King Of The Brand X Engines...The Big Block Buick 

Thank You! Mopars are fine and they are popular for all of the right reasons, but we Buick guys finally got some love, too!

My 455 was the smoothest running engine I've ever owned. It idled so smooth I forgot it was running and put my 8hrs. in at work still running when I came back!😂

in the 70's, my mom bought her sister's '70 Buick Estate Wagon with a 455 HO... She took us for a ride around the neighborhood the day we got it... My mom was a bit of a hooligan when she was younger, so imagine the fun we had! It became my older brother's first car, some kid smashed into it in the late 70's. I miss that car sometimes.

As the caretaker of two Buick Riviera's a 63 and an 84 and having had three Regals I really appreciate this series. Thanks Tony

Thanks for doing this video! As a guy with a 72 Buick Skylark powered by a Buick 470 (4.35" bore, 3.95" stroke), I always appreciate when someone else appreciates the big block Buick! The '70 block really is *not* the best one to get if you have options. '71 and later blocks are a better starting point, as they already have the larger oil passages built in (that's not to say that they can't benefit from oiling modifications - they certainly can - but they are a better starting point than a 70). My own block is a 75 - the 75 & 76 blocks are actually thought to be the best strength-wise. As for the heads, yes, if you're going to use the factory iron heads (many Buick guys go the TA Performance Stage 1/2 aluminum route), then the 67-70 heads are the best starting point from a compression and flow standpoint. The 67-69 heads seem to have more issues with cracking around the valve spring seat area. My engine was dyno'd at 605 HP at 6100 RPMs. No girdle, but definitely oiling mods (enlarged passages in the block; chamfered holes in the bearing saddles, front of the block, and crank; rear-grooved cam bearings). It has seen some dragstrip action and I typically shift at 6100. I have made probably around 20 passes at the strip since putting the engine in the car 5 years ago. So far so good. :-)

That's what I love about the muscle car erea...the Torque....I had a olds with a 455 in it. The low end power was amazing.

Just a short story. In 1985 I was looking for a cheap car for my wife. One of the guys at work had a '72 Wildcat that he sold me for $100. It needed a new ring gear for the starter. One day I had my then 8 year old son with me and he asked " can this car do a burn-out? I just smiled and said yeah. ½ mile later we hit the freeway, not much traffic so I came almost to a stop then floored it. When we hit the top of the ramp we were doing somewhat over 90 mph, and the tires were still smoking! He still remembers this! What a lot of fun you can have with that much torque ! ! !

In the 80's we street raced in Philly with a gutted out 69 Electra with a worked 430ci. Ended up snapping the frame over the rear which creased the quarters it was launching so hard! Total respect for Buick!

I used to tuneup an old man in the neighborhood's 68 Riviera 430 back in the early 70's. I was amazed at the power this heavy vehicle had . A real nice cruiser.

One thing you failed to mention is that the 430's oiled the rocker arms thru oil passages in the block and heads ; when Buick tooled up for the 455 they designed it to oil thru the push rods like a Chevy.Which means you can run a 430 head on a 455.but you can not run a 455 head on a 430.

This is why I'm a Buick guy and why I've got a shed full of big block Buick parts. I just can't turn away from them. My 68 GS400 has a 430 from a 67 wildcat in it and while it's pretty tired it's still a ton of fun to rip around with that four speed. I can't wait for the rest of this series!

Mike & TA built me a 455 with their Stage 2 street heads. Put in an ‘80 Regal. Motor was an animal.

If you want to build a B455 without concern of pedigree, start with a 1976 block. All pre-72 blocks suffered from core shift. Some of the core shift issues can be solved with proper - and expensive - machine work, but many had literally twisted lifter valleys; you can look down the lifter bores- front to back - and they don't make a straight line. By late 1975, Buick had solved their core shift issues. They also had enlarged and cleaned up the oil gallies by then, too. The huge main bearings on the short stroke crank (3.9" - compare that to the other big displacement competitors) actually helped keep bottom end strength in the lightweight thin-wall blocks.

This video reminded me of the day in 1975 when dad drove in the driveway with our brand new Buick Electra 225 Park Avenue. Talk about an ocean liner with tons of Chrome. Absolutely beautiful, but the problem was it was to long for the garage. Dad had to knock out the back of the garage, and pour concrete, extending the rear wall a couple feet so he could park it in the garage and close the garage door.

we need to find tony a AMC guy

One of the first engines i worked on, what i actually learned about engines on, was a Buick Nailhead 445. Kept it out of a car a family member was scrapping justvto tinker with.ocked up from sitting for seven years, took weeks to get it apart. My dad was mad at me for taking ip garage space with junk. Never bought a single part, but after a month plus of cleaning parts, my dad was amazed when i fired it up sitting on garage floor.

