John's 455 was in dire need of a rebuild & of course, if you are going to tear into it anyway, you might as well horsepower it up too! That SOUNDS good, but for a kid who lacks the funds to do
it all at once, that would mean parking the car for a year or two while doing the engine a little at a time, as money becomes available. About the only way around this dilemma was to find a good running, inexpensive Pontiac engine to install while working on the 455. That "filler" engine came in the form of a $45, '64 326 2BBL mill that a local fellow put on Ebay!
I was the only bidder & the proud owner of a 60K mile '64 Tempest engine. That was all well & good, but would it work in a '79 T/A?? I had my doubts & questioned
the reason for this project, but stuck to the philosophy of one of my childhood heroes...
For All The Effort, We Wound Up With A Real Nice Cruiser! The contents of this site are copyright© 2000, Jamos1/Superduty455.com
"The Litte Engine That Could"
Although it was not the most desirable combination, in the end,
It was still pure Poncho!
1979 Pontiac Trans Am Originally 403 Olds Powered But Later Converted To A 455
Currently Running A 1964 326 Pontiac - 2BBL Rochester 2G Carb - 250 Horsepower
GM Hei Distributor With Accel Super Coil - Doug Thorley 3 Pipe Headers
Beefed 350 Turbo Turning A 3.23 Posi Rear Axle.
While The Major Components Bolted Right In, Headers & Distributor, The Accessories Proved To Be A
Challenge.
Not Having Any Of The Brackets For The 326, I Had To Adapt The 455 Stuff To It. With A Different Bolt Pattern On The Water Pump & Timing Cover, Everything Had To Be Modified.
For
Less Than $100, Junior Could Keep On Truckin' While redoing His 455!
That's A Combination That Works For Me!!
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