed....
drag a damn train over a mountain...at high speed too....
drag a damn train over a mountain...at high speed too....
I had a 70 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ with a 455 HO, 370hp, 500lb torque, 4,500lbs car would bury the 140mph speedo and pull all the way to the top end
sure was a great sleeper and caught a few people off guard.
There are engines from all brands that were respectable. LS7, L88, buick's stage1 455, the poncho ram air iv and v, the 427 and boss 351, the 340, 392 and 426 hemis. Whether we like it or not, all those engines and others were able to step out and make a very good show.
It was all part of the great horspower/cubic inch wars of the 60's and 70's, sure do miss those old gas pigs
No... Canada did not use Pontiac engines in Chevys. The other way around: They used Chevy engines in Pontiacs (like the Canadian Pontiac Beaumont which came with a 396).
The Firebirds and GTO's retained thier Pontiac engines
11-04-2006, 01:42 AM
#22
Race Director
I'm building a Pontiac 455 for my '78 Firebird. It's going to have Kaufman Racing Equipment aluminum heads, a healthy cam, a TKO 5-speed from Keisler. From this experience, and from working with the Pontiac 400 in my first car - a '77 Trans Am, I can say definitively it's a lot less expensive to make similar power with a Chevy engine. But if you do decide to go Poncho, keep us in the loop!
11-04-2006, 12:02 PM
#23
Tech Contributor
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Originally Posted by 98MustGT
Being a Pontiac 350 and 455 are the same block dimensions externally, kind of seemed a shoe in as long as the tranny had the corporate bolt pattern.
11-04-2006, 01:05 PM
#25
Safety Car
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Saw a chrome bumper Vette advertised on ebay last year that had an Oldsmobile motor in it! No mention in the ad about it being anything other than a "big block"
. Someone got a big surprise!
. Someone got a big surprise!
11-06-2006, 11:17 PM
#29
Instructor
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Hmmm...interesting discussion
I have no emperical data to back this up, but back in my "younger years" Most of my buddies prefered the pontiac motors over the chevy motors. At the time I was driving Fords with the 390 in them. Chevy's I'd race...Pontiacs I would not. I still like the pontiac motors.
11-07-2006, 09:52 AM
#30
Drifting
Originally Posted by norvalwilhelm
I don't know the specs on a 455 pontiac but when I first looked at the topic I mistook it for a 455 Buick and ON paper the 455 buick has better specs then the 454 chevy.
I also just learned that a complete turbo settup for the 455 Buick can be found in any bone yard.
I also just learned that a complete turbo settup for the 455 Buick can be found in any bone yard.
Please tell me more about this, you can PM me or reply here.
Steve
11-07-2006, 01:02 PM
#31
Le Mans Master
Pontiac motors of the day are quite strong and if you had an A or F body of the same years as a C3, I would say go for it. The problem is that the C3 has a smallish engine compartment and fixed motor mount towers unlike other GM cars. You could probably get a Poncho motor in, but why? Stick with SB, BB, or LSx engines. These go in pretty well and can use exhaust components that already exist. I suppose you could use Ram-Air exhaust manifolds in a C3 and it might work, but why? My .02
11-07-2006, 06:35 PM
#33
Le Mans Master
Originally Posted by The_Dude
If your going to muck around with different brands, how about a 500 caddy motor. They're not much heavier than a small block chevy.
11-07-2006, 11:38 PM
#37
Originally Posted by 98MustGT
Didn't some Canadian Corvettes come with Pontiac V-8s? How hard would it be to drop a Pontiac 455 in one.
Curious
Curious
Yes, there were Corvettes delivered to Canada. But they were still built here with all the rest.
The 455 is heavier, so you have a weight issue.
I believe the 455 is wider, so you can have a clearance issue, especially if the Vette has factory AC.
Since they were never installed from the factory, every part will have to be figured out on your own. What motor mounts, wiring harnesses, hoses, and so on.
If you are doing it simply because you have a 455 available, then sell the 455, buy a Chevy engine, and install it. You will be far ahead in all the problems you will have to solve on your own.
11-07-2006, 11:42 PM
#38
Melting Slicks
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Originally Posted by greyghost79
guess i shouldn't ask if anybody ever put a Mazda rotary engine in a vette? 
how bought some pics of a 4 banger in a vette???
how bought some pics of a 4 banger in a vette???
11-08-2006, 08:55 AM
#39
Team Owner
As noted, all Corvettes were built in the USA and exported to Canada. Thus they had the same engines. There were a few minor differences in driver's manuals and labelling to comply with Canada's Official Languages Act (French and English). And in September of 1977 the Canadian automotive industry started to go metric. Thus 1978 models had km/h speedos and odometers in km.
The comments on the old Pontiacs bring back memories. In the early 1970s the Canadian Pontiac was a hybrid: a Pontiac body on a Chevrolet frame. Manufacturing in the USA and Canada were segregated at that time (tariff walls between borders) and GM Canada made that decision for reasons beyond me. But it did make for a strange vehicle. The "wide-track" US Pontiac with a 389cid base engine (and optional 421cid) was a completely different animal. The Canadian version was a "skinny-track" because of the wide Pontiac body on a Chevrolet chassis. The base engine was a 261cid, in-line six with 283 and 327 V8s as options.
That all began to change in 1965 with the signing of the USA/Canada Auto Pact and efforts to integrate North American manufacturing facilities. Slowly the Canadian Pontiac disappeared as American models showed up in Canada. And the rest is history.
http://www.economiecanadienne.gc.ca/...auto_pact.html
The comments on the old Pontiacs bring back memories. In the early 1970s the Canadian Pontiac was a hybrid: a Pontiac body on a Chevrolet frame. Manufacturing in the USA and Canada were segregated at that time (tariff walls between borders) and GM Canada made that decision for reasons beyond me. But it did make for a strange vehicle. The "wide-track" US Pontiac with a 389cid base engine (and optional 421cid) was a completely different animal. The Canadian version was a "skinny-track" because of the wide Pontiac body on a Chevrolet chassis. The base engine was a 261cid, in-line six with 283 and 327 V8s as options.
That all began to change in 1965 with the signing of the USA/Canada Auto Pact and efforts to integrate North American manufacturing facilities. Slowly the Canadian Pontiac disappeared as American models showed up in Canada. And the rest is history.
http://www.economiecanadienne.gc.ca/...auto_pact.html
07-07-2011, 03:55 AM
#40
My plan exactly for my C2. Don't worry, restorers, every body panel except the doors is already custom, so we're not losing a virgin original.