That was sure awful nice of David Butler to take the time to give you guys a personal walk around his shop, and explain the process of what all went in to providing you the best Pontiac Performance you can buy. It don't get any better than that. I'm impressed.
Im trying to push my dad down this lil rabbit hole. Finally got a great job. And put his bird on the backrow when i was born. So its fitting to get his car back on the road better then what he could've gottwn in the 90s
Most of my engine is Butler including my 325cfm aluminum heads and port matched intake. 5yrs now and perfect running 610hp pump gas engine. Thanks Rodney and crew!
I just dropped my 400 off at Butler’s and everyone was so nice there. I was so impressed with they’re professionalism and down to earth attitude of everyone I met there.
I loved working with Butler and it was an amazing experience touring their shop and seeing my 505 stroker engine on their dyno. You just can't wrong with having an engine built by them or buying parts through them. Their knowledge is impressive and so is their quality! Best experience I ever had when building my 77 TA!
There's no question they're the best Pontiac shop in America, if not the entire world. Life gave me some delays, but hit subscribe and you'll see this engine come together step by step on the channel very shortly!
I remember I the 90s with Jim butler and we put some combination to gather to run in the low 10s in quarter on pump gas. Was affordable at the time and fun
Hey this video was awsome dude Butler performance is a 1000% ahead of all these rebuild places out here , great job to you and your camera guy awsome job. I'm also convinced on getting my 400 engine rebuilt by them💯💯💯💯
They're top notch at what they do, and they treat little guys like me the same as hot shot tv stars. They care about one thing: keeping Pontiacs running and running well for all of us. My good buddy John came down from Atlanta to shoot that, edited it, and absolutely knocked it out.
Nice video Jon, I enjoyed the shop tour. I am having Butler Performance build a turn key 474 for my 77 Trans Am, should be completed in a few months. Can't wait!!
Great video. Great shop. Great to see the focus on Pontiac power like that. Have heard of Butler before but great to see this behind the scenes stuff. The 'Bird is gonna come back to life.
@@MadScientistGarage Reminds me of my 1st car. '66 Chevelle, 396, 4-speed car. Bought when I was 17. Stupid and ga-ga. Motor exploded within a month. Rebuilt it with lots of help. Then clutch went, then blew out diff. All in one summer. Learned a lot that summer. Kept it the next summer then sold it for money for college.
awesome project you have going there ! i have one similar doing up a 461 using butler parts. thanks for taking us along on a butler shop tour. My fav !
I'll have videos of engine assembly, install, and break in coming very soon! Butler does nothing but the best and I can't wait to hear this thing breathe to life!
Awesome tour !!! Thanks for doing the video. Really enjoyed it. I think I am going to get a flow cooler water pump for my Pontiac 461. Butler knows Pontiacs 👍
New Sub here... I thought I was the only "young guy" keeping a Pontiac motor in my Pontiac... ha, ha... Great decision to go with Butler Performance. I am super jealous you got a tour. I have a 467 from Butler, in my 69 GTO. If you run into any issues, let me know... I'm sure I've seen it. Keep it up!
Welcome to the channel!! I've gotten a ton of support from the guys at Butler and I'll have a complete set of videos coming on the head and short block assembly. I'm fairly dangerous with a tool kit and their machine work took most of the tricky parts out of the assembly process. I'm not normally this confident in machine work but everything I have gone back and measured is absolutely perfection. My only problem right now is financing the rear tires I'll be buying on a monthly basis when it's done.
@@MadScientistGarage Ha! I totally understand. One piece at a time. I'm currently rebuilding my 467, due to oil starvation and a lifter that blew up. The Butler team is absolutely incredible. And I too, will be filming the entire rebuild. My most recent video is the tear down and root cause analysis. Check it out when you can. (I already have the long block videos posted, from my last re-build, where Butler actually uses my Cam Timing video) I'll be following along ...
Omg! Thanks for this peek! I been watching these guys for a very long time and been hoarding Pontiac motors for years with the hope of having a bad ass motor put in my 68 🔥 bird one day. You made a great choice can't wait to see your build on the road.
I've visited that place several times and made deliveries to them. im an ltl driver. Usually when id visit i would go and take my lunch break and walk around in awe. Awesome crew of people there🤘🤘. Love some Pontiacs man.
