[pontorquer]

Not much worth saving on this 1971 Pontiac Bonneville 455 two barrel engine, besides the block and crank IMO and it's seized on top of it all, the seller wants to sell it whole including the long tailshaft turbo 400 trany, what should I pay for it all ?

[68lemans462]

200

[Ken K]

Think like Priceline go low. $50.00

[pontorquer]

Well, I just finished emailing him, first I offered him $150, then he said $350 but I replied I wouldn't go any higher than $250 and I still think it's too much, I bought complete cars at that price, then again I've seen 455 cranks sell for $300 so I don't feel too bad if he accept my offer ?

[Danimal]

455's aren't so rare as to be worth $350 when it's all seized up. Even if it's a '71, how do you know if any of the internals are any good?

$250 - max. There will be others in better shape for less $ IMHO.

[77 TRASHCAN]

Being seized, and since scrap values have gone way back down, the price line idea is the way I'd go....wear them down (if possible).

The trans can be converted to a short shaft, and would be worth 100-200 by itself. I am too tight w/ a buck for my own good.

I am going to look at a couple of 455's here tomorrow, one is rusty, one is??? hoping for a fair price. 455's may not be all that rare, probably are a little scarce in your part of the world though...???

The chances of a cracked block are too good in Canada, it darn sure gets cold there. I've heard from some here that the most likely plce for a block to crack is on the out side. I have not seen this, I've seen several crack between the head surface and the lifter area (large cracks 3-5 inches long), you would have to have the intake and valley pan off to see this.

Just my thoughts...

[baron_]

yup, a lottery ticket

$150 or $200 without a warranty

Trans is rather worthless.

[pontorquer]

I decided to pass on it, anyway he didn't accept my offer and wouldn't let me take the top end off to have a boo in there. The 455s don't crack if they are well taken care of ie. strong antifreeze, block heater in the winter months... I've bought and sold to the Pontiac Enthusiasts over 20 455s so far and have yet to find a cracked one. I find about 2-3 a year, this year hasn't been to fruitful tough, this is the 2nd seized one in a month !

[baron_]

You've had better odds than me.

I'm in Ohio...warmer than you
And i've had horrible luck with buying unproven blocks
My failure rate is between 20 and 33%, i'd imagine

[Goatracer1]

You guys are lucky. I live in the northeast and I haven't seen any large Pontiac engines for sale in a long time. When you could find one the seller wanted $450 - $5oo for it.

[bnorris_74]

Another Ohio guy. Looked for years for big cube Pontiac engines. Hot leads on 455's always turned up Olds engines or P350's and searches for 400's most times were answered by big or small block. Grrrrr

Lucked out a couple years ago and found a 72 400 and 72 455 carb to pan with accessories (alt, ps pump, fuel lines) for $375.00 each from the same guy. Turned out the 400 was a great engine. The 455 had a spun bearing. The guy that bought the 455 from me said he had bought at least two 455's and both had cracks in the block by the soft plugs.

[PonchoV8]

Originally Posted by Goatracer1

You guys are lucky. I live in the northeast and I haven't seen any large Pontiac engines for sale in a long time. When you could find one the seller wanted $450 - $5oo for it.

I know someone locally that sold a 455 block and crank with a freeze plug crack. Hard block filler would probably fix it. It sold to someone else locally for around $250 or $200. I sold a running 455 4 bbl from a driven TA for $1000 over a yr ago.

I probably have five 455s left. Two were offered for sale, but due to distance didn't sell to the interested parties. I have one that's torn down for inspection and one that's not yet torn down. I think the torn down one is a 76 or so. It had two spun rod bearings, maybe three. It rotated beautifully when I removed two pistons. The assembled one is a '72 I believe and rotates but probably has rusty cylinders because it has resistance. I bought it as if it was seized and poured in trans fluid and let is sit for 3 weeks. It turns but you can tell it has rusty cyls. Both came from cars sitting for yrs. The intact 455 has a two bbl carb still in place and came from an original 455 GP car. I actually have two more that were bought as unknown, but one did turn over partially when I bought it. Neither are torn down.

dammm@knology.net