I scored a 455 in the junkyard for $350 last yr. Was in a 70 Electra 225

My father grew up in the 60's and people think I don't know about these old cars for my age but I learned from him. He tought me everything I know about old cars. Back in the early 70's my father bought a 1969 chevelle ss with a 4 speed and he would pull up in the HS parking lot and smoke the tires off it.Guys would pull up next to him and tell him they all all this engine work done and it was blanced and blue printed,he just had a stock 396 and he would blow their doors off and after they would ask what you got under the hood? He just made sure his engine was tuned! My grandfather was car guy he was a lead man and did body work for years,they used to get dealers cars and my father drove all of them. Back in the sixties it was the golden era of muscle cars his buddies had the plymouth dusters,he saw the shelby mustangs,the hemi cars his buddies had them all,bought them brand new and he rode in them as a teenager. My uncle served during Vietnam and bought a brand new Impala ss 409 and later sold it because it was too fast. I got stories for days but what a time to live!

I fell out of my chair when I opened this video and there was no Miata in it.

I have a bunch of these engines, I use one in my truck every day and tow large loads with it on a regular basis. I really love these things!

I am not a mechanic and have never built or worked on any motor other than oil changes , brakes and plugs in my life. However I've watched every single video UTG has ever put out. Im hooked. It really makes me want to go buy and old junker and build it back to life. A Chevy of course. Lol. Dallas knows his stuff too. I can tell that.

So Tony now you have to build something with a 455 Buick in it.

Dallas and Tony - both great communicators - not that common among mechanics, (not a slight, I was in the motor trade for 30 years) a real joy to listen to guys that really know what they are talking about.

I put a Buick 455 in a 73 Chevy C20 about 20 years ago. It was a relatively easy swap. I used 72 Electra mounts, top for sure we're Buick and the lowers, I cannot recall for certain but I thing they were the Chevy frame mounts. Used a transdapt adapter plate. Had to put a small notch in the front frame rail for the oil filter. (Could have used a relocation kit but I was too cheap). Truck was a torque beast after that swap. Smooth as glass too!

Any good late 60s to mid 70s Buick, Olds, Pontiac 455 will make tons of torque.

back in the 1980's i had the fastest streetcar in my area it was a 1968 skylark had a 12 bolt 400 turbo from kenne bell and a 455 built from poston enterprise parts

I love the 455 Oldsmobile in my Toronado. A cam, intake, carb, ignition and rockers. Lots of power and very fun. Ive learned a lot and applied it to my car from you Uncle Tony.

My first car was a 1968 Buick Wildcat 430 CID 4BBL TH400 #5000 car. After I figured out the oil system issue by installing the TRW extra capacity oil pump kit , it was all good after that. I even ran it at the drag strip against an early 1970's Cadillac Coupe Deville with the 500 CID engine. We called it "the battle of the Barges ". I won. Not really quick but loved running high speeds. Mine had the 4 wheel drum brakes. Front drums were aluminum with a steel liner cast into them for wear surface. Very different I thought. I drove it a long time. Had lots of miles on it before it locked up. Then bought a 1973 Chevy Impala with the 454. Both were real torque monsters.

Nice to see UTG step up from a Hemi into a BBB. Buick has been stomping on Hemis since new.

Awesome Tony, theres a shortage of Buick videos. My personal favorite Brand X! They don't call the 455 the Hemi Killer for nothing. : )

You can’t go wrong with GM, mopar or amc power plants 🤘🏻

I had a 425 Nailhead with dual quads and 4 speed in a '62 Studebaker Lark Daytona convertible. One of the most fun cars i ever owned and i have had a '67 427 Vette, a '53 Olds with built 394 / hydro and a few sports cars of British and Italian manufacture plus a'67 Malibu SS 396 that i built. That Buick was a torque monster and made for a great street freak.

Excellent video! Buicks and Pontiacs are under loved.