They are legitimately the highest order of machine shops and engine builders I have ever seen. Hit subscribe, you'll see what I put together with their help very soon.
@@MadScientistGarage Iv`e got 3, 455`s over here. Been into poncho`s since the early 80`s. That combo you have will scoot. With traction, it will, sooner or later, break your stock transmission and/or rear end.
Thanks for watching! I highly recommend these guys. We didn't script a thing, plan, or otherwise. They let us in while everybody was working and answered every question off the cuff. They're really this honest and good at what they do.
The shop was SO surreal to see in person. They do top notch work and even a guy like me can assemble 450hp/550tq with little effort. That's why I'm building this instead of spending a pile on an LS swap.
@@MadScientistGarage owe yea. Ive known butler for awhile, used one of there 461 kits. Im restoring 70 goat. But still gotta love ram air stuff. I was like u when i first seen V. Speechless
Nice, if I remember correctly the RA-5 HEADS are modified ford boss 429 racing heads. Makes anything you put them on the boss ! Rotating mass is pounds lighter and stronger. All the limiting factors of pontiac engines is eliminated, awesome !
@@MadScientistGarage Cool, if you do intend to get better heads D.C.I motorsports has aftermarket R/A V heads. Kinda pricey but not when you price some used OEM R/A V heads. Just a FYI
Nothing crazy for a driver, but 500hp crank isn't out of possibility with the restrictive heads I'm using. You'll see the full specs on an episode I'm currently working on editing if you subscribe!
I admittedly didn't keep track, and I bought things I did not strictly need just because I want it super nice. The rotating assembly I bought is top notch and just over $1000 all in with custom forged pistons. It'd be less with stock style pistons. I also paid to have it all balanced and blueprinted, which wasn't necessary, but since I'm building it I went all out. Every gasket, seal, bearing, etc. is brand new and the castings are totally refreshed. I recommend sending Butler an email with some things you require, things you want (power level for cruising, racing, etc), and a general budget. I'm pretty confident there isn't any way to make this kind of power for less than I spent. They'll sell you parts to dingle ball rebuild it at home, you can buy a totally blueprinted kit with your block and heads machined like mine, or you can buy a drop in engine with a Dyno sheet. They're interested in keeping Pontiacs on the road, not selling you stuff you really don't need.
Total in my car including purchase price, some small repairs, new front suspension, 4bbl swap, engine build, transmission swap, line lock, etc. I'd estimate less than $6k. It should run with brand new muscle cars if it has enough traction.
There's an entire series of assembly coming first, I'm editing all those hours down now. You'll get to see it in the car, destroying tires in the near future.
I need help... I just bought a 94 Firebird...it has a V-6 Motor....To me they R Junk! My question is Y did they put a Chevy Camaro hookup... I want to put My 69 GTO Motor in it Change Transmission to a 400 Turbo...How do I go about a Driveshaft to the Rear
I'd recommend an iron LS from a 99-13 Chevy truck. They're dirt cheap, tolerate tons of boost or nitrous, and they're still light. There are mounts to literally bolt it in, or you can buy a 98-02 Camaro/Firebird cradle like I'm doing to my '94. A TH350 is a strong enough unit to handle 500+ hp if they're in good shape and will fit right under the floor. Measure center to center from each yoke when you're all mounted up with weight on the suspension and leave a 3/4" extra for the yoke to slide in. Any shaft shop can make you a one piece for that.
I personally would have had them hang the pistons and assemble the heads. Minimal expense with such a short turnaround since they do it all the time. You may just have wanted to do it yourself or were tight on $$.??
I have a1977 Pontiac 301v8 what can I do to make it better running. 145000 miles on it and it run great, let me know if you can what can be done to make it run better.well see you next time see ya bye.
Hot damn!! Big poncho power. Awesome. By the way Jon, you look like a mad scientist who is about to clean some cow shit out of a dairy farm’s milking stall. Well done. Butler is the shit!! RAM AIR V!! I have never seen a set except in magazines. Im nerding out a little.... I think I need a cold shower.
It was like Christmas and my birthday all wrapped into one, except nobody got drunk and threw mashed potatoes. I'm hoping to schedule another live one soon, but I'm on the road here and there right now. Stay tuned, I will give everybody as much notice as I can!
