# 455 Engine Suggestions



## BigKell (Oct 9, 2012)

Need engine advice. I bought a 1969 GTO conv 4 speed with a 455 motor. Motor has Edelbrock 850 carb and pontiac performance intake. Motor isnt running perfectly and id like input on whether to rebuild what i have, or look at crate motor. I want a reliable motor with decent performance for cruising and and a burnout or two. Engine symptoms are grey smoke from exhaust which may be oil in the cylinders, high oil consumption, cylinder compression was tested and is uneven, idle runs high on start but can be backed down with throttle. I live in Northville, Michigan so a rebuilder in SE Michigan would be ideal if anyone knows a good pontiac shop. Ive looked at crate engines from CVMS that are a good mild build and reasonable price but i would have to farm out the install.Going the crate route looks to be about $5k for motor plus labor $1-$2k. I have $35k into the car and really dont want to go overboard putting more into it, in case i want to sell someday. Suggestions?


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

CVMS is tops on most peoples list and building one from scratch will cost just as much as their crate builds. The install is not hard to do if you have access to a cherry picker. I would also get the RA reproduction manifolds while you have it out, headers are by far the worst part of installing a Pontiac motor. I'm just south of Metro Airport, give me a shout if you need a hand.


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## Koppster (Jul 27, 2008)

There's a Michigan guy who rebuilds mostly 455s and sells them thru ebay. His handle on ebay is firegoat1. I checked in to him a few months back and there were quite a few guys on the PY forums who knew him or knew of him and had good things to say about his motors.


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## rexs73gto (Nov 25, 2012)

I'm not familiar with cvms , but if it were me & I couldn't rebuild one myself I'd contact Jim Butler Performance & get an engine from him. His are the best built engine around ,,, from anyone. The prices are good & the engine are guaranteed. Plus depending on what you want they can build it for you.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Can't go wrong with CVMS. Jim really knows his stuff (after all, he did write the 'short block' chapter in Jim Hand's book). If I didn't build my own, he's the the man I'd buy from.

Bear


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

Had Clay at Fastline Racing in Wyandotte do the stroker for me. He was fine with me supplying the parts, and built to specs i requested from consulting on here. There is a guy up north in Petosky i believe who has a good reputation for building crate motors for Pontiacs, think they come in around 3,500, pretty sure it's the one mentioned on PY forum. Labor for pull and replace will be around 500.00 or if you can get your hands on a cherry picker you could do it in a weekend.


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

I too have heard of nothing but good results from firegoat1. He sells solid and reliable street builds for a very reasonable price. It's all he does. That said, CVMS gets very high marks, and if I were leaning towards more performance, it would be an excellent choice. Either one would serve you well, and the money is well spent in keeping the value of the car. You might even consider going back to a correct, small-journal 400 engine if you want to increase the resale potential of the car.


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## smcconkey (Feb 10, 2013)

Not sure if you solved your engine issues...I also live in SE Michigan and am in the middle of a frame-off for a '71 GTO. I am not a mechanic and have a buddy doing most of the heavy lifting on body work and then farming some of it out. I am looking for a new engine and was at Autorama last weekend. There were a couple of people I talked to about engine rebuilds. 

1. Michigan Motor Exchange (MICHMO.COM)...they rebuild all sorts of engines, from current every day drivers through big blocks. They have three shops but do all the machine work at one shop. They seem professional...
2. There is a shop in Novi - "Wrenchers". This guy was a car guy and did rebuilds and really seemed to know his stuff. I tried to check out his website but it was in German.

I can't vouch for either place...I'm still trying to do more research on them...maybe a lead for you or maybe you can tell me what you did and how it worked out?

Thanks


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