B.O.P. each did the best with what they had to work with. One of the advantages Chevy had with their big block 396 to 454 was that besides higher sales volume they also had a truck division which made it way more economical to develope and share heavy duty parts like forged cranks and rods. I know from studying pontiac history the division wanted to use forged parts in the bottom end of all the performance engines but due to cost concerns they were limited to only the special engines ment for racing like the ram air 4 and super duty. For the regular gtos and firebirds with a more common 400 or standard 455 they had to worry about availability and cost of the forged parts. The fact the 73 to 74 super duty 455 even made it into a street car in the early 70s was a miracle.

My buddies brother swapped in a 445 Buick into a Chevy 1Ton truck many years ago....We took the "well broken in" 350 4bbl motor...put it into my other buddies 65 ChevyII that was 283 2bbl.....Both parties were pretty happy with their trades...The "Deuce" went deep into the 14's with a teenaged cobbled exhaust system😁

My parents marriage car was a green 69 Buick GS with a vinyl top... Mom couldn't drive a 4 speed, plus my sister was born in 71, so it was sold... Thanks, keep up your awesomeness and go enjoy some nature today...

Hey, let's not forget the Cadillac 501, in 1970, that thing was a stump puller, when put into a smaller, light weight body. Same with the 472, in a Cheverly, camaro, or nova, they would melt the tires right off the rim!

HEY HEY.. IT'S UNCLE TONY!!

I had a 71 Skylark in highschool with a 350. Not a big block but I loved that car. Buick's are some of my favorites.

Thank you so much for this. So many shows today have perfect a world scenario garage working on engines that were never produced as such from the manufacturer and cost a mint to build. Love these old motors

A '70 stage one 455 was an fucking animal. My brother played with Buick's, back in the day,and had a '70 GSX that used to walk away from my '70 340 Dart Swinger like I was in reverse. Put an old 401 in a '49 Studebaker truck, and had to pour an inch of concrete in the bed,just to get it to hook up on dry payment.

I had a '73 Buick with a 455 and loved that motor.

I'm a MoPar guy who also loves Buicks, and this is the reason why! Learned to drive in a '72 Electra 455, my first car (at 16, bought myself) was a '72 LeSabre Custom 455, took my date to the prom (1985) in a mint '76 Electra Limited 455. Built a mild, cast pistoned 455+.040" (464") with iron Stage1-spec heads, a hydraulic .520" lift cam, 850DP, weedburner headers and a Mallory Double Life distributor and ran high 8s at 160mph on pump 93 in a rail dragster with a Fiat fiberglass Topolino body.

i rebuilt a 350 buick , ported the heads and did the port match . just an rv cam and put it a 68 jeep wagoneer . that was i GOOD running motor

Nice one Dallas, all new info to me I never seen one out of the car. My old manager lady at McD's years ago had a giant Buick Wildcat 455... she was a Wildcat

This was a fantastic video Tony you know how much I Love Buick and their 455!!! Ty for bringing light to one of the greatest Engines ever built fantastic.

The nailheads he kept talking about started as a 264 cubic incher, then it grew to 322,364 then the 401 and the 425,the top power maker was the 425 dual quad super wildcat,360 Hp. And 465 ft.lbs.,they were done making power by 6,000 rpm. And peak torque came at 2,800 rpm.,with the right car and gearing they make a decent streetcar motor,as far as reliability I had a 425 with 257k on it when I got it,sold the car years later but knew who had it and how it was being driven,it had to have over 500k on it when it was finally rebuilt in 08 or 09,and probably half of that was beating the snot out of it!!!

The Buick 455 is definitely on my wish list. External dimensions on the olds is super small too. I’ve got an olds 455 on a stand next to a Chevy 327 and they are very close in size. The olds is definitely heavier tho. The cylinder heads, intake, and stock manifolds are ridiculously heavy on the olds.

So what I'm hearing is Buick big blocks would make awesome mud/rock crawler engines so long as you don't hit high rpms frequently and just let the torque do its thing.

Glad to see you know the importance of deburring block edges to stop heat spikes...and so you can lift them without gloves!

Fill up the Deuce, hook up the Airstream and cruise the interstate running 70. Those were the days I was too young to remember, & I'm over 50.

This an interesting series, I really like it & learn a lot from it. Keep up the excellent work guys. Cheers & stay safe😊

the 425 Super Wildcat (465) was rated at 360 HP with 2 carter carbs. It looked wild. You rarely see that at car shows.