I would imagine that they are super busy all the time. Was there a wait to have the work done on your engine? If so, how long was it? I have a Pontiac 400 engine in my 1978 Trans Am and i'm 99% sure I'm going to take it to Butler to have it worked on. Might as well get the best Pontiac specialists to work on my Pontiac engine. It's a matching numbers engine with only 37,000 original miles on it. So in theory I have a brand new 43 year old engine. Imagine what it will be like after Butler Performance works on it. Oh that's right, you already know. Thanks for sharing this fantastic video. Have a great day.
I needed a pile of work done and I felt the time frame was certainly reasonable and worth it. They always take time to return calls and emails fast, I'd suggest email to get your goals and questions organized. Whether you're going for stock refresh, 2800hp+, or somewhere in between, they do it daily. Seeing that RA5 head was all I needed to know when I arrived- the people with the baddest and rarest Pontiacs on earth trust them. So do I.
@@MadScientistGarage Hey all. Great video! Been investigating Butler for a while. They got my vote. I too have a 78 trans am original numbers with the pontiac 400, TH350 trans. She has 125k on it and its time to get her done. Lifters are starting to make some ticks. Can I ask you guys for advice? Should I have them rebuild stock or do a 461 stroker to it? I'd sure love the HP but I wanna make the right move for the car's sake. She's a beaut in mayan red hard top. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. No plans to ever sell her. Not sure if that's a consideration especially with everyone wanting HP these days. Thanks in advance. Matt in NJ
@@MOBontv ask away my friend! I have a Facebook and Instagram page you can contact me through as well- I tend to reply faster there. Butler has been very good about answering emails and returning calls- I'm no Pontiac expert either. My personal opinion is that a 461 is worth the little extra you'll spend, since it's getting rebuilt anyhow. You'll be buying a rotating assembly no matter what and the cost difference is pretty small from stock to stroker. You can certainly build a mild 461 now, and it'd be ready for big cam and heads down the road if you want more power. The engine I'm putting together is limited by the stock heads and mild cam I picked, but it'll still make about triple the power my stock 350 Pontiac was making. And if I decide to make 800hp or more, the bottom end is ready. Shoot me or the guys at Butler a message if you have any more questions- I have always gotten email response very fast! Good luck with your build! Jon in Iowa
@@MadScientistGarage Thanks brother Jon. Appreciate the input. I just finished your video and the dyno motor with stock heads was doing almost 500hp. That's amazing. I'd like to keep the stock heads too. As much original as possible but its gotta have 450+hp probably to make me happy. Ha. I'll reach out to you on FB too.
Soon as I get my act together after moving I'll edit the build process and fire this beast! Stay tuned, there's a lot more of this engine and the Firebird it belongs to coming!
"Its a Haas too" lol. Haas's are a inexpensive entry level machine with castings that are anemic compared to high quality machines. The employee said its a specialized machine for porting heads, that's funny too. When people don't know people don't know they don't know.
Speed of the machine isn't that crucial when the rest of the engine takes a day to build. Makes a great final product with their programmer running it!
@@MadScientistGarage I wasn't talking about speed. I was just saying it isn't quite the machine that was implied. From experience, I know a haas is plenty capable, but that capability is also relative.
I feel like I definitely got bang for my buck with them, considering how tough it has been to get new parts they knocked it out pretty dang fast. Most importantly it was done right.
All I remember about my Pontiac engine was how it blew up day after day after day. The biggest piece of junk I ever bought with a lasting CURSE for me. That stinking Pontiac 389 I had in my GTO could never even start unless it blew out the water pump or died after working on the carter carbs. Everything blew up on my GTO. I mean, the driver seat was the only thing that did not break till I had enough....& bought MOPAR! PONTIAC????????? REALLY? The doggiest car I ever OWNED. I went to the Pontiac dealership...and watched them blow up when they started new cars. I mean....whoa.....start a Pontiac & watch the water pumps explode like dyno mite. PONTIAC STINKS! By the way....the company died years ago....so come on.....
Butler reliably makes more than 2000 horsepower with one of their Pontiac based racing engines, and they've put scores of stock blocks on the road making more than double factory power without a sweat. I know what kind of quality and power I'm getting for my money here and they did an awesome job showing us everything they do in house for that to be possible.
Great video Jon! We enjoyed working with you!
More to come on the engine build very soon!!
