455 Performance

[Tahiti Tiger Mark]

I am interested in obviously making my boat as fast as possible without destroying the motor! :)
I have a Berkeley JC pump with a 455 olds. Right now my motor tops out at 5200 rpm with an A impeller.
Exhaust: Guardian log thru transom. yuk
Induction: Holley 650 carb yuk , Torker intake :) .
Ignition: Point distributor yuk .
I just had it rebuilt last year. Have all the oil goodies all though my builder said I should not do restrictors so I didnÂ’t, instead he did some thing where he widened the rod clearances or something. Runs great so far. Also I have the highest lift Comp Cam for the stock head setup.
What should I do to get max performance and speed without compromising reliability and some engine life. What is the recommended redline for this motor? My builder said 5500, but never taken it there, actually it won't currently. Dunno if I really want to spin it that fast. The boat really seems pretty fast now, just wondering what else it could do.
Thanks,
Mark

[hboldno7]

Whats your pump setup? Droop? Diverter?

[Back Forty]

a single holley 650 on a 455 turning an A impeller at 5200 rpm's?
coming from a total novice and green horn in the jet boat scene, something sounds fishy. Have you verified your speed?

[nelsonf]

5200 for a a Impellar is very possible i would guess by what you have said about the motor is that the pump is a little loose that is where i would start setting up the pump to use the power the motor has. 5500 RPM is about right if the motor was built right with sounds as if it was althugh not sure of the rod clearance thing. Do you have any speed numbers for it yet?

[malcolm]

How fast? GPS or speedo?

[Tahiti Tiger Mark]

I haven't been able to GPS it yet, will know soon though. Possibly have it out at Berryessa on the 10th of May.
As for the pump setup it is stock berk JC. No diverter, loader, or droop...yet :)

[GlastronGuy]

Back Forty:
a single holley 650 on a 455 turning an A impeller at 5200 rpm's?
coming from a total novice and green horn in the jet boat scene, something sounds fishy. Have you verified your speed? The numbers sound off to me too. But as Nelson said, if the pump is loose, it's possible.
[ April 23, 2003, 08:21 PM: Message edited by: GlastronGuy ]

[jrau]

Those numbers sound strange to me also. I am running a 455 with 9.5 compression, eagle H-beam rods on a offset ground crank. A 850 holley dp sits on a performer manifold with a air gap cut while motor was on the dyno. I was running a comp 280 cam but have reinstalled the original olds jetboat cam. with a AA or A2 impeller neither cam will spin this motor over 4000. the diff. between an A and A2 is supposed to be 400 to 600 rpms.
My biggest concern is this main bearing, or rod bearing clearance thing. My builder thought the same thing. Now the motor is out for a new crank because it would not hold over 22#'s of pressure warm. After $250 for the crankwork for the offset grind and around $500 for dyno time to get it tuned to what I wanted here I am putting a standard crank in with only about 10 hours run time on the motor. Needless to say, I have turned to a different builder. This has been my first olds experience and after many phone calls to numerous olds builders I now am confident the last thing you want is maximum bearing clearance. I am not trying to discourage you but watch your oil pressure. Am going to have pump rebuilt with a aggressor B, which I am told is very equal to a berk A, and adding a jetovator.
[ April 23, 2003, 08:22 PM: Message edited by: jrau ]

[Sangster]

And don't bump the timimg past 36 degrees and under 5,000 rpms ... or your asking for trouble :rolleyes:

[slapper]

Hey Mark, if you want 455 performance checkout feb 03 issue of popular hotrod mag. I own the 455 in that mag and it hauls ass and has NEVER givin me one problem just regular maint, and it's one of the best engine's i've had and it's in my 71'Rogers Cyclone! built nicly and run's perfect and has Never left me stranded even once! Slapper, Also check out www.mondello.com (http://www.mondello.com) he's the guru....wfo for now! :cool:

[396_WAYS_TO_SPIT]

I will drop my 2 pennies on this. I really wanna know why your spinning those rpm's with a olds? I did alot of olds research and if you dont have alot of $$$$$$$$ in it then it wont live long at high rpm's.
As far as the changes goes.
#1- convert the points to pertronix or cranes ignotor set up- Much more reliable and better.
#2 Loose the small block carb-Way too small!- Get a 750,800 or 850-That motor likes fuel.
#3-Get a set of basset headers-logs are restrictors-The motor needs outgoing flow
#4- Get a rebuild kit for that pump- Sounds like your on the loose side!
And finally keep the rpm's down. Olds dont like rpm's unless you spent a huge amount of $$$. No WOT blasts for long periods of time! You need to treat it like a harley-just cruise. I learned all this when I was building my olds. If your worried about horsepower and a reliable motor you need to keep those r's down or it wont last eek! If you wanna beat on a motor then build a chevy. I am not dogging you one bit because one of my boats has a olds in it. You just need to know the facts about it.
What kind of compression do you have? What kind of heads-Which letter?
I would definately look into a rebuild kit for that pump. When was the last time the pump was rebuilt? I have a jaccuzzi with a b impeller(which is equivalent to aa a impeller)
P.s. tell your engine guy that I will buy a motor from him and spin 5500 rpm's all day as long as he has a free replacement guarentee for a year :D Because I will need it :D :D If you need some help please feel free to email me. Also, check out www.442.com (http://www.442.com) for all of your olds info(casting numbers,tips,tricks,etc).
396

[396_WAYS_TO_SPIT]

What ever you do take it easy because I just threw a rod in a fresh motor today cry If you wanna play hard go chevy. I am ready to light my olds on fire burningm
396

[Tahiti Tiger Mark]

hmm, sounds like I better keep those rpms down a bit more. As for the clearance on the rods it is the clearance between rods that was increased I believe. He did give me a warranty too for a year :D I think my pump is shit though, needs a rebuild bad I'm sure. Guess I will break down and spend the cash on the pump first and see where that gets me.

[Taylorman]

He probably increased the rod side clearance. Unless you had a problem with the rods getting hot you probably did not have to do that. Keep it below 5000, thats where the motor makes max hp anyway. Im rebuilding mine right now. You should have went with the main restrictors and lifter bore restrictors or restricted pushrods. With restrictors, us a hv oil pump and large oil pan. Just my .02.