Just my opinion of course, but a far as a brand X engine being the king, I would have to appoint that to the 429/460 Ford engines. The biggest bore size of all, no metal removed from critical areas (so yes, it's much heavier than a SBC!), generous bore spacing, large diameter fasteners (head bolt, main bolt sizes), big enough crankcase area to build way over 500 cubes without needing an aftermarket block, decent flowing canted valve cylinder heads, and a much bigger aftermarket support than a Buick. But I do love big torque no matter what form its in!

I remember Buick V6 running for pole, and they'd swap the motor race day. Much respect for Buick. Although they couldn't run 500 miles

I love these engine architecture videos by the Man from Uncle. If you relax and maybe have a few drinks just before you watch this, you'd swear he knows what he's talking about!

Stage 1 in '69 was a higher lift cam, curved distributor, larger carb, 2200 stall converter (automatic of coarse). Larger intake valve didn't make a difference on the 400, but breathed great with the 455.

I would love a Riviera with a 455. My parents had a 87 t type that was awesome to drive.

Those Buick big blocks really remind me of a slimmed down FE. They even have the same style oiling issues. Detailing the block to account for oiling restrictions are definitely a must on both engines.

There was an article years ago in Hot Rod I believe, where they took every big block available and built them with the same cam profile and everything that was a close as possible to the other engines. They tested an Olds455, along with Pontiac and Buicks 455’s, a 454 Chevy, 460 ford and Mopar 440. All of the engines used Edelbrock’s Heads except for the Buick. It got TA Performance’s heads that were as equal as possible to the rest of the engines. TA has heads ranging from near stock to a version of the Stage III heads with huge ports that would be used for racing only. At the end of the tasting the Buick 455 took top honors, followed by the Mopar 440. The Chevy 454 with Edelbrock’s oval port type heads came in third and the worst of the bunch was the Olds. When you took the hp for each of these heads and figured the Hp per cubic inch the Buick and 440 were very close. Now in a follow up to this test the builder took the. I’m Block Chevy and added bigger heads, different manifold and cam and it made more Horsepower than the others. I think the Chevy guys had a fit over not winning the competition, or Chevy themselves funded the improved version of the 454. I have no doubts that if the other engine were given the same treatment they would have done as well as the 454.

Great video! I never knew Buick was so different.

Nice to see Dallas on here Boss and Boss lady .. sharing info and history 👍😉

I can't believe how much great information is in this video.

ROLL UP YOUR CIGARETTE!!! LOL GREAT VIDEO UTG!!!👍 HELLO ULTRA KATHY!!! Great Big Block Buick Engine information Dallas!👍 I look forward to hearing more about them!

My buddy's dad is a huge Buick guy. He has a Skylar that runs 10's but it looks stock. It's got a little bit of tire and 455 witg a Nitrous kit hiding under a "stock" looking carb/air cleaner. My buddy his son has Skylar that they put in a turbo 3.8/200r4 out of a 86 T type that will go deep into the 11's. Both cars are badass sleepers that don't look like much but they will give you a great view of their tail lights if you try them on the street!!

I love the videos tony do with this guy.

Yes the 455 Buick is a torque monster!!! I put mine in a 79 Regal along with a Turbo 400 and destroyed the pinion and ring gear in the rear end!!! Eventually I pulled the engine and Trans out of the Regal and dropped it in a 80 Chevy Truck where it still resides!!!!

Thanks for keeping it interesting.

The 430 I had in my 68 Electra 225 was a torque monster!

I've been building these things since I was 16 and I'm 42. I would say 71 are the best heads. Still have the round coolant holes, only a few cc bigger than 70 and are way less likely to crack. And i have had better luck porting them without going through anywhere. 68-69 big ports flow the best, with stage 1 valves installed they even out flow stock stage 1 heads from 70. But they crack like crazy. Im currently running Edelbrock heads and i lost power switching to them. Im going to port them this winter.

An old friend of mine had a '73 Pontiac Ventura Sprint, 4 SP stick with the factory functional shaker, correct hood and ralley gauges (which I scored accidentally in the salvage yard on his birthday) and he transplanted a 375 HP 525 ft/lbs torque 455 from a '70 Boneville and factory 3:55 gears. Total cost under $2K. Nothing could touch it. Idled smooth. The factory curb weight with a factory 350 was 3,240 lbs and HP was around 170.

More Buick tech I love these episodes!. I have a 68 wildcat w/430-4

Had a ‘71 GS 455 4spd really a nice driving hi perf luxury car lots of torque close ratio heavy gearbox 2:20 first gear had to change clutches about every 2 years, loved that car.