That was sure awful nice of David Butler to take the time to give you guys a personal walk around his shop, and explain the process of what all went in to providing you the best Pontiac Performance you can buy. It don't get any better than that. I'm impressed.
I'm nobody important, but he was happy to do that. It was a VERY cool deal for us and I learned a ton from David and his team.
Im trying to push my dad down this lil rabbit hole. Finally got a great job. And put his bird on the backrow when i was born. So its fitting to get his car back on the road better then what he could've gottwn in the 90s
It's so neat that so many of these great old Pontiac engines will live on!
Most of my engine is Butler including my 325cfm aluminum heads and port matched intake. 5yrs now and perfect running 610hp pump gas engine. Thanks Rodney and crew!
Even their mild kits are bad ass units!
I just dropped my 400 off at Butler’s and everyone was so nice there. I was so impressed with they’re professionalism and down to earth attitude of everyone I met there.
I genuinely loved every part of my experience with them. I'm having them do an LS next!
I loved working with Butler and it was an amazing experience touring their shop and seeing my 505 stroker engine on their dyno. You just can't wrong with having an engine built by them or buying parts through them. Their knowledge is impressive and so is their quality! Best experience I ever had when building my 77 TA!
There's no question they're the best Pontiac shop in America, if not the entire world. Life gave me some delays, but hit subscribe and you'll see this engine come together step by step on the channel very shortly!
I remember I the 90s with Jim butler and we put some combination to gather to run in the low 10s in quarter on pump gas. Was affordable at the time and fun
They've been known for building the baddest Pontiac engines for longer than I've been alive. I wouldn't trust anyone else with mine.
Hey this video was awsome dude Butler performance is a 1000% ahead of all these rebuild places out here , great job to you and your camera guy awsome job. I'm also convinced on getting my 400 engine rebuilt by them💯💯💯💯
They're top notch at what they do, and they treat little guys like me the same as hot shot tv stars. They care about one thing: keeping Pontiacs running and running well for all of us. My good buddy John came down from Atlanta to shoot that, edited it, and absolutely knocked it out.
Great video! Nice to see inside the legendary Butler shop.
Wow now that's a machine shop! Their shop area is nicer than the store front of my machine shop
They're the nicest people and the quality is unmatched. I'm itching bad to hear this thundering V8 back out of my shop
Nice video Jon, I enjoyed the shop tour. I am having Butler Performance build a turn key 474 for my 77 Trans Am, should be completed in a few months. Can't wait!!
Hopefully see you out at an event or three with it soon!
Great video. Great shop. Great to see the focus on Pontiac power like that. Have heard of Butler before but great to see this behind the scenes stuff. The 'Bird is gonna come back to life.
Pray for my clutch and differential. They're about to be scientifically tested.
@@MadScientistGarage Reminds me of my 1st car. '66 Chevelle, 396, 4-speed car. Bought when I was 17. Stupid and ga-ga. Motor exploded
within a month. Rebuilt it with lots of help. Then clutch went, then blew out diff. All in one summer. Learned a lot that summer. Kept it the next summer then sold it for money for college.
@@briankinnear7461 all part of owning a hot rod. I'm sure it's gonna punish me more, but it's worth it
awesome project you have going there ! i have one similar doing up a 461 using butler parts. thanks for taking us along on a butler shop tour. My fav !
I'll have videos of engine assembly, install, and break in coming very soon! Butler does nothing but the best and I can't wait to hear this thing breathe to life!
Awesome tour !!! Thanks for doing the video. Really enjoyed it. I think I am going to get a flow cooler water pump for my Pontiac 461.
Butler knows Pontiacs 👍
Yes they do!! Their stuff makes crazy power and it lasts!
New Sub here... I thought I was the only "young guy" keeping a Pontiac motor in my Pontiac... ha, ha... Great decision to go with Butler Performance. I am super jealous you got a tour. I have a 467 from Butler, in my 69 GTO. If you run into any issues, let me know... I'm sure I've seen it. Keep it up!
Welcome to the channel!! I've gotten a ton of support from the guys at Butler and I'll have a complete set of videos coming on the head and short block assembly. I'm fairly dangerous with a tool kit and their machine work took most of the tricky parts out of the assembly process. I'm not normally this confident in machine work but everything I have gone back and measured is absolutely perfection. My only problem right now is financing the rear tires I'll be buying on a monthly basis when it's done.
