Re-Building A Junkyard Pontiac 400 Motor For $2,000 - HorsePower S12, E11
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- Опубликовано: 31 июл 2020
- The Pontiac 400 cubic inch motor (made between 1967 and 1979) is still a great platform for a high-performance daily driver. The HorsePower guys prove that by extracting a 400 from a junkyard, machining the block and rebuilding it on a two-thousand dollar budget. The results of this recycled-power project are pretty impressive when it's dyno time.
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PARTS USED IN THIS EPISODE:
Accel: HEI Distributor, HEI Supercoil, ignition module, spark plug wires.
ARP: Harmonic balancer bolt, head bolts, accessory bolt kit, rod bolts.
Butler Performance: Cleaning, prepping and machining of short block, bored .030, align honed, machined crankshaft, resized connecting rods, installed cam bearings, installed freeze plug kit, aluminum fabricated valley pan.
Denso: Denso Iridium tip spark plugs.
Edelbrock: Performer aluminum intake manifold.
Federal-Mogul Corporation: Cam Bearings, Rod bearings, Main bearings.
Federal-Mogul Corporation: Sealed Power pistons and rings.
Gold Eagle Co.: 104+ Octane booster and Maximum 104+ Octane booster.
Halibrand Engineering Inc.: 15x10 Halibrand Sprint cast polished aluminum wheels, 15x4.5 Halibrand Sprint cast polished aluminum wheels.
Hays: Steel flywheel.
Hedman Hedders: Ceramic coated long tube headers.
Howards Cams,Inc.: Hydraulic cam and lifters, timing set, valve springs, retainers and locks.
Loctite: Loctite 598 Black High performance RTV silicone gasket maker.
Mothers Polish: Mother's Tire Shine.
Mr. Gasket: Overhaul gasket set, exhaust gaskets, intake gaskets, chrome water neck, fuel pump mounting plate.
O'Reilly Auto Parts: Quadrajet OE replacement carburetor.
Pioneer Inc.: Rocker arm studs, rocker arm nuts, woodruff key, rocker arm balls, oil pan bolts, timing gear bolts, dowel pin kit, push rod, valve springs, freeze plug kit, oil filter adapter bolts.
Summit Racing: Harmonic balancer, FlowKooler water pump. 
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It's a great engine. I had one in my 76 formula. I'm a Pontiac guy! When I was done rebuilding it. It made 400 hp. She was a beast.!!!👍
no you didnt,no it didnt...
Awesome brother.
AS a former jet engine mechanic in the Air Force and Quality Inspector at Boeing I ask the simple question of: who taught you guys how to properly use a torque wrench? Double and at least one triple click...very bad, you would be a fail. Was this because it wasn't a chevy engine (not motor as those are all electric)?
Thanks for the Pontiac love. That old Catalina was identical to my first car, except mine wasn't a wagon. I would like to have seen some attention given to a few common pitfalls in Pontiac V8 builds:
1) Accidentally using SBC lifters instead of Pontiac lifters.
2) The hidden oil galley plug.
3) Don't tighten the timing cover bolts until the balancer is installed.
I know right ?
Plus they should have stressed to put the oil pump driveshaft in first. I'm sure they did but if someone doesn't know that they are in for a surprise. And should have showed how to clearance the water pump divider plate.
I came here for the Pontiac 400 😎✌🏼
A little head porting wouldn't hurt, it's free and you'd be amazed how much it helps. Love the 6X heads for the street.
Needed domed pistons from KB...
Problem with those 6X heads is the heat crossover hole is taller than most intakes can cover. Ya gotta plug the upper hole with furnace cement or make some thin metal block off plates.
free?
@@robjones1328 - About free if learn how to port yourself... of if your girlfriend will do it for you...
Free, just like the machine work they had done, and the heads the machine shop gave them.
Those retards can't port a head unless a machine shop does it for them. These dudes are pathetic, and make me sick watching them.