I still have my poston headers on my 455 in my g body. My block is stock standard 1970 455. You guys are awesome. You two sound like me and my buddy who builds Buicks 40 years ago.

Great video! Excellent info!

👍Great info. Always loved the Buicks.

Love your content

Cool stuff!! Good info!!

I recall the Buick specific Q jet was supposed flowing 25 CFM than rest . I used to love standing on it because the induction Honk was louder and sweeter than the rest . Last LeSabre i had started knocking so we started standing on it to see what would let loose . Couple W O T runs we got a bang and it stalled but restarted and the knock was gone . O P light was on so i tried to make it back to the garage when it all let loose with a bigger bang like a bulldozer blade dropping . The 3rd crank arm journal broke free and went up thru the cam while the 2 rod big ends had gone out thru opposite sides of the block . I thought i had a spare engine but since the rope oil seal was really leaking and it ran hot in the donor car i went thru it and found the 1 crack common to late 70s Buicks . They crack where the cylinder meets the bottom of the deck . Usually stays sealed until you torque the head after a new gasket .

I could hear your voices eco in that block it's not every day u get to have a conversation over an engine block on a stand brings back memories

Richard Holdener would like to have a word with you about the 472 and 500 inch Cadillac... lol They’re not heavy. I have a photo on my phone of a 500 with an aluminum intake, alternator, and manifolds mounted to it on a scale displaying 580 lbs, that’s 5 lbs more than a small block Chevy, with twice the torque. They were cast with a high nickel content, making them durable and lighter. Factory crank is forged. The main Achilles heel of the 472/500 was the stock rocker setup, it was a dinky T-pedestal and spring clip setup, and if you up spring pressure at all the rocker pedestals shear off. There are shaft rocker systems available, and there’s big inch Cadillacs that turn 7K and up

Loving the Buick stuff!!!

I used to watch the American Muscle Car tv series episodes over and over, it was a good show but this is the kind of detail I always wish they'd put in the show.

The cam bearing oil holes on the TA grooved cam bearings are also clocked differently from stock to help in cam journal load bearing.

Just a reminder. Accept the Shroud Tony.. Be the SHROUD Tony.. You are the Shroud .. @Ø

Ill be saving these videos !

I remember 225 wildcat and other Buicks especially the gs nice looking car for a buick

Personally I blame squirrels

I can't help but watch your show

Dig the Buick love you are offering up Uncle Tony. I agree with you on the Nailhead, hard to beat a full dressed Nailhead for looks. TV Tom Ivo set a number of records with his before moving on to Hemi's. The famous Grabowksi Cadillac powered T v. Tommy's Nailhead T showed what Buick Torquey mills could do in lightweight Rods.

Thanks for doing this. I have a few 455. And a 69 gs 400 engine. I'm actually just getting ready to start working on one. Good tips. Thank you.

Love listening to this stuff, I worked on all this back in the 70's in our family gas station repair shop..........love all the BB back then.........yeah, had and loved Chrysler BB like the 440.......best water pump design ever, so so easy to replace, 4 bolts on the fan and 4 bolts on the pump and done!!!!! no accessories to remove or coolant hoses.......still to this day the best design for this IMO.........BTW....I have done hundreds of water pumps in my day........Never had a BB Buick though, maybe it is time to find a project???

Very informative guys, i love GS Buicks 👍👍👍👍👍✅✅✅✅✅

Have my 1970 Buick Electra Limited 225, 455, love the car

My uncle swore by big block Buick engines when he was building his own engines for dirt late models. An iconic car of his was a Studebaker (for the shorter wheelbase) with a big block Buick. When i was getting into hobby stock racing, he had a formula he passed onto us that used a Buick station wagon engine

Thanks so much for the Buick content guys. can you please address the rear main on these. May be do a video install of the BOP rubber seal kit. I am tired of messing with the rope seals. also please do a follow up on the """weight of the three blocks""". very interested on this. I wake up every morning to a world that is still turning, and i smile because i know there is at least one BBB still running somewhere. :) Keep em coming.

The small block olds is my favorite engine.

Fascinating 👍

Great infoo

Talking about Buick engines, I rebuilt plenty of the Buick Nail Head engines for my bosses collection of Riviera's starting from the 1963 to 1973 Boat tails, I got pretty good at pulling and installing them to, the easiest GM engine to work on was the 425 cid Nailhead out of all of them, plus they had a nice balance when swinging them around while hanging off of the cherry picker on a chain.