@@MadScientistGarage Ha! I totally understand. One piece at a time. I'm currently rebuilding my 467, due to oil starvation and a lifter that blew up. The Butler team is absolutely incredible. And I too, will be filming the entire rebuild. My most recent video is the tear down and root cause analysis. Check it out when you can. (I already have the long block videos posted, from my last re-build, where Butler actually uses my Cam Timing video) I'll be following along ...
@@FastMonty I'll definitely give it a watch. I'm running the Butler oil pump and some decent Crower lifters to avoid problems like that..
@@MadScientistGarage Sounds good. Yeah, all lifters have their issues.. I now have Johnson Lifters, and the Butler Pro Pump. Crazy fun.
Very Nice Job ,Perfect Timing For My 455 Build !!!
I'll have a whole pile of video coming up on assembling the heads, short block, and converting my car to a 4 speed!
Omg! Thanks for this peek! I been watching these guys for a very long time and been hoarding Pontiac motors for years with the hope of having a bad ass motor put in my 68 🔥 bird one day. You made a great choice can't wait to see your build on the road.
Hit that subscribe button and you'll see it in action very soon!
I bought a 535ci crate motor from Butler back in 2009, it ran good, low to mid 10 second et's in my 79 trans am, pretty good.
I'm very excited to fire mine up. It's going to be pretty rowdy.
I've visited that place several times and made deliveries to them. im an ltl driver. Usually when id visit i would go and take my lunch break and walk around in awe. Awesome crew of people there🤘🤘. Love some Pontiacs man.
They are legitimately the highest order of machine shops and engine builders I have ever seen. Hit subscribe, you'll see what I put together with their help very soon.
@@MadScientistGarage done
Butler Performance very responsible for the Pontiac engine not going away.
I'm very lucky they took the time to show me around and answer all my questions
@@MadScientistGarage Iv`e got 3, 455`s over here. Been into poncho`s since the early 80`s. That combo you have will scoot. With traction, it will, sooner or later, break your stock transmission and/or rear end.
@@puncht37 I plan to see exactly how far I can push it with a 474 dishing out the power.
Ready to do my build on my 10th anniversary trans am. Great video!
Thanks for watching! I highly recommend these guys. We didn't script a thing, plan, or otherwise. They let us in while everybody was working and answered every question off the cuff. They're really this honest and good at what they do.
Seeing those ram air v heads was awesome. Ive seen a few sets, but its always like seeing bigfoot.
The shop was SO surreal to see in person. They do top notch work and even a guy like me can assemble 450hp/550tq with little effort. That's why I'm building this instead of spending a pile on an LS swap.
@@MadScientistGarage owe yea. Ive known butler for awhile, used one of there 461 kits. Im restoring 70 goat. But still gotta love ram air stuff. I was like u when i first seen V. Speechless
@@morganbrantley9058 I'm working on the engine assembly videos for the 474 I picked up. She's gonna SCREAM
@@MadScientistGarage cool man. Take ur time, get it right first time. Message me if you need help
@@morganbrantley9058 will do! Follow along on Facebook or Instagram- stuff is much more instant on there
Thanks for promoting my son, John! He has great busted junk videos, and eat like a man videos.
Nice, if I remember correctly the RA-5 HEADS are modified ford boss 429 racing heads. Makes anything you put them on the boss ! Rotating mass is pounds lighter and stronger. All the limiting factors of pontiac engines is eliminated, awesome !
She's gonna be one bad mother real shortly here. I had a hectic summer but I'm not giving up!
@@MadScientistGarage Cool, if you do intend to get better heads D.C.I motorsports has aftermarket R/A V heads. Kinda pricey but not when you price some used OEM R/A V heads. Just a FYI
Wrong. 427 tunnel port Ford
@@paulstuck5268 Well I had the Ford part right 😆
Do you work on Overhead Cam 6 engines for Pontiacs. My Dad has '67 LeMans that came with one. It threw a rod.
I'd recommend calling Butler to ask! They're very helpful
I have a OHC 6 engine for sale
You guys deal in Pontiac Nodular Iron cranks?
What size cam are you putting in that 474?
Nothing crazy for a driver, but 500hp crank isn't out of possibility with the restrictive heads I'm using. You'll see the full specs on an episode I'm currently working on editing if you subscribe!
