Engine Building - V-8 Power Trends And Best-Selling Engine Combos

This is the Buick 455 similar to the package TA Performance gave us. Look for it in a fall '07 issue.

Big-Block Buick 455 Ci
The most popular big-block Buick has to be the 455-engine combo that hasn't changed much since Mike Tomaszewskis at TA Performance originally developed it. It still uses the '70-'76 block with a 4.310 bore and stock 3.900-stroke crank and either a stock reconditioned rod with ARP bolts or a new 1633 forged I-beam rod for up to 800 hp.

The popular piston is an off-the-shelf forged dish that has been notched so that any cam you choose will work if you decide to upgrade later. There is also a lesser-known spherical-dish forged piston that is lighter and has a floating wristpin. Iron-head engines are limited to 9.6-9.8:1 compression. If you are building an iron-head engine, you can send a '70-'74 core to TA to get it converted to Stage 1 specifications with a competition valve job and mild chamber work. If you can't find a core, the TA aluminum Stage 1 head is a direct replacement for iron heads with a 280cc intake runner and 2.130/1.755 valves that allow you to run 10.0:1 or more compression.

The most common street/strip cam is the TA 413, which with a stock 1.55:1 rocker has 0.500 lift and 234/244 duration at 0.050, and the user-friendly intake is the SP-1 single-plane with a Holley 950hp carb. TA actually sells more 750-950-cfm Holleys than Dominators, and more Dominators than Q-jets. The final pieces of the combo are the replacement oil-pump assembly with a performance pan that holds an extra quart of oil and a set of 171/48-inch headers that will fit your Skylark, Regal, and most other '68-'77 Buicks.

This 370-inch combo made just over 480 hp with 10.5:1 compression.

AMC 360
The AMC 360 is the most common AMC engine in the wrecking yard, so it would seem that it would also be the engine that is the most common build. Not so. Barry Allen from Barry Allen Race Engines tells us that the 401 is king because the 360 is weaker around the main web castings and the stock parts are cast instead of forged. Because of that, only a few 360s are put together for Jeeps and AMC passenger cars in the course of a year. Of those engines, the 450hp version is the most popular.

To get there, Allen uses the stock cylinder-head casting No. 090 or No. 993 from '72-'73 engines because they are already machined for screw-in studs from the factory and have 58cc combustion chambers. For about $800 a set, Allen ports the heads so they flow 270-283 cfm at 0.500 lift, and adds a performance valve job. He uses the stock crankshaft and a set of custom-made stock-length forged rods with ARP cap screws. The pistons are custom-forged flat-tops or dishes, depending on the desired compression ratio. The standard is 10.5:1 for pump-gas engines. The popular camshaft is a Comp Cams hydraulic flat-tappet single-pattern grind with 0.542 lift and 240 degrees of duration ground on a 110-lobe center. It makes 14-15 inches of vacuum and likes a big stall converter.

Allen can modify the stock oil pan to hold an extra quart if you prefer, or you can buy a larger pan from Milodon. If the engine is going to spin above 7,000 rpm, he recommends using -6 AN line that feeds the No. 4 and 5 crankshaft bearings directly from the main oil galley. Allen rebuilds the front timing-chain cover with an oil-pump kit from Melling. Good oil pressure is 20-30 pounds at idle and 60-75 pounds above 6,000 rpm.