Leave house with one block come back with two

[b569rr]

I left the house today with the intent of selling an Olds 455 to a guy from craigslist. The guy stands me up  and I get a phone call from a guy on craigslist that notices I'm selling some Mopar stuff.

He asks me if I am interested in a '69 standard bore 440 block. I tell him no, I am trying to get rid of parts not buy any more and I already have a 440 sitting around, by the way, what do you want for it.  He says $150. I ask him if he would take $100 if I like it. He says OK.

I get to his place and he has Chevy, Ford and Mopar stuff all over the place and says he is primarily a Chevy man. I reply "I'm sorry  ". I go out to look at it and it is standard bore '69 HP with minimal ridge with surface rust, but zero pitting. The guy said it was a running engine, tanked it for a rebuild and never rebuilt it.  It has been stored inside a barn but humidity got to it.

So I buy the thing. I get it home, lift it out by myself with my two hands and back ( I thought the RB was supposed to be heavy  ) and throw it in the shop before my wife could catch on.

The 442 is gone and I can't give this 455 nodular crank steel rod short block away. I'd take $100 for it.

So there is surface rust everywhere including the lifter bores. Will a tanking clean this up or is there a such thing as lifter bore honing?





Anyways, that is my story for the day.

Tom

[Mopartist]

Jeeeez! You lifted that thing by yourself? The house I moved in to 8 years ago had an old Ford 390 block sitting next to the garage. I tried to drag that up a plank into my truck and threw my back out.

[b569rr]

Yeah but I've been told I'm a big knuckle dragger. The fab shop foreman always told me that he was going to make me some 1" thick stainless knuckle skid plates. They called me Herman in high school. 

Tell you what, that 440 is heavier than an Olds 455. The Olds ain't $h1t. 

Tom

[Mopartist]

HERMAN?!  "Uhhhh......uhhhh.... Lilly?" 
So you don't actually NEED a cherry picker to drop a motor in?

[b569rr]

HERMAN?!  "Uhhhh......uhhhh.... Lilly?" 
So you don't actually NEED a cherry picker to drop a motor in?

Only with cast iron heads and intake. Now that would be something to see. 

Tom

[BullT]

nice find...wish i could find a 440 over here for that cheap...

[NYrr496]

Have that thing cleaned up in a Jet Wash or in an oven. It'll clean up nice.

[eldubb440]

Yeah but I've been told I'm a big knuckle dragger.

Tom

3rd from the left on the evolution chart?  are you the one before, or after Patrick Ewing? .....what year did you crawl out of the sea?   

[b569rr]

3rd from the left on the evolution chart?  are you the one before, or after Patrick Ewing? .....what year did you crawl out of the sea?   

The trick is to position the  block with the main caps up. Now grab the number one and number 8 cylinders from the deck and lift. 

My family has been out of the sea for a few hundred years. I was the first member of my family to stand upright. 

Thanks NYRR. The surface rust is very light but consistent over 100% of all surfaces. Don't tank any parts until you are ready to build it. 

Tom

[chryco]

Nice score bud !
     Chryco

[GT_convert.]

Tom,
Now you know why CA. State Patrol's experiment with Old's in the '60's did not work/last!

Mother MoPar

[b569rr]

Tom,
Now you know why CA. State Patrol's experiment with Old's in the '60's did not work/last!

I think Dr. Oldsmobile and Joe Mondello would have to disagree with you there. The old 394 did have its problems. Rocket Power!





That's actually me in the striped shirt helping out the good Doctor. 

"Don't throw away the lumber from your W-30 package. You will need it to crate up the competition."   

Tom

[DaBigNuttedMan]

you guys ever heard the story of Ransom E Oldsmobiles, remains were stolen from the family tomb, probably some Olds head wanting to be closer to the man. It's true dont know if they ever got him back, talk was that it could have been a kidnaping.

[fourspeed]

3rd from the left on the evolution chart?  are you the one before, or after Patrick Ewing?

Wow!! That's an obscure reference. I bet not many people remember the Man From Atlantis!

