Stare long and hard at this...
Stare long and hard at this shot of the Edelbrock B4B (left) and Performer intakes and you won't see a whole lot of difference other than the carb-pad location. The dyno found none.
Big Cam, Dual-Plane Intake
Phase two this month involved repeating the intake tests but with a larger cam. The new 'stick is a TA Performance grind called the TA-413, a very popular hydraulic flat-tappet setup with 234/244 degrees of duration at 0.050, a lobe separation of 113 degrees, and a lift of 0.500/0.500 with the stock rockers.
Basically, it was a flop, probably due to our engine's low compression and stock heads. We only ran it with the B4B dual-plane, since we'd satisfied ourselves that it was identical to the Performer. What we saw in an A/B comparo from the small TA-212 cam to the larger TA-413 was a big-time loss of torque below 3,500 rpm. The larger cam didn't start to pull ahead until 4,700 rpm, and even then it only made 11 more hp than the smaller cam, though it did carry several hundred extra rpm. As for torque, the larger cam lost as much as 40 lb-ft at some points. The big cam with the B4B intake was the most mismatched combo of the test and proved it by producing the worst average power of any other cam-and-intake combo we tested.
Big Cam, Single-Plane Intake
Could it be that the bigger cam would show more promise with the single-plane intake? Conventional wisdom might point that way, but the test results demand some scrutiny to see if it's true.
Because the SPX intake had proven slightly superior with the smaller cam, it's the intake we chose for the larger cam. Again, the dual-plane B4B made more torque below 4,000, but the gain was not as dramatic, and the SPX single-plane leaped ahead dramatically above 4,600 rpm, posting the best peak horsepower number we'd yet seen: 459 hp at 5,600 rpm. Taken on average from 2,100 to 6,000 rpm using the big cam, the SPX delivered 349 hp and 452 lb-ft, and the B4B averaged 339 hp and 446 lb-ft. So with the bigger TA-413 cam, we'd opt for the SPX intake and then gear the car accordingly.
Conclusions
We feel this engine's standout moment was with the TA-212 cam and the Performer or B4B intake. With a strong, low-rpm, 500-lb-ft showing, it most loudly proclaimed the Buick-guy motto of Go Fast With Class, and it would have made for an ideal daily driver engine in the road barge of your choice, plus it would probably run fine on 87-octane. Bigger cams and intakes just made it a rumblier engine, and frankly a bit subaverage when you compare the drawbacks with the power produced. But that may change next month as we wave a few sets of better cylinder heads across it. Stay tuned.
 Here's the Performer intake...  Here's the Performer intake on the 455. Note how the carb is pushed back to line up with a Buick GS fresh-air system. The B4B places the carb in a more standard position. |  This photo compares the TA...  This photo compares the TA Performance SP1 (left) and SPX single-plane intakes. The SPX is taller and the runners take a more straight shot to the ports. |  If you were choosing intakes...  If you were choosing intakes by aesthetics alone, you'd go with the SPX every time. It just looks brutal. Note the unused hole for the coolant passage that runs underneath the plenum. |
 The two cams used in this...  The two cams used in this test are the popular TA Performance TA-212 and TA-413. Cam swaps on the Buick 455 are very easy if you plan ahead and do not RTV the oil pan gasket to the bottom of the timing cover during initial assembly. |  Here are the Speed-Pro L2353F...  Here are the Speed-Pro L2353F pistons custom-notched for valve clearance by TA Performance. |  |