olds to 454 swap

[wasted$$]

I'm pulling the 455 in my 76 sanger bubble deck & changing over to a 454 4bolt mkIV (14015445). Stock rods & pistons (std). Scat 9000 crank (10454) all std. Big oval heads (336781). Crane energizer roller rockers. Urx2 dual quad w/ holley 660's. msd ing system (spark discharge, soft touch, retarder).Tuned rewarder headers. & yada yada yada.
With a fresh berkeley 12jc-a w/ A cut aluminum impeller & a 2piece jg bowl with a manual diverter.
What I need to know is how big can I go with my cam and still have my boat be somewhat reliable? hyd. or roller???
Should I spend the extra buck & get the stainless marine head gaskets?
I also read something in the jets page about sangers having a hook in the hull. Was this a problem in the 76 18' bubble decks? If so does anyone know somebody in havasu that can get the hook out? I'm looking to get a quick 80mph.
Can anybody out there get me headed in the right direction. Thanks........

[GofastRacer]

Call this guy, he does good work!..
HavasuBarney
1950 Commander Drive #106
Lake Havasu, AZ 86403
928-505-8678
havasubarney@hotmail.com

[Dave C]

Good choice!
Get a Hydraulic or solid roller but not too big. (depending on how much work you want to do) I used to get up to about 630 lift, 264'ish with the solid roller. Split duration, etc.
Also if you want to get dirty, get a 5 foot straight edge and a long board and take the hook out yourself

[Moneypitt]

What type of Olds parts are you removing? I still run an Olds 455 and MAY be interested in your castoffs......Pm me if you get a chance............Moneypitt

[wasted$$]

Originally posted by Dave C
Good choice!
Get a Hydraulic or solid roller but not too big. (depending on how much work you want to do) I used to get up to about 630 lift, 264'ish with the solid roller. Split duration, etc.
Also if you want to get dirty, get a 5 foot straight edge and a long board and take the hook out yourself
If I knew where to begin w/ the hook I might attempt it. But I'm a mechanic, not a body guy. The last thing I want to do is screw something up trying to do it myself & end up spending twice as much to fix my screw-ups. I'm probably better off leaving the glass work to the pro's.
labor rate $50.hr
If you watch $75.hr
If you help $100.hr
If you tried to
fix it & couldn't $200.hr
Thats the situation I'm trying to avoid.
I'm gonna get ahold of barney & see what he wants to take out the hook.

[Dave C]

I hear you wasted, good point!
But I push pencils for a living and I did it twice
But its a crappy job so its probably worth the money not to have to do it. Plus its difficult to straighten other "defects" in the bottom that the pros can do much easier.

[Dennis Moore]

If you haven't already purchased the MSD, don't waste your money. I assume you will be turning about 5200 rpm maximum. The only time an MSD will provide any improvement is at rpm's much higher than this. You will need a small diameter cap distributor for your tunnel ram. Install a Pertronix Ignitor II into a Mallory marine distributor along with the matching Pertronix coil and you will have a great ignition system (inexpensive too).
Comp Cams XR276 HR (hydraulic roller) should give you the best power and reliability for your jet boat engine. It has 224/230 intake/exhaust duration @ .050 and .510/.510 intake/exhaust lift.
The Lobe Sep. Angle of 110 degrees should make it sound radical and increase mid range performance.
With only 224 degrees of intake duration you shouldn't have any problems with water ingestion but if you are still worried about it you should install the camshaft with the Intake Lobe Centerline at 108 degrees after TDC (this is two degrees retarded from the stock Comp Cams spec of 106).
Cut down the plenum volume on that tunnel ram and you will find a large increase in performance.
Sincerely
Dennis Moore

[wasted$$]

Thanks dennis , Thats exactly what I was looking for. I havent bought the msd yet but I was planning on usind my msd boxes already in the boat (reterder @2*, soft touch @ 6500, & discharge box).
I still need to find all my engine mounting aluminum, rail kit, oil pan, & I'm sure there's other things I cant think of right now.
I'f anyone has any of this stuff laying around send me a PM.
Thanks, John