Tom, I saw a band in Illinois once called Knuckledragger. Not bad. Watch out lifting that stuff - you don't want to pop a nut.

Mark

[guzzimike]

!

Tom, I saw a band in Illinois once called Knuckledragger. Not bad. Watch out lifting that stuff - you don't want to pop a nut.Mark

Agreed...It has a way of adding up over the years...

My knees are shot from too many high speed tumbles during downhill skiing 30 years ago. It didn't seem like much then, but I can sure feel it now.

[sr71mopar]

An original Olds has nothing to offer compared to a mopar.
I've seen about 10 cracked Olds blocks from jet boats. I've seen a couple completley destroyed mopars, but never simply cracked.
What the hell is cast steel anyway? High carbon lawn chairs, christmas tree stands? Sounds like Cadillac technology.

[318_Magnum]

An original Olds has nothing to offer compared to a mopar.
I've seen about 10 cracked Olds blocks from jet boats. I've seen a couple completley destroyed mopars, but never simply cracked.
What the hell is cast steel anyway? High carbon lawn chairs, christmas tree stands? Sounds like Cadillac technology.

 

[b569rr]

An original Olds has nothing to offer compared to a mopar.
I've seen about 10 cracked Olds blocks from jet boats. I've seen a couple completley destroyed mopars, but never simply cracked.
What the hell is cast steel anyway? High carbon lawn chairs, christmas tree stands? Sounds like Cadillac technology.

I've had a few calls on the Olds from guys with jet boats. Please inform me why the good Doctor's 455 is a favorite for jet boats. Don't get me wrong, I am Mopar now and am not going back. But the interior on a Dodge / Plymouth can be a little sparse compared to an average Olds.

Here is a pic of the interior of my Olds pace car. rich crushed red velour interior with power seats and am/fm 8 track.
Nothing says pimp like the triple tone black,silver and red paint. 



Tom

[eldubb440]

Nothing says pimp like the triple tone black,silver and red paint. 

nothing says pimp LESS than that welding hat and shirt 

[sr71mopar]

I've seen quite a few Olds motors cracked between the center cylinders and the water jackets, right on the deck surface. A friend works at a boat shop.
IMO, a 460 ford is a great jet boat engine. Dont forget the spot-faced rods. They seem to hold up well from a mechanics point of view, and the customers love the torque.
454's work OK for a while, but the power goes away in the first year or two.
Not enough mopars left outside of organized racing to say for true.
Just a mechanics observation.

[b569rr]

Nothing says pimp like the triple tone black,silver and red paint. 

nothing says pimp LESS than that welding hat and shirt 

I can't seem to find the size 14 boot in the a$$ smiley. 

Tom

[NYrr496]

Tom, they used to like Olds engines in jet boats because they made great low end torque. I had a 19 foot Tahiti with a 455 in it. It would have pulled 40 water skiers, but it wouldn't go any faster than about 50. Once it started to need new exhaust manifolds, I gave up and started on outboards.

[jamesdart]

 i have to say, if i didnt have a mopar, id have a pontiac or olds. ive seen some sick cars from both. the shop i use is a pontiac and olds specialist, good friend too.  he rarely uses aftermarket blocks as not to many average joes can afford them, i know of at least a handfull of his customers that are well into the 9's. several ghetto street racers that are very competitive cars. i can believe the jet boat thing, but i wouldnt have a pontiac or olds in a boat anyway. it would be a 64-67 gm a-body.

[GT_convert.]

The jet-boat thing was what I was referencing inthe earlier post...via the CHP.
I think it was 1967 that some GM dealers in CA started crying that Dodge was getting all the contracts to supply cars to CHP. So the state told them to send in their 'equal'... 455 Olds. One year later, the state was auctioning off 455's still in the crate from CHP. My girlfriend at the time was working for the state and had an 'in' with someone at the warehouse. So a Navy buddy of mine ended up with some engines for his boats. He asked the mechanics what the troubel was with the 455's.
Simple answer, after idling for awhile and then nailing it to answer a call, things would start coming loose.
Also had some sealing problems at the block/head area.