Is a Buick 403 worth building?

[kustomkyle]

What is the car anyway? I'm assuming a Regal, but? I don't think anyone is arguing or saying one engine is better than the other. If the 403 you are looking at is in fact a 403, the only reason it would be labeled a "Buick" is if it came out of one. They came in Electras because it was the biggest gas V8 engine at GM at the time, so in a way it became a replacement for the 455's in the downsizing era (despite being a small block.

Another thing to consider with the 403 is the windowed mains. Oldsmobile never made 4-bolt main small blocks (or big blocks that I'm aware of). You could get a main halo girdle for peace of mind. They make 3-4 thicknesses, the thinnest ones don't require machining. I bought the intermediate one for my 307 Olds from a private party but I found out afterwards that it required main cap machining and special length studs to use. Needless to say, I really didn't need a main cap girdle and didn't intend for the rebuild to get more complicated than it had to, so I sold it. I don't think most applications would need a girdle, but if racing or hard driving is in store it would be a good idea.

Here is an article on the T/A 403 and modification:

http://www.texastransams.com/articles/2002ron_l_403_article.htm

 

[shotgun]

ANY 400+ makes a great street or mild performance engine (400ish hp) , even a chevy. :lol:

People never get that it's all about the torque.

I too tire of the SBC stuff, cheaper blah blah blah, built it with just a can of WD40, hammer and can of chevy orange paint and it makes 500hp at idle blah blah blah zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I figure you can do the sbc thing and be one of the sheep or go BOP and be the Ram.

I like life as the Ram.

 

[megaladon6]

I like life as the Ram.

i thought we were discussing GM cars, not dodge trucks! come on, stay on topic here!

 

[jae]

why do we always have to have this argument???
there is no real proof that a chevy engine of similar size, is "better" than a BOP engine or vice-versa (, except for the LS series--but that's a completely different story)..no matter what, people will give you sh*t over it.

Amen to that brother. And not just on the engine front, as you can get the same grief over transmission choice and the 8.5/Ford 9 debate is almost as bad as the S/BBC /everything else debate.

But do agree with what was said above, I wouldn't go the 401 Nailhead route - can be hella expensive and you're mostly going to be working with old / refurbed parts, especially the heads.

Regalman, you still watch Powerblock? I totally gave up on them after the Olds 455 debacle (hell, any engine build that's not a SBC or BBC they gloss over and are somewhat clueless on). I kind of stopped watching about a year ago as everything was race car this, 20s and air bags that and they never finished anything except on Trucks and Extreme.

 

[joe_padavano]

But do agree with what was said above, I wouldn't go the 401 Nailhead route - can be hella expensive and you're mostly going to be working with old / refurbed parts, especially the heads.

While I doubt the original question was about a Nailhead (as opposed to a 403), the reality is that the Nailhead motors (along with the first gen Olds V8s, Ford Y-blocks, and poly Chrysler motors) are becoming much more popular with the street rod crowd, which appears to have finally gotten sick of bellybutton SBCs. As a result, there are now folks who specialize in these ancient motors and new parts are becoming available. Plus, there are many cool old multi-carb intakes available.

 

[dan2286]

I too tire of the SBC stuff, cheaper blah blah blah, built it with just a can of WD40, hammer and can of chevy orange paint and it makes 500hp at idle blah blah blah zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

That is the funniest thing I have heard in a long time!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

I think the reason that the BOP guys say that our engines are not always as expensive as Chevies is because most of us are very cheap and resourceful . We have no problem using stock heads, crank, rods, etc. Edelbrock intakes are cheap as hell used. Right now on ebay, they are going for less than $100 in decent shape. We don't need all of that chrome and fancy accessory brackets, we just use the stock stuff :lol: I think all you really need to get decent power out of Olds engines is just higher compression and a better cam, plus some valve train and exhaust upgrades. The rest is usually just up to how good your machine work is. I know around me, Olds core engines are a lot cheaper than Chevy core engines. I see Chevies all the time on CL for about $2-300 and usually Olds engines are around half that.

That of course is just for the milder engines. If you want a 500 hp sb, it will get pretty expensive.

 

[megaladon6]

yeah, i wasn't referring to the nailhead. if i had one i'd build it in a heartbeat. even stock with a few tricks would just be cool 'cause there are so few. but, i highly doubt it's ever be a power build, it's go in a cruiser. of course my idea of a cruiser is a bit faster than the "usual".
speaking of cool cruisers, check this out http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/hrdp_0803w_1929_model_a_touring_car/index.html my favorite part is the ECU program that drops every 3rd cyl to make it sound like a regular Model A.

 

[username]

Wow I kinda started a firestorm there huh? I was actually inquiring about an olds 403 it was in a buick electra so like I said I'm not real familiar with BOP brands.It doesnt bother me one way or the other which engine is powering a car as long as it is dependable.I found one carb to oil pan running for 200 bucks here on craigslist and thought it would have more torque than a sbc and was just trying to get an idea of performance oriented builds others have done.I had no intention as to debating the efficaciousness of brand "x".But thanks for all the input.

 

[marcar1993]

Oldsmobile never made 4-bolt main small blocks (or big blocks that I'm aware of). You could get a main halo girdle for peace of mind. They make 3-4 thicknesses, the thinnest ones don't require machining

No, they never made a 4bolt main block used in production cars because they didn't need it! Olds blocks are strong enough in stock form to do what they have to do with only 2 bolt mains... The only time that strength comes into play is with windowed mains. They are not as strong obviously being that a chunk is missing out of the main webs. But, as long as you aren't going over 5k rpm everyday your fine. Which brings me to my next point. Oldses are great street motors because they make good low end torque. On the street you have no need to pull to 6, 7, 8k rpm. 48-5200 is MORE than enough to get moving in a hurry, and effectivly makes the motor do 2 things. 1) tolerable in traffic because it'll idle, and 2) fun because it'll pull hard from a dead stop. Stoplight to stoplight races are won and lost at the launch. :wink:
Now if you want to spin your 403 past 5000rpm everyday, first I''d suggest a 68-76 sbo 350, but if you really want the 403 get a full halo girdle, run the lightest rotating assembly possible, and have it balanced perfectly. Also, you will probably need some porting on the heads, because I don't think there is enough velocity to go much above 5500-6000rpm in STOCK olds heads. With minor work from a trained olds guy (not a sbc or ford guy doing you a favor by porting your heads) they will become great breathing heads.

As for the no bbo comment, what do you call the 455? 425? Also the 400... yes the 400 was a bbo and the 403 a sbo. Deck height makes the difference.
The only gm brand that I know of that never made a big block was pontiac. All of their blocks are mid blocks. From the 326 to the 455 was externally the same block.

Here is an article on the T/A 403 and modification:

http://www.texastransams.com/articles/2002ron_l_403_article.htm

That is a very good link with a good build. I'm building a 403 for my cutlass in a very similiar manner to that one.