400 Pontiac, yes!!
Nice that you guys mentioned to weld the pickup to the pump. I've seen the aftermath when people didn't.
If you have to ask why a Pontiac for a cheap build...you just may be an LS lover. Fun fact, the factory blueprinting is pretty darn good on those engines, and the fact the heads screw into the block rather than into the deck, means you can pass on a torque plate for a cheap-o build.
The Armasteel connecting rods do need some stronger bolts to help, but if you want to shift over 5,500 RPM on a regular basis, consider aftermarket Chev BB rods and 455 pistons, which are just .03 over 400 slugs. The nice thing about those 6X heads is factory hardened seats (Compared to say a 96 head from a 2bbl 400) and that low compression begs for a cheap power adder.
Pontiac engines are very versatile. It's a tough block, you can get away with 2 bolt mains for so many applications because it's a beefy bottom end. If its am original 2 barrel engine, you can get away with putting a corresponding 4 barrel without changing camshafts or heads. It doesn't have to be a big valve engine, it's got great velocity even just being a smaller valve if that's what it came with. Intake removal is very easy without removing the distributor. Pontiac v-8s love timing advance and it seems most of the time the stock setting isn't up to par and make sure when gettingan HEI that it's curved like their points predecessors. Timing chain jobs are easy without dropping the oil pan. Heads are easy identification and Pontiac had a wide variety for various performance applications, even the stock "067" camshaft which was their workhorse was great for performance with just an easy change of heads only plus what was unique with adjusting the rocker arms was that they actually had a torque setting not having to rely on feel & turning the nut and going back if it was the stock camshaft. Great for cars with highway style rear gears, even in the high 2 range because they shoved out a lot of torque to move even a heavy car off the line really good. Thing to know, if you want to bump up for some decent power out of smog heads like the 6x head on the 400s, get 6x heads off a 350 Pontiac. Even for the 2 barrel engines which were even very snappy, just putting on dual exhaust without a big diameter pipe woke them up even more. Built right if you stick with stock parts and a sharper tune on the Quadrajet, they can really be good on gas.
With those 6x heads you have less than 8.5 to 1 compression. They were not ported either. The cam is very small but is matched for those stock emission era heads with bigger valves. That torque number is great for the combination. Torque is really important for the street. This combo would still get a lemans, gto, or firebird in the mid 13s with proper gears, drag radials or slicks. Stock Pontiac engines were really designed mostly for torque to move their heavy vehicles around back in 60s and 70s around. Exception to that would be ram air motors, Ho and Super duty engines.
I was thinking the same about the heads
About same cam as a stock tripower GTO or 442 of 360 HP, but producing less HP/torque here than a stock 325 - 350 HP base level 4 bbl. GTO...
@@buzzwaldron6195 The 400 is taking a hit with low compression, around 8.2 to 1 with the 6x heads. The engines you mention have around 10.25 to 1
@@scottmcgehee2933 dhould still make more hp than that at 8.5:1 compression. ive seen the stock 6x flow numbers. they leave much to be desired. a bowl port and casting imperfection cleanup should have been an automatic action when the engine was rebuilt.
No way a 3,700lb car will get 13 sec. with that
Just started my junkyard 400 for my 67 Lemans..great information and help.. especially for a rookie!!
I built this exact same engine for my '73 Pontiac Wagon (the same year Wagon they pulled this engine from) in 1998, and did almost the EXACT same mods, except I kept the 4X heads and added screw in studs, shaved them .030, and added 2.11 intake valves. Same spec cam from PAW, added factory 4bbl intake and Q-jet, headers and dual exhaust. Drove that car for several years and about 70,000 miles. Wish I still had it. Wagons are COOL!
Were the heads ported and polished or were they stock cast.
@@CJColvin , I only gasket matched and smoothed the ports.
@@vincentfarquhar9671 Awesome brother. How much power did it make.
@@CJColvin , wouldn't know. That Wagon was my dailly for several years here in Wa. St. Drove it to California and back twice, then to Texas where I sold it years later. Had a lot of fun with that car. My first and only Wagon. Wish I still had it...
@@vincentfarquhar9671 I hear you brother.
My mother Love her Pontiac’s. she had two of them. the 65 Lemans and her Grand Prix. I loved that little Leman’s. 326 and a 4- speed.
I love the pontiac 400, a friend of mine bought a 78 4 speed Trans am in 1981 and for back then it it was awesome, i still want a nice one lol
Still is - A Pontiac 400 ( 465 ci. ) Won the Engine Masters Challenge in 2015 - made 3 Dyno pulls of 720 pump gas hp nothing to exotic Kauffman High port heads etc. :)
My dad both is 78' T/A 4speed in 1981 too. I now have this car looking forward to rebuilding the 400 in it.
Ah,Saturday morning's with breakfast and these old videos to start the weekend! Thanks for the upload!
Just happens to be my favorite motor.
The clamshell club must be in heaven seeing those old wagons. Kind of like having your own personal aircraft carrier. Very cool.
Props for not trying to tag it as either a small block or big block!
They showed the beginning of installing the bolt connecting the water pump to the intake manifold while installing the intake, but gave no info of its importance. Install that bolt and snug it up before bolting down the intake. Then tighten everything up. Tightening the intake first could cause a gap or misalignment for that bolt and the water bypass passage it secures.
I built a 400 HO for my 67 firebird in the late 70's.....forgot to install the dipstick extension. The only person I had to cuss was myself. 😃😃😃
Always enjoy watching a Rochester 4bbl open up on a dyno! I would suspect those hypertec pistons were pretty deep in the hole and killed compression.
i always installed a rope seal with a bit of rope above the parting lines. that way it really packed the seal. then i removed the cap and cut away any fragments of the rope that didn't go into the groove, bc if the fragments are in the parting line it adds .003"-.004" more in oil clearance to the bearing and floods the seal with way too much oil.
I was thinking the same thing when I watched him clip it flat
I miss your show on tv i grow up with it and u two gave me a lot of motivation and knowledge I'm glad I found you on RUclips
$4000 in "free parts" so our build comes in under $2000
They might have strained their arms patting themselves on the back on that.
Ummm,... not seeing $4,000 in parts
I was thinking that’s a $4000 build. With the endorsers $1800 in free parts/head swap, I see a just over $2000 build. Question is how we get our parts? 🤔
midnitesquirldog1 those are forged pistons cost is $450 plus rings
Never look at numbers when you watch these, just watch the builds
Remember everyone this is more or less just a rebuilt engine. Nothing in this engine is high performance. There not trying to get big numbers. There building a mild street engine. Alot of people can't afford the big money parts they usually put in their builds. This build is for the guy with small pockets. Yes there is more they could have done for a little or no more money and made more power but that's just how the video was done.
it was still over 5 grand
Good choice for a 400. Blocks from Mid 64 to 74 are of the better castings. 75 and later used a thinner block and was weaker. A few things stood out as questionable. 1. your dipstick tube was not installed right in the picture. Its flush with the inside block hole like the factory. Second you never did do the math on the compression to get a proper camshaft for the engine. Depending on the 6x head you can have as low as 8.4 to 1 or less. Third. Welding the pick up on the pump is nice but did you check to make sure you did not weld the check ball inside the pump under that big bolt part because most of us just tack it in a couple of spots. Seen my share of nuked punps from the heat from overwelding. 4th the Carb your using is not a Pontiac version. Pontiac Q-jets all come out straight not bent like the one you used. 5th you never mentioned the install of the oil gally plugs on the build.. If not done right.. your top end will not get oil.. Not sure your budget is actually 2k Now someone that had connections with a machine shop might be getting better pricing. (I used to. but I built 10-12 engines a year)
About how much weight difference is there comparing the heavier #481988 and lighter #500557 blocks?
Is there an alternative to welding the pickup in position? Maybe a different oil pump and pick up design?
@@otm646 Anyone with a smidgen of skill can takweld the pick up tube to the pump with no issues to the pump.
This was the same set up I put in my 70' Le Mans but ended up swapping out the 6x heads for the 670 heads and changed out the cam for a performer rpm cam back in the 90's.
Oh yes ! 670's are a much better head !!! Very hard to come by !
@@tednewcomb1048 that's for sure.
The format of their videos is so good, that I don't mind the ads.
Love the build, always enjoy watching you fellas work.
Back in the day, Had a 69 LeMans with a bad 350. Dropped in a junk yard 400 from a friend of a friend that said it was in great shape out of a wrecked Catalina. Smoked like a cold diesel in the winter. Taught me a lesson. Had to pull it back out and rebuild it.
RIP Pontiac...😥
ahh what’s better than watching POWERNATION on a weekend 😎
310 horsepower, and 411 torque ? You guys are killing me .
We were shoehorning these things into Fieros. Mickey Thompson made the adaptor plate kits. They would walk away from a 911 Turbo at 160 like it was tied to a post.
Interesting. John Delorean originally planned to put a small block V8 in the Fiero but the Chevrolet brass shut it down because it would've annihilated the Corvette and cost less money doing it.
Interesting...
@@derekdeckens2559 I loathe the Corvette. The Corvette owners whined and cried in 1973/74 When the Pontiac Trans Am Super Duty 455 powered cars were THE fastest American production cars those years.
Then in 1986/87 Corvette owners whined and cried about the much faster Buick Grand Nationals.....in fact, GM execs killed the Grand National for the 1988 year which was the last year of GM G bodies.
So yes, I have always enjoyed romping on Corvettes. Owned a 1973 455 Super Duty Trans Am and 11 different 1986/87 Buick Grand Nationals/Turbo Regals........and many Corvettes saw my tail lights.....lol.
Not all Corvette owners were/are prissy whinerbabies but a lot were and still are. Just the sheer favoritism
by GM over the decades for their Corvette was pathetic. Especially in times when they had the other divisions which made it much more apparent. These days, sure the Vette is a flagship but I would still never want one.
Especially since GM is now China Motors.....the sell out pieces of garbage.
nice build for the price, id rather have thrown some big valve heads on there and a bigger cam, it wont ping unless you have flat tops or dome pistons, if you keep the factory geometry you wont have any issues running pump gas, would be a walk in the park to get over 450hp out of it
I did a similar rebuild years ago, everything the same as your rebuild featured here except my cam was 218/218 454/454, paired with a turbo 350 trans and 3:73 gears in my '80 Firebird the car ran a best ET of 14:17 at 96 mph at the local drag strip.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. A TOTALLY AWSOME BUDGET BUILD!!! GREAT VIDEO AND EDUCATION. THANKS FOR SHARING!!! I LEARNED SO MUCH.
In the mid 1980's my father had a 1976 Pontiac Bonneville. It had the 400 with a four barrel. But it had such high gearing in that automatic trans that it didn't really get off the line very well. Plus it was as heavy as it looked. LOL. BUT I was 16 and got my license I also had a girl friend that lived 27 miles from the city I lived in. Between the town she was in and my town there were only two small towns and they shut down completely on Sunday nights. So very late after spending as much time as I could seeing my girl the hours was early morning most of the time by then. I would get into the big baby and floor it from the beginning until I was almost at home. Wow. That's truly the fastest I think I've ever gone until I got the cars I now own (Well maybe another but the speedo was broke on it and I'm not very good at math while trying to count power poles at that speed LOL) and I now own an E46 M3 and a N54 twin turbo tuned E90 335I BMW. The speedo on the Pontiac went to 120mph. But the needle would go past the 120 into the area where nothing was printed on into the area where it said "M" in the MPH in the bottom center of the round speedo on and over the "P" then on and PAST the other side of the "H". then bury itself into the farthest area not even covering any part of the "H" any more. It HAD to be over 165 MPH from the distance the needle covered and the spaces between the actual area where the numbers were marked for the showing MPH. That car FLOATED like a dream over the wide open highway!!It was smooth and the very few cars or trucks I did pass at that time truly looked like they were standing still. The car ran perfect and never had a problem until years later the trans let go. What an engine!!
You sure that wasn't a '66? By '76 those emissions slug engines had little power...
My youth was spent in a 68 catalina wagon wich is known as the heaviest wagon ever with a 400/400 package and bone stock was a monster on the freeway . I miss that gas hog
Nice vid. Ive got a 79 esprit with a 400 in it. Beat a 2001 trans am lol. Old school muscle baby
Love those junkyard teardowns ;)
great video and Educational too thanks!!
I would wait all week to watch this show on Saturday mornings. It was like Saturday morning cartoons. Now that I have a DVR its a Sunday funday to watch these after church. Spike er Paramount did a disservice to the world by letting the power block go.
Love this show!
Thank you for putting a quadrajet on they're easy to work on
@Dave Micolichek no, qjets are pretty easy.
@Dave Micolichek nope. Especially not compared to a double pumper Holley. End of story.
The problem with just about qjet is that the youngest core is 33 years old. As loyal as some people are to them, getting a new Edelbrock or Holley is a little more economical if you don't mind fuel economy. Yes Qjets can flow more, and yes they can get better gas mileage, but youve REALLY got to know what you are doing. Holleys and Edelbrocks are easier to work on, and easier to tune, especially for someone just getting in to wrenching.
Carter/Edelbrock AFB/Street Perf carbs!
This Quadrajet they use here is a Chevy one, note the 90 degree fuel inlet. BOP and Caddy are straight.
Great video...👍👍👍 making me re think what motor I wanna go with...
Please build and tune a 401 Buick Nailhead..would love to see that.. All the best from Denmark
The 389 in the 60s Pontiacs were good too! 👍 I remember a few GTOs that were strong!
I had a 389 in my 62 Catalina...wish I still had it , that engine could take some punishment..!.
I had two 1977 Can Am Lemans with the TA400 over the years, one new and one not. What were these - 220 HP? With 2.56 or so gears it had little get up and go. However, a friend's 1968 GTO with the 400 was something else. Nice to see these get built.
200 hp in 77. In 78, they bumped it to 220 with the W72 engine.
A pretty underrated engine...
The 400 small block chevy was popular in Australia if you could find one....
You would think they would have a modern version of the rope seal...
velpro was making the neoprene seal but i dont think they make it anymore, someone else might, they will still leak a bit eventually like a rope seal
@@cloaked2562 The new 6.6 L8T engine has Siamese bores like the old 400 small block.
😎
Nice sensible build, don't see that very often. Usually these engine build show's have non practical cam and carb specs for the street.
One thing missing when building Pontiac 400's and that is oiling system improvements if you're gonna be romping on it regularly. Ask Mike Finnigan from Roadkill what happens when you don't.
Side note, that low compression ratio is just begging for a supercharger, turbo, or spray.
Pontiacs, whether stock, or race, use the same oil system. Adding a different pump is the norm. Don't confuse youtuber inexperience over an actual issue. Two very different things. Just blaming it on a 50 year old myth doesn't mean it's real cus a self proclaimed celebrity says it is. Just sayin.
This title is upsetting because my customer referred to it when protesting my rebuild estimate. I failed to get the job. Thanks guys.
$ 2k rebuild in 1973 maybe. They only re-used the block, con rods, and timing chain covers. The machining must have been $1500 alone. either way I still like watching these!
I was rebuilding my street raced pontiac motors for 1,200 in the late 70s. A race built turbo 400 trans was only 140 dollars back then
Pontiacs are not expensive to build. Unlike the liar Chevy idiots claim.
@@byronmcelfresh2380 as someone who ones a Pontiac and has rebuilt my 400, I can't tell you how wrong you are. Pontiacs are extremely expensive to rebuild
@@rickvanlandingham2874 now its 3-5 grand,so you were trying to make a point? i bought a guitar in 86 for $500,its worth 10k now....
@@byronmcelfresh2380 $5000 minimum on this build,heads alone are $1500,machining is $1500 these are not inflated numbers,cam and lifters $3-400.intake and carb,$800
3.9K+👍's up guys thanks again for taking us all along with you for the great show
Me: drives past an old GTO
RUclips: let’s show him a video about a Pontiac 400 build.
Me: 😧
that Accell those old yellow iris many cars did I put those on. About the new videos they’re awesome. Follow you guys from day one. Sorry you’re all gray now youngster. It’s awesome to watch you grow up with all the amazing knowledge that you know
A better water pump than used in the video is a stock pump with a cast iron impeller.
Hammer the separator plate that’s behind the pump to close up the clearance between the vanes on the impeller and the plate as close as possible. This mod improves circulation and cooling.
I tried the pump mentioned in the video in a fresh 400 rebuild and had overheating issues. I bought a reman factory pump with the iron impeller and did the separator plate mod. With the mod it runs extremely cool now.
The factory 4 barrel intake is almost as good as an edelbrock performer intake if you are on a budget. It’s heavier, of course.
The last time I looked Pontiac engines weren’t “plentiful” in junkyards. 455’s have completely dried up, and if you find one prepare to pay.
I'd love that 400 for my 1977 Formula project, just a 350 in it now.
Thats pretty next time do a 428 Pontiac
My 75 grand prix has 134 thousand miles and still runs great, it's a model j, with a 400 +4barrel Quadujet.
Prolly gets about 10 MPG... some parts switching get you closer to 20...
@@BuzzLOLOL always got 18 mpg, except when I had my foot in it, speedometer went to 100, but it would go around to zero again, very fast car.
Never knew it back when I owned my 73 Lemans 350, but all Pontiac blocks were the same except for bore and stroke. From the 326 through the 455 same same thing. Had I known that, I may have turned that 10:1 no hp gas slug into something more powerful and fun. Back then, changing points and plugs came every 10k miles, ran great for one day and back to the same ol crap the next and did I mention having to run on ethel and averaged 11 miles to the gallon ? Though durable and beautiful I hated that car. Now I kinda wish I had it back......TO BUILD IT LIKE IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
i thought thread gauge on assembly and adjustments would have got another 30hp,, i didnt see the cam dialed in,,thats free and worth a bit more hp.. all in all a great job and that wrecking yard had some beautifull cars worthy of rebuilds.
Even though compared to their other builds this one is a "lower cost" build I still would not consider this a real world "budget build". To get all the machine work they had done would easily be around $1,000 considering they got overbored, crank cut,balanced,rods rebuilt, heads rebuilt and all the miscellaneous in just the long block would be over $2,000 and then they bought a new quadrajet,eldelbrock intake, distributor that stuff all adds up not to mention they used all ARP fasteners which are way over priced and cost a fortune. Most real world budget builds involve reusing alot of old parts without remachining and lots of elbow grease cleaning everything up and only getting the bare essential machined, where I live the machine shops get $350 for just a bore job so I could only imagine what this build would actually cost.
That's because this show is bs. They have unlimited resources available. So yeah, it may have cost them less. But it will cost us more.
ALL THIS SHOW DOES IS SHOW OFF. THESE VIDEOS ARE NOT APPLICABLE TO 95% OF CIVILIZATION.
That's why I don't bother watching these videos anymore. They always have CUSTOM parts and tools that are very expensive.
Its all bullshit look at me
Thats amazing information about Pontiac (automobile): ruclips.net/video/n3cewee2AhI/видео.html
As someone who is rebuilt multiple Pontiac engines. There is no way this is a $2000 build even if it was five years ago not just two.
Wonder if Butler would be kind enough to lend them their RA5 kit.
Good rebuild but forgot to mention the nice set of headers.
16:16 first time seeing the vacuum secondaries open on a Q-Jet
There is no way all that was under 2000 or a budget build
It can be done. Keep in mind this particular episode is over 10 years old.
@@jordanwiley4582 Prices haven't changed much as far as these motors go. I spend the same now as I did 10 years ago. 10 years is nothing. You must be young.
They have sponsors and parts accounts. There not buying things at retail prices. Even 2k is high for a basic rebuild you're doing your self. I paid $1400 for a machine shop to do it. Walk in price.
@@starbattles1 no you can't....you know people
i built my 400 mopar for like $1k at most, and i guarantee it makes more hp than that poncho 400. stock pistons and compression.
The obs Chevy and the lightning looking clean
2:06
Those pontiac 400 came with the biggest valves
What did the rebuild Pontiac 400 get installed into? Great video!
Love the vid! I have a '77 Pontiac Firebird 350 THM 350 , quadrajet, with 6x4 heads. Could I bore this block out to turn it into a 400?
No as you would hit water jacket. 350 Pontiac bore is 3.875 (the same a 283 chevy- pretty small) while the 400 bore is 4.120. Would be easier to find a 400 core and start there if wanting to go big (or even a 455) and you get the added benefit of using larger valves for better flow/power too.
When did they swap the name to Power Nation, or is that the whole group of shows and this is still Horse Power TV? I grew up watching these shows on the weekend on TNN then when they changed it to spike. I loved watching these shows.
Yeah, HP-TV, Spike TV, Power Nation, Detroit Muscle...
Remember the Dyno headers help hp over the stock manifolds a lot.
Ive seen the headers vs manifold gain almost 50hp on some mopar engines
@@mattgarkus2489 did many mopars have notoriously restrictive [driver's side] manifolds? Or was that only a few?
Headers didn't help this weak engine much... stock Pontiac GTO 400's were 350 HP... 360+ HP with the cam they used...
The SB400, is so iconic because it has all the useable HP one can SAFELY use on the street. It responds to mild upgrades like a GOLD MEDAL CHAMPION!
That is true but we are talking about the Pontiac 400 , not the Chevy Small Block 400.
I'm tired of Chevy builds. This is nice for a change. More Pontiac , Buick , Oldsmobile builds please, or maybe a 472 Cadillac.
Best things about a 400 Pontiac versus a SBC - lighter when fully dressed, and more torque potential
Dude is snap torqueing everything
The true unsung hero was the poncho 350 making 300 hp
Ooo - 350 HO with #48 heads - what a screamer - that Lil demon in a lightweight firebird trailered alot of bigger engines in it's day ...
@@tednewcomb1048 now you goter the little mouse that could scream like a lion.
thats gross hp
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 are you saying the gto jury is gross.
@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 - This dyno is reading in grossHP... Stock Pontiac 350 made 320 gross HP...
Funny that this video came live today. I just finished tearing apart a Pontiac 400 that came out of my LeMans this morning. Mine had one of those fancy 5 piece crank shafts that all the kids want these days (never seen a crank shaft break in 4 places before). What caught me on their reassembly was when they installed the factory oil slinger in front of the lower timing pulley. My engine did not have one on there (again just took it apart 3 hours ago). I went back through their video and looked really close. When they pulled their timing cover off their engine didn't have one either. Where did they get the original oil slinger from that wasn't on the engine when the disassembled it?
filmed over months,100s of hours of video make one half an hour episode.these are product selling infomercials,this build was well over 5 grand
My first car was a 1969 Pontiac Catalina 4 door...with the 400...
“We’re doing a $2000 budget build” -proceeds to do a 5-6 grand build
Keep in mind this video is 10 years ago so that pricing is accurate vs now where you can spend 2-3k on a crate engine for 500 HP or now there is so many after market companies and parts and upgrades.
Great video I have a project car great shape and this video give a idea I want to do a lil upgraded the engine is in great shape is omega 78 with a clean 305 👍
At around 16:10 when they start to increase the revs it sounds like it’s got a knock…. Or is it just exhaust noise… what’s your thoughts.
@ 7.20 it should say "ALIGN Bore" the mains , not "line hone. I am willing to bet 80% of people have NO idea what this task is, or what it actually does, and what can go wrong if done wrong...
Usually avoid that process if possible...
9:50 that squirt of oil that comes out had me thinking he chipped something at first
Yeah. Thats exactly what I thought too.
broken ring?
The timing chain dynamics on these old V8's compared to the total BS of modern systems with their plastic guides etc.
Doesn’t edelbrock make an RPM package for this? Had to make more power even with those heads, but I port everything, and definitely would this.
Real good buy
Sweetness
How did he just pull the harmonic balancer off with his bare hands... 😅😂
I would have like to see that wagon be restored.
They made this look so easy.....
Power of editing.
How nice of Pontiac to consider the average guy having to change spark plugs and put them ABOVE the exhaust pipes, unlike Chevy who decided that putting them behind the exhaust pipes was the best way. I'd rather pay a little more for a Pontiac engine.
Worked for a pontiac dealer ship back in the day and still get a kick out of the revisionist history a stock gto ran in the high 15 second range the mechanic had one with gears headers and was able to run in the 14 ,s
Advanced the ignition timing on my stock '65 tripower and ran 13.9... 12.9 with slicks...
Wonder if the $2000 cost includes the machining and stuff it was sent out for?
Good video but... not utilizing the original heads isn’t an accurate representation of a $2K budget. No one is going to swap a set of better rebuilt heads for your cores. You would be into $3000+ for the rebuild that you did.
you would if you really needed originals
@@robjones1328 still not realistic.
agreed. I thought about that as well. This was a little misleading.
They always have some "buddy" helping them out. Not real-world.
@@terrypetty9822 probably sponsers
Y'all should have bought the whole wagon and made it a project car.
First junkyard that I’ve ever seen with freshly mowed grass under the vehicles. 🤣🤣🤣
You gotta be kidding me ! That is not how to install a rope seal that is almost sure to leak like a sieve. You NEVER put silicone under a rope seal, and you MUST use a rope seal installer (kent moore USED to make them). NOW you have to use a large socket as close to the size of the crank main journal as possible but never larger. You have to pound that seal down and trim it with the tool being pressed down. Same on the main cap and no silicone on the end gaps either. OMG can't believe anyone would think silicone will seal against a rope seal. I never used anything on the ends for 15 years as a GM dealer mechanic and never had to re-do a rope seal but a tiny amount of #2 Permatex to seal the cap . Then when the crankshaft is in and all forward main caps snug, using a nylon punch pack the seal down flush to the block. You ONLY put silicone under a rubber lip style replacement seal. Baffled why that wasn't done.
I didn't want to start something BUT I grew up racing these cars & engines - I hate saying this We never saw a GTO that lived up to the hype even on the Dragstrip or Street the Chevys (327 fuelies/427/454) Ford's (427/428 CJ/429 CJ) & the 400/455 Olds 442 & Buick GS - DOMINATED
We never could figure it out certain great engines could put the power on the asphalt some couldn't Oh! & We grew up on the East Coast New York (Cross Bay Blvd street racing started & West Hampton & Ice Slip Drag Strips) New Jersey Raceway Park- Englishtown + Pennsylvania York -- & We would go almost every year to Indianapolis for the Nationals driving the cars we raced on the street & drags out there then racing - this was Our point of view
The torquey tripower GTOs/442's ruled the streets stop light to stop light... that's why they vastly outsold everything else... Most people never went to the strip, just saw what happened on the street... in a full 1/4 mile run the high revving overcammed/overvalved Chevies might manage to catch up and get a fender ahead! Even Chevy knew that, as seen in this nonpublic dealers-only '66 Chevelle commercial:
ruclips.net/video/SJIRitKQYrM/видео.html