1972 olds 455

[pkmosch]

can anybody tell me if this would be a good engine in a hot rod
or tell me anything about this engine

 

[offroadrolls]

I think it would be cool. Lots of low end torque.

 

[donsrods]

My Son has one in his roadster pickup. Come on, we'll take you for a ride.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ-akqdncZU

Don

 

[sweetnomad]

Great engine,run for ever as long as it's had a reasonable amount of care. The rocker stands are usually a telltale sign of the care it's had,there aluminum and if the push rods get stopped up they will catch hell pretty quickly. Good thing about them is there or use to be cheap. Like offroad stated they have tons of bottom end.

 

[BigIrish]

I had a 71 olds 88 coupe with that motor. Only a 2bbl carb but man it would move for a big car! Huge torque, I liked it!

I'd like to have another someday. You really wouldnt need to do any mods to have tire shredder, esp in a light car.

 

[RustyNCA]

can anybody tell me if this would be a good engine in a hot rod or tell me anything about this engine

I have a stepped on one in our 68 Cutlass. Granted it has lots of expensive stuff inside, and was built to push a jet boat across the water, but it will set you back in the seat really hard. The olds would hang with our 2000 SS Camaro till about 50 MPH, that also had some minor work done on its LS1. Think, the Camaro was a fast go also.

It is a great sounding motor, very thirsty, lots of torque, but does not like to go high on the rpms. The only real battle I have had with them, keeping them cool.....

If you want to get more info on them, great place to ask questions and do some research is over on realoldspower.com, those boys eat breath and sleep the 455.

Here is the beast that is running the 455. She is my wife's favorite car to drive, the wife loves the sound of it, and the power . She happens to be my first hotrod that I got, so I am pretty attached to the car and the motor.

 

[26Troadster]

i prefer a olds over any chevy, and i have both olds and chevys.

 

[RustyNCA]

My Son has one in his roadster pickup. Come on, we'll take you for a ride.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ-akqdncZU

Don

Sweet, loving the 3x2 setup.

 

[Cutls67]

Sweet, loving the 3x2 setup.

Good luck getting one of those tri-powers, only made one year and a arm and leg if find all the parts. But I have a 330 in my truck and I love Olds and I get alot of compliments for it because it is not a chevy.

 

[donsrods]

Last one we saw on Ebay went for $4500 and it wasn't complete and needed the carbs redone. We spoke to a guy at Turkey Run who had a 442 with them on his car and he said he looked for a long time to find a set and he paid more for them than for the paint job on the car.


Don

 

[Old Iron]

Friend of mine has an Olds 3 deuce manifold for sale but, I've no idea what size it's for.

 

[26Troadster]

it's for a big block. they didn't make one for the small block.

 

[RustyNCA]

Friend of mine has an Olds 3 deuce manifold for sale but, I've no idea what size it's for.

And what is he asking for it?

 

[donsrods]

You have to be very careful when buying an Olds 3 deuce, or any, intake because they are not all the same for every year. Olds grouped them together in something like 49-53, 54-56, 57-58, and 59-64. For the most part you can get the wrong one because they all look alike.

The reason the one my Son has is so costly is because it is so rare. They were only made one year (1966) and only about 1200 of them were made. They were built only for the W30 race version 442's and some were sold over the counter. The 442 guys look for these and have driven the prices sky high.

Don

 

[42chevy]

I have one in my '42 Chevy and I am very happy with the power. Amazing! It is my first big block and I love it.

 

[26Troadster]

thanks don, i didn't think about the older ones as the only olds i mess with is the newer ones.

 

[blurooster]

My first hot rod, a 41 chevy coupe , I used a 425 Olds and it was great

 

[440shorty]

Oldsmobile

I love the power and torque of the 455. It was literally a bolt-in to my Pontiac wagon. The Oldsmobile has an efficient combustion chamber and can be made to get good gas mileage. You also don't need a lot of rear end gear to move out. My wagon with a 3.42 rear gear, 26" tall tire, and a 200-4R overdrive automatic would get 15 mpg cruising at 70-75 mph with a 750 Holley Double Pumper that I'd leaned out for cruising, and ran a 12.99 at the strip. And the cam is a rowdy long-duration grind that everybody loves to hear! [cl

Note: Now it has an 850 DP that dropped the mileage to about 13 hwy, and let's not talk about around-town!

440shorty

 

[Willowbilly3]

You can find a lot more 3-2s for the 57-58, probably what your buddy has for sale.
While there is no substitute for cubic inches, in stock form I prefer the short stroke Olds engines, the earlier 400 and the 425. The short stroke 400 will easily wax the long stroke version and I'm pretty sure in stock form , a 425 would do the same to a 455. Either way they are great engines and my favorites of all the GM engines of that era.