Against my better judgement, i'm gonna throw my 2 pennies into the ring. I've had both, Olds and Chevy, from a 267 chevy and a 260 Olds to a built 350 chevy and a 455 olds.
That little 267 sure ran good, till it blew. The 260 Olds sucked, but ran forever. I've got a 300k mile 307 Olds that is still going strong. The 350 chevy ran ok, but still seemed like it didn't have the power it should have. Could have missed the mark with the cam, it happens. Had to be bored, line honed, decked, crank turned, rods resized, basically the works, and machine work ain't cheap.
Now, the 455 Olds. First one I bought the core for $200. Tore it down, no ridge or taper in the bores. Crank got a polish, rods checked good. Raced it for a few years as a stock engine. Didn't set the world on fire, but did ok. Found a used Torker intake for $150, a set of used pistons for $150, a new cam and lifters for $250, a set of headers (don't remember how much), and a Holley carb. Heads are stock iron with roller rockers, nothing major. That combo of parts pushed my 3300lb Firebird to 11.63 @113mph. Raced that engine for 15 years, till a rod let go
:lol:
New engine just like the first. Re-used what I could, but had to get different pistons. No machine work needed to the block, but crank went 10 under. On paper the cam looked great, but the real world proved otherwise. Only went 12.25@105mph. Not bad for being built on wednesday, broke in on thursday, and raced on sunday in mid 90* weather. A new cam is coming.
Is an Olds expensive to build? Sure, if you let it. But, it doesn't have to be. I've had 2 motors built for under $2k apiece and gone faster than some chevys built for 3x that amount.
. Sorry, its in my blood :wink: .
