Saturday, February 7, 2004 - As some of you know,
I've been toying around with the idea of dropping a 455 Olds engine into
my pickup. I've just been waiting to get the 240-I6 pulled so I could
lower the 455 down onto the frame to see what sort of modifications
would be needed.
Well, today I was supposed to finish the cab
sandblasting and get started welding patch panels, but I seem to have
misplaced one of my patch panels, so I started cleaning the shop
figuring I'd find it while I was cleaning...and when I still couldn't
find it, I decided to go ahead and get started stripping the frame down,
so that it can get sent off to be power-coated. This would also be the
perfect time to trial-fit the 455.
I pulled the
240 out of the chassis (Fig. 1) and then hooked onto the 455 and set it
down onto the top of the I6 perches. I was planning on trying to compare
the perches from the I6, the small-block and the FE series, to see which
one might position the engine best.
However, I made a startling
discovery when comparing the perches...the FE perches are identical to
the I6 perches! Who'd have thought? Anyway, I found that the Olds engine
would not work sitting on the top of the perches. The Olds engine mounts
are just barely above the top of the oil pan, whereas the FE engine's
mounts are halfway up the side of the block, setting it into the engine
bay farther. If I set the 455 onto the top of the I6/FE perches, there
ended up being nearly 8 inches of space between the crossmember and the
oil pan (Fig. 3).
Therefore, I decided it would have to be mounted to
the crossmember using stock 455 frame mounts. I removed the I6 perches
and then replaced the 455 to a position relative to where it would sit
with the Olds mounts. While it was definitely tight, it would fit...but
there were a few things which would have to be addressed to make it
work.
After looking at what would be involved, I've decided against
using the 455, and will be going ahead with plans for a 390 buildup.
However, I've decided to post the pictures (and my notes) here in case
anyone else decides to look into using this or a similar engine.
In all
these pictures, the 455 was just hanging from the engine hoist for
visual purposes and for making some measurements. |
Fig. 1
- Removing the 240 engine, which will be sold to finance the
project.
Fig. 2 - Here you can see that the engine perches mount the
engine 3 inches to the passenger side, which is evident with the tranny
crossmember as well. Plus this offset puts the engine/tranny centerline
in line with the rearend yoke.
Fig. 3
- I first tried setting the engine down onto the I6/FE perches.
Because of differences in where the mounts are bolted onto the
respective engines, the Olds 455 would be sitting WAY to high in the
engine bay. |