Engine Swap

Hi, Does anybody know if I can put a 1970 455-4 into my 1969 Buick Wildcat, without to much hassel. The rebuilds are easy to get and the 430-4 is not. Help.

Welcome to AF, what is hard about the 430-4, parts are readily available for this engine Kanter has a complete rebuild kit for about 1,500.00

hi, i'm was refering to a long block rebuilt. my current 430-4 is frozen. just want to drop a rebuilt in., I can get one for 1500 or so. thanks

I am sure the 455 is not a drop in as the engine configurations are different. Try v8buick.com

The 68-69 Buick 400, 67-69 Buick 430, and 70-76 Buick 455 are essentially the same. According to Mitchell interchange, the 67-68 430, 69 Riviera with 430, and 70 Riv with 455 have a different oil pan, which would need to be swapped, but not in your case. I believe all you need to do in your case is bolt the motor mounts that are on your Wildcat's 430 to the 455, and it should bolt right in. You probably also need to retain the throttle cable and switches from the 430 setup.

You are right about the internal parts being harder to get for the 430. The valvetrain and heads in particular are quite different between '69 430 and '70 455. But the external dimensions are near identical.

the only diff. is that the 455 oils through the pushrods and the 430 oils through the rocker shaft.the crank,cam, rods,timing cover,manifolds[intake and exauhst],block side motor mounts are all interchangable.

have done 2 big block buick swaps. 430 & 455 are the same physical size for purpose of mounting /swapping. should be a direct drop in or nearly so. check with ta performance they know a ton about bb buicks.