Approximately how much do you have in your build....so far?(motor specifically)
I admittedly didn't keep track, and I bought things I did not strictly need just because I want it super nice. The rotating assembly I bought is top notch and just over $1000 all in with custom forged pistons. It'd be less with stock style pistons. I also paid to have it all balanced and blueprinted, which wasn't necessary, but since I'm building it I went all out. Every gasket, seal, bearing, etc. is brand new and the castings are totally refreshed. I recommend sending Butler an email with some things you require, things you want (power level for cruising, racing, etc), and a general budget. I'm pretty confident there isn't any way to make this kind of power for less than I spent. They'll sell you parts to dingle ball rebuild it at home, you can buy a totally blueprinted kit with your block and heads machined like mine, or you can buy a drop in engine with a Dyno sheet. They're interested in keeping Pontiacs on the road, not selling you stuff you really don't need.
Total in my car including purchase price, some small repairs, new front suspension, 4bbl swap, engine build, transmission swap, line lock, etc. I'd estimate less than $6k. It should run with brand new muscle cars if it has enough traction.
MSG, what transmission did you end up connecting that 474 to?
There's a Super T10 from the donor Trans Am I'm using!
Where's the video of your engine installed and running?
There's an entire series of assembly coming first, I'm editing all those hours down now. You'll get to see it in the car, destroying tires in the near future.
Camera guy said sonic screwdriver...so two people actually got that. Me and the camera guy.
John is a funny guy. Glad I had him along!!!
pontiac had it down from the start and the heads Big Chief runs are probably the same or better than the ram air 5 heads with edelbrock stamp
I'm very excited to keep this car all Pontiac and show people what a very mild build can do.
Sweet! I want 1
Call and order! They'll build you whatever you need!
@@MadScientistGarage I need to sell a project before I start another. Need a w900L or a vintage IH tractor?
@@tomwinkle1597 not at the moment sorry
DONT forget to put the oil galley plugs in or you won't have any oil pressure - one hiding in the distributor hole I believe
🤘
I need help... I just bought a 94 Firebird...it has a V-6 Motor....To me they R Junk! My question is Y did they put a Chevy Camaro hookup... I want to put My 69 GTO Motor in it Change Transmission to a 400 Turbo...How do I go about a Driveshaft to the Rear
I'd recommend an iron LS from a 99-13 Chevy truck. They're dirt cheap, tolerate tons of boost or nitrous, and they're still light. There are mounts to literally bolt it in, or you can buy a 98-02 Camaro/Firebird cradle like I'm doing to my '94. A TH350 is a strong enough unit to handle 500+ hp if they're in good shape and will fit right under the floor. Measure center to center from each yoke when you're all mounted up with weight on the suspension and leave a 3/4" extra for the yoke to slide in. Any shaft shop can make you a one piece for that.
I personally would have had them hang the pistons and assemble the heads. Minimal expense with such a short turnaround since they do it all the time. You may just have wanted to do it yourself or were tight on $$.??
Plus it's good fun to assemble it myself.
I have a1977 Pontiac 301v8 what can I do to make it better running. 145000 miles on it and it run great, let me know if you can what can be done to make it run better.well see you next time see ya bye.
Call Butler- that's what I did!
Hot damn!! Big poncho power. Awesome. By the way Jon, you look like a mad scientist who is about to clean some cow shit out of a dairy farm’s milking stall. Well done. Butler is the shit!! RAM AIR V!! I have never seen a set except in magazines. Im nerding out a little.... I think I need a cold shower.
Next live show build?
It was like Christmas and my birthday all wrapped into one, except nobody got drunk and threw mashed potatoes. I'm hoping to schedule another live one soon, but I'm on the road here and there right now. Stay tuned, I will give everybody as much notice as I can!
I have more than one friend that only will put a Pontiac engine in a Pontiac sheet metal pre-79 anyway
They're tough engines and pound for pound make a lot more power than any comparable Chevy or Buick of the era
I would imagine that they are super busy all the time. Was there a wait to have the work done on your engine? If so, how long was it? I have a Pontiac 400 engine in my 1978 Trans Am and i'm 99% sure I'm going to take it to Butler to have it worked on. Might as well get the best Pontiac specialists to work on my Pontiac engine. It's a matching numbers engine with only 37,000 original miles on it. So in theory I have a brand new 43 year old engine. Imagine what it will be like after Butler Performance works on it. Oh that's right, you already know. Thanks for sharing this fantastic video. Have a great day.
