olds motors....
OrangeCrushK10 said:
I don't mean to hijack, but I've always heard that the olds 455's are junk compared to the other big blocks. I've never dealt with one, but everything I've always read says the same. Stay away from the olds 455.
I'd say look for a chevy 454. It will bolt in. Or a lot of guys do Caddy swaps. Buick is the best 455, but good luck finding a bell housing for less than $300. Big block Buicks don't use the standard BOP bell housing bolt pattern. And I don't know anything about the pontiac's 455.
But, good luck with whatever you go for!
Ahhh, a thread where I don't feel like the ignorant one!
I read so much on here, and learn so much, but I always feel behind the curve on the blazer and 4x4ing, lol. My background is more in body work and drag cars until I got my blazer. Now I'm as stuck as most of the rest of you.
I'm rather partial TO the olds motors, so I'll offer a counterpoint... I have two 455's bored and ready to build, one for the camaro, one for the blazer. I've messed with these beasts for going on 20 years...
Like most motors, the olds have their quirks. Fix a few flaws, and they are rock solid.
The flaws...
Expensive to build... Parts are limited. Out there, but you pay for them from Mondello, Dick Miller, and a few others. Cheaper than building a caddy motor part for part, but much more expensive than a sbc or even bbc.
Bad stock bottom end oiling... Cross drill and chamfer crank, oil restrict mains 2,3,4 even on hydraulic lifter motors, good pump, deep pan, crank scraper, and watch the tolerences when building. Ford 460 (cough cough) neoprene rear seal works great as a replacement for the rope thingy.
Fixed geometry rocker design.... No big deal, most folks change their motors to roller rockers with guideplates anyways...
Limited to low rpm, but with all that torque, who cares....
The real key to building these motors, like most others, are oiling, balancing, and tolorences.
Other thoughts...
As for manual trans I have no idea, I've always been partial to automatics with stall converters and mods. The TH400 with a BOP bolt pattern, and rear shafts from whatever chevy version the application requires... Motor mounts are as described before, mate every thing up, mount in place, mark and drill the new mount holes. There are adapter plates available as well.
Headers and starters... Headers are usually a pretty tight fit, so heat is usually and issue with starters... Mini Hi torques, remote solenoids, heat shields, header coating or wraps usually help... I still haven't mocked up the headers for the blazer, but in the camaro, the cutlass ones fit like a charm. May actually get stubs and make my own for the blazer...
geez, I could go on and on, and will if anyone's interested, lol.... was nice to post and actually know what I was talking about!
He's put olds and caddy motors in front of truck transmissions for years but I can never get a straight answer out of him how he did it seemingly so easily.
You can run the diesel rad and get all the hoses to mate up from the auto parts store. u will either have to get the power steering pump from the diesel or make up new brackets for the chevy one. hope this helps you out. 
