455 Olds rebuild time

[TahitiBoss21]

I have a 77 Tahiti Boss 21' jet 12je berkeley hyd place diverter. The motor is 30 years old now , the only thing ever changed on it was a set of bearings!!!
Believe it or not it still runs strong and is reliable. The only things i've changed is an edelbrock intake/carb combo (which is a weber with edelbrock's name on it) and a mallory breakerless ignition.
It's time for a rebuild. Lots of blow-by and lots of oil consumption. I'm going to go through the whole motor and build it up stock again, with the exception of probably .30 over and new pistons. The heads will be sent off for a valve job and new hardware.
My question is this. It is a stock hardin marine motor, and whatever cam they used seemed to work fine. Should i go to a slightly more stout cam? Or am I risking stock rocker arm/pushrod problems among others? The stock cam looks brand new last time i changed the manifold, and will probably work another 30 years.
I'm not concerned really about going much faster. My boat's heavy and a daycruiser, just wondering if it will give it a little extra punch. I've seen friends put thousands into a motor and go 1 mph faster, i'm over that stuff. I will use the stock crank again as long as it looks good, unless you guys have any better ideas.
The only other problem i'm fighting is condesation inside the motor, which is characteristic of these damn things. I am running a control valve, and it's not too much psi.
Thanks for any advice.

[Duane HTP]

What kind of an engine do you have?

[Old Guy]

If you're not running a thermostat, I recommend installing one. I think it would help to control the condensation if you could maintain 160-170 degrees.
There is a thin (about 1/8th" thick) steel plate on the front of the motor. It goes against the block and a water pump or block off plate bolts to it. It keeps oil and water where they belong. They tend to get rusty on the backside where you can't see it. This can lead to water leaking into the oil. It's an inexpensive part that is easy to replace when the motor is all apart. I wish I had replaced mine.
Roger

[TahitiBoss21]

What kind of an engine do you have?
455 Olds.

[TahitiBoss21]

If you're not running a thermostat, I recommend installing one. I think it would help to control the condensation if you could maintain 160-170 degrees.
There is a thin (about 1/8th" thick) steel plate on the front of the motor. It goes against the block and a water pump or block off plate bolts to it. It keeps oil and water where they belong. They tend to get rusty on the backside where you can't see it. This can lead to water leaking into the oil. It's an inexpensive part that is easy to replace when the motor is all apart. I wish I had replaced mine.
Roger
Thanks for the heads up. I know the last time i had it apart it was in fact pitted pretty good and i put a thin layer of silicone on it..but i think it wore off as the condensation started last year again. I think i saw new ones from Mondello...anyone else make em?

[R.A.D.man]

I used to have a stock 455 with a set of cast iron heads I think the casting was G. I had an aluminum Holley intake and an 850 Holley. Went from the stock cam the the Competition Cams 268H Marine application and was very happy with the couple hundred RPM improvement. This works with the stock rocker arms. It would not be very expensive and it would sound and run better. I gave the cam and lifters to a guy in a similar situation as you and he was very pleased with the change.

[R.A.D.man]

Thanks for the heads up. I know the last time i had it apart it was in fact pitted pretty good and i put a thin layer of silicone on it..but i think it wore off as the condensation started last year again. I think i saw new ones from Mondello...anyone else make em?
That should be available at your regular auto parts store. It is just the timing chain cover and it also serves to hold the front cank seal and front oil pan seal.

[Old Guy]

Thanks for the heads up. I know the last time i had it apart it was in fact pitted pretty good and i put a thin layer of silicone on it..but i think it wore off as the condensation started last year again. I think i saw new ones from Mondello...anyone else make em?
If you're interested in Olds stuff and want to avoid Mondello, I suggest checking this site. http://www.realoldspower.com
Any of these folks can probably help you out. They are all Olds performance guys.
BTR Performance (Bill Trovato)
http://www.btrperformance.com/
Dick Miller Racing (Dick Miller)
http://www.dickmillerracing.com/
FCR Performance (Terry Fritsch)
http://www.fcrperformance.com/
Greg’s Performance (Greg Godon)
http://members.aol.com/gregsperformance/
MJ Proformance (Mark Smith)
http://www.mjproformance.com/
Olds Performance Products (Andy Miller)
http://www.oldsperformanceproducts.com/
Rocket Racing and Performance (John Stolpa)
www.rocketracingperformance.com

[Ol Yeller]

I learned Olds require a little specializing to be done right. Nothing to expensive or complicated, just tried and tested through experiance. After 2 back to back rebuilds, I feel with the help of Andy Miller, I'm on the right track. I know of many that learned the hard way spending much more extra$$$ than I have so far. I would get with an Old's specialist, tell him what your after and your application. take his advise and buy his parts and have your local machinest follow his instructions to the tee. My local Chevy guru kept trying and trying at me expense till I finally raised the bullshit flag and seeked help elsewhere. Threre's a certain Old's specialist out west that I feel wasn't interested in talking till they got my credit card#. I'm no expert, but the site Old Guy mentioned has some folks that trully know BBOs.

[malcolm]

How many RPMs does it turn now? Just try to keep it under 5000 so it doesn't destroy itself.
The factory hipo marine cam was known in the Olds world as a W31 cam. It had a .474 lift and a 308 duration. It makes almost 400 horse on a 10:1 455. Some cam co.s still make it, I found one through realoldspower.com (mentioned earlier). I ran it with stock valve train and had no problems. It has a nice idle that has a little lump to it. :wink:

[TahitiBoss21]

it makes 4600 rpm full throttle, and has done so since the boat was brand new. I'll look into that cam..it sounds good. The heads on my motor are labeled "Ka" which i believe was common on motors ordered through hardin marine. Did you notice any difference between the two cams? or just for sound.

[R.A.D.man]

I ran that same engine with both G heads and Ka heads later. I did not notice any difference between the two heads but the difference between the two cams was there. The Comp Cam 268H did run better for me than the stock Olds cam by a couple hundred RPM's. I found out later the boat was running a SS C cut berkley and the RPM's were at 5400, that was up from 5200 with the stock cam. That motor lasted 10 years. I still have that impeller if anyone happens to be interested, it is in fine shape.