I needed a pile of work done and I felt the time frame was certainly reasonable and worth it. They always take time to return calls and emails fast, I'd suggest email to get your goals and questions organized. Whether you're going for stock refresh, 2800hp+, or somewhere in between, they do it daily. Seeing that RA5 head was all I needed to know when I arrived- the people with the baddest and rarest Pontiacs on earth trust them. So do I.
@@MadScientistGarage Hey all. Great video! Been investigating Butler for a while. They got my vote. I too have a 78 trans am original numbers with the pontiac 400, TH350 trans. She has 125k on it and its time to get her done. Lifters are starting to make some ticks. Can I ask you guys for advice? Should I have them rebuild stock or do a 461 stroker to it? I'd sure love the HP but I wanna make the right move for the car's sake. She's a beaut in mayan red hard top. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. No plans to ever sell her. Not sure if that's a consideration especially with everyone wanting HP these days. Thanks in advance. Matt in NJ
@@MOBontv ask away my friend! I have a Facebook and Instagram page you can contact me through as well- I tend to reply faster there. Butler has been very good about answering emails and returning calls- I'm no Pontiac expert either. My personal opinion is that a 461 is worth the little extra you'll spend, since it's getting rebuilt anyhow. You'll be buying a rotating assembly no matter what and the cost difference is pretty small from stock to stroker. You can certainly build a mild 461 now, and it'd be ready for big cam and heads down the road if you want more power. The engine I'm putting together is limited by the stock heads and mild cam I picked, but it'll still make about triple the power my stock 350 Pontiac was making. And if I decide to make 800hp or more, the bottom end is ready. Shoot me or the guys at Butler a message if you have any more questions- I have always gotten email response very fast! Good luck with your build!
Jon in Iowa
@@MadScientistGarage Thanks brother Jon. Appreciate the input. I just finished your video and the dyno motor with stock heads was doing almost 500hp. That's amazing. I'd like to keep the stock heads too. As much original as possible but its gotta have 450+hp probably to make me happy. Ha. I'll reach out to you on FB too.
Great video learned a few things this is Maxx i will be calling Butler in November for a strker kit
Soon as I get my act together after moving I'll edit the build process and fire this beast! Stay tuned, there's a lot more of this engine and the Firebird it belongs to coming!
The Ram Air 5 part was 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
They're beyond rare. I'd never seen any and they had a set just casually sitting in the machine shop.
"Its a Haas too" lol. Haas's are a inexpensive entry level machine with castings that are anemic compared to high quality machines. The employee said its a specialized machine for porting heads, that's funny too. When people don't know people don't know they don't know.
Speed of the machine isn't that crucial when the rest of the engine takes a day to build. Makes a great final product with their programmer running it!
@@MadScientistGarage I wasn't talking about speed. I was just saying it isn't quite the machine that was implied. From experience, I know a haas is plenty capable, but that capability is also relative.
Speed is revelant to how much money you have.
I feel like I definitely got bang for my buck with them, considering how tough it has been to get new parts they knocked it out pretty dang fast. Most importantly it was done right.
All I remember about my Pontiac engine was how it blew up day after day after day. The biggest piece of junk I ever bought with a lasting CURSE for me. That stinking Pontiac 389 I had in my GTO could never even start unless it blew out the water pump or died after working on the carter carbs. Everything blew up on my GTO. I mean, the driver seat was the only thing that did not break till I had enough....& bought MOPAR! PONTIAC????????? REALLY? The doggiest car I ever OWNED. I went to the Pontiac dealership...and watched them blow up when they started new cars. I mean....whoa.....start a Pontiac & watch the water pumps explode like dyno mite. PONTIAC STINKS! By the way....the company died years ago....so come on.....
I think you're gonna be impressed when you see the results- this is no Monday morning factory engine. Hit subscribe and we'll make you believe.
Are we supposed to believe you at all??? BS!
Butler reliably makes more than 2000 horsepower with one of their Pontiac based racing engines, and they've put scores of stock blocks on the road making more than double factory power without a sweat. I know what kind of quality and power I'm getting for my money here and they did an awesome job showing us everything they do in house for that to be possible.