I'm getting ready to swap a 455 and 6 speed into my 350/350 car and was wondering if I need anything special. It looks like all of the accessories will swap over and I only need 455 motor mounts? I keep hearing about cooling issues so I guess I need whatever is on a 400 car?

I also need a recommendation for headers. The 455 has Edelbrock performer heads. It came with a set of 2nd gen long tube headers but I don't think they will fit.

Thanks!

455 mounts in a Firebird the exact same way as all the other V8 blocks so no need for special motor mounts.

And yes, anticipate needing all the best cooling gear and tips. Huge radiator, OEM 7 blade clutch fan, fan shroud, fan installed properly 1/2 way into the fan shroud, 400 and A/C car radiator blocking plates, and minimal water pump back plate clearance. It's gets Phoenix like hot here in Central OK but with added humidity and my 455 warms up to the thermostat setting at 185 and that's it - no matter what the weather or driving speed. However I did put in a pricey Rodney Red aluminum radiator.

I have ceramic coated Doug's Headers for my 455. They fit with no issues and tuck up under the floor boards really well. Here again there are much cheaper solutions, but sometimes you get what you pay for!

x2 on dougs headers.

So these blocking plates? are they the upper and lower fillers between the grill and radiator support? I'll have to look at my 400 car, neither of them have A/C.

It looks like there are a lot of repo fan shrouds with mixed results. Any that you guys recommend that fit the 7 blade fan? This engine dyno'd at 530 hp, 570 ft/lb tq so I'm hoping it will be fun to drive. Can't afford to have it overheating.

1. Yes. There are also the rubber seals on the side of the radiator. I have all of mine off at present in prep for the eventual paint job. My 455 still runs cool.

2. I bought my repro shroud from Ames. Great fit, no issues. Yes, an OEM 19+ inch 7-blade fan with fan clutch.

Ok, I'll check with them. I see the block plates on my 400 car. I'll order a set for my 350 car. Both need a fan and shroud so I guess I need 2 of everything.

How long of a spacer are you guys using on the fan? The 2 1/2 or 3" ones on the car look like they may be too short to get the fan in the shroud but I guess I won't know until I get new shrouds

No spacers on clutch fans. The clutch bolts directly to the front of the water pump pulley and they usually place the fan quite a ways in front anyway.

I'm sure you spent a pretty penny on your engine rebuild. Don't skimp on the radiator...a good 4 core aluminum should do the trick.

Also, make sure you get the correct headers...D-port vs, O-port. I have ceramic coated Hookers. they fit OK. I could use about 1/2 inch more ground clearance when I ride with passengers. Eventually I'll upgrade to Doug's.

Ya, I was going to get a 4-core aluminum. Are none of the Electric fan setups working for people?

I'm going to try and unload these 76 hooker ceramic headers I have. They show $800 in the Summit catalog.. see if I can get $400 for them to buy a new set. I think the Edelbrock heads for Pontiac are D port?

Edelbrock only recently introduced D port aluminum heads for Pontiacs. So if yours are older, they are Round Ports.

If that is a photo of your 455, you can just look at the exhaust ports.

That was my confusion. I have round ports but the Edelbrock site said the heads had D ports. Thanks for the info! These heads are 2 or 3 years on the shelf. I was wondering why the part #'s didn't match up.

Edelbrock round ports are shaped more like a D (on its side) vs Pontiac's true round port.
On D-ports, both Pontiac and Edelbrocks, the center ports look like back to back D shaped book ends.

Hope that's clear'r then mud....

So these are considered round ports?

Yep. Note the round soot mark from the previous headers.

2nd salmon38.
The "flat" of the "D" sides are down.

Another question for you guys... I've never seen these before. They are on my 400 that I'm restoring.



Are these oil baffles? Are they worth keeping on the engine?

Yes, OEM oil baffles. As an engineer, if I was rebuilding my engine and came across something Pontiac's engineers put in to assist with oil flow - I believe I would put those back in. Provided you are going to stay with the OEM valve covers.

Some aftermarket valve covers come with the baffles built in.

I figured as much. I went looking for pictures of Pontiac engines and couldn't find one picture that had these on them so i figured it may be one of those things people tossed.

Yep, the baffles were on my 400 and went into storage after I stripped that engine down to the heads.