[JUDGE3]

curious of others years of use records with their performance street/strip engine. race to for that matter.

mines 2012 vintage and feels like it was built yesterday.

[imposter]

what pulley setup you using

[PunchT37]

Iv`e got a 455 short block that has been together since 1988 or so. Heads and cam from 1996. Doesn`t burn oil and will run high 11`s. Good oil pressure.

[JUDGE3]

March serpentine system

I modded it to run a mechanical fan. works terrific.

[tom s]

My 421 SD engine was built 21 years ago,only change has been a set of lifters and valve springs since I changed fro solid roller lifter to hyd.Heads have not been off or engine out of the car.Tom

[JLMounce]

My .030 over 455 was built sometime in 97 or late 98. When I purchased the car the previous owner had put around 3000 miles on the engine.

The car broke on me on the drive home and it sat in some form of storage or state of repair/restoration for 16 years.

The engine was never properly winterized, sometimes going years between fluid changes.

It’s a basic stock crank/rod with Speed Pro pistons deal. Had a set of 62’s on top with a comp 280h cam.

Since early 2015 when I put the car back on the road, I’ve put close to 20,000 miles on it. It’s now topped with KRE D ports and a mild hydraulic roller. With exception of a loose roller rocker on its maiden out of town voyage, it’s been completely reliable. The flat cam and lifters I took out of it were in such good condition, I got good money on resale for them.

It’s years of non-use has caused some of its seals to be dry rotten and the ring seal isn’t the best, but it still ran 104mph in the 1/4 in 8500 ft air, so the performance is still there.

[Half-Inch Stud]

The 455s i've sold are assumed all working better than the Sale date. (all with steel Timing chains and Forged Pistons)

My 68 GTO 469 is a 2017 build; the Ream Main in need of Depends.( Seems to not be leaky that last year, huh?)

Working a Spare 462; probably install, run-in, drive (redo rear main to Prime engine), then SELL the Spare Engine to a good home!


...had a Spare Aluminum Water pump front Seal dry-out from sitting a decade. That was a bummer. waterpumpkit.com

[Formulajones]

The Pontiac I built for myself in 1999 is still together and running strong, driven daily and raced 2-3 times a year. Doesn't use a drop of oil and has logged about 60,000 miles. Been a fantastic engine.

My 454 Chevelle is abused regularly. I did the short block in 1995 and it's still in one piece. During all this time I've had 3 sets of heads on it, at least 3 camshafts and 4 different intake manifolds in a quest to go faster, never touched the short block. It's current and final configuration was done about 15 years ago, with AFR heads, hydraulic roller etc... Runs 11.40's in a 4100 lbs. car and I haven't had a valve cover off of it in 15 years.. Still runs perfect and never uses a drop of oil. I can't even begin to explain the mileage and abuse that shortblock has seen and it's still kickin.

[455TA]

My 462 was built in 2010. Stock 2 bolt mains, stock crank & rods, TRW pistons.
E heads with a xr288 HR cam. On Pump gas it runs 11.17@120 in a 3700 lb Trans Am with 3.42 gears.

[geeteeohguy]

First one is the 1965 WT code 389 I built in 1981. It has 50,000 miles on it. It's never even been opened up since I put it together. Did a compression test a couple of years ago and had 175 psi in every hole and no leakdown. Forged pistons, shot peened rods, balanced, steel flywheel, Sig Erson cam, milled 77 heads, original tripower (the WS engine was blown up at Baylands Dragstrip in '78), 4 speed, 3.55 Posi. Engine cost me about $1800 to do back then in machine work and parts. I assembled it. .030" over and .010-.010 on the crank. Asbestos-based rope rear main still leak free after 40 years of use. Drove the car last weekend.
Second one is the original 400 in my '67 GTO. Tore it down to rebuild at 173,000 miles in 1988 due to burnt intake valves. Forged pistons, original rods, 068 cam, original Q-jet and distributor. .010-.010 on the crank and .030" over on the bores. TH400, 3.36 gear. I now have 256,000 miles on the car. So almost 85k miles on the rebuild. I did remove this engine in 2010 to replace the rear main seal (which was leaking badly) and did the other seals and core plugs as well. The bearings still looked like new and the cylinders still had cross-hatch, so I buttoned it back up. Installed a 2.56 rear gear at that time. This engine also cost about $1800 to do, with no trick parts. Just inflation. So, 40 years for the 389 and so far, 33 for the 400. Hydraulic flat tappet cams on both, running Rotella diesel spec oil since 2002.

[soupman]

I had a 1972 blue/white trans am I was restoring with 107,000, car was in rough shape. The original 455 engine ran perfect and pretty fast, but the car needed a total restore. The PO gave me receipts that showed a rebuild by Nunzi in 1982 with odometer reading 47,000 and the engine never touched since the Nunzi rebuild. I figured since I am totally restoring the car might as well freshen up the engine. I have torn down many engines before that always had some wear, but when I checked the clearances everything was spot on. There was essentially no wear, even the heads looked perfect. I just figured something had to be worn after 25 years and 60,000 miles later, plus I was frame off restoration. Ring end gaps, bearing clearance, bearings looked perfect, thrust etc all perfect. At that time I decided to just reassemble the engine with no changes, I didn’t even change the engine bearings, afraid a new set of bearings might have slightly different thicknesses. Put a set of new head gaskets, started Right up and drove another 10,000 with no issues. Totally impressed with Nunzi work.

[besserspat]

Thats a very interesting Thread, shows that its worth investing in your drivetrain and when its done properly it will give you many years of enjoyment.

Tank a 4000$ engine and stretch this over 20 years , its 200$ a year for a powerful engine!

But beware of peddler just trying to make a quick buck , selling cars with "rebuilt with spray paint" engines .

Peter

[PunchT37]

Seems like these are not the popsicle stick engines most make them out to be.


If they are built right, and operated in their intended rpm ranges, they live a long time without wearing themselves out like some cheaper brands.

[Jack Gifford]

The Pontiac in Wangers' Bandit Suburban went God-knows-how-many miles for Jim and Dave towing the GeeTO Tiger, and I've put another 50,000+ on it. During its 13 years with me it's only needed tuneups and a starter and an alternator. It's now using a little oil, but I suspect it may just be valve stem seals (I may need to remove a valve cover for the first time!). The 455 HO is 467 c.i. and was built by Ed DuFresne.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by PunchT37

Seems like these are not the popsicle stick engines most make them out to be.


If they are built right, and operated in their intended rpm ranges, they live a long time without wearing themselves out like some cheaper brands.

Any engine, built right, good machine work and machining processes by someone that cares, proper assembly techniques, and good routine maintenance, along with good quality parts used in the build, will live a very long happy life and provide years and thousands of miles of trouble free service.

[F ROCK]

1971 YS400 from my GTO; freshened up in 1990; stock bore; 70K miles.
I just pulled it in april and installed a 464.
The 400 still ran great. Sold to a guy in Delaware with a 70 Catalina. he just dropped it in, never opened it. he sent me a video of it running. I'll bet it will live for many more years.
i really felt bad selling it but I had no place to store it. i've had a few really good, old, pontiac engines over the years.

[vertigto]

Originally Posted by F ROCK

1971 YS400 from my GTO; freshened up in 1990; stock bore; 70K miles.
I just pulled it in april and installed a 464.
The 400 still ran great. Sold to a guy in Delaware with a 70 Catalina. he just dropped it in, never opened it. he sent me a video of it running. I'll bet it will live for many more years.
i really felt bad selling it but I had no place to store it. i've had a few really good, old, pontiac engines over the years.

I'm assuming that wasn't